Monday, November 07, 2005

Is the Kotel mine? How?

"Mine, Mine, MINE!!!!!!!!!"
--Daffy Duck

Apparently, I'm rich, wealthy, financially independant and also socially secure. I make this happy assertion based on the latest harebrained claim from Lazer Brody:
Did you realize that you are a multimillionaire? Yes, you are a full shareholder in this precious piece of real estate. Come stake your claim, for this place belongs to you.
Lazer is speaking of the kotel, and if he says I own it, I guess it's true.

I'm not sure, this makes me a millionaire though. Figure the world Jewish population is about 14 million. For each of us to be a millionaire, the kotel needs to be worth what? 14 million millions?That sounds a little high, don't you think? Even if you covered the kotel with advertisments, I don't think you could ever break even. Not enough foot traffic.

Come to think of it, I am not sure Lazer is 100 percent correct when he says that we own the kotel. Perhaps he means that the Jewish people own the kotel in the same way that the residents of NYC own Central Park. I certainly don't own the Kotel in the way that I own my house. Whatever rights I may have are severly limited - so limited in fact, it's worth asking: In what sense is the kotel really mine?