"Inequality is a fact of life here, and this, too, is visible in the garbage—particularly in the uncollected garbage on the streets of some Arab neighborhoods, which also tend to lack sidewalks and parks. But in recent years life in Jerusalem has been getting not worse but slowly, markedly better. New infrastructure projects like a light-rail line serving Jewish and Arab neighborhoods and a bike and pedestrian path running a few miles through other Jewish and Arab neighborhoods are leading to more mixing in public spaces. State-funded health care in Arab neighborhoods is improving. One hears more Arabic than ever spoken in predominantly Jewish commercial areas. More Arab residents are requesting Israeli citizenship and taking the Israeli high-school matriculation exams. Jews and Arabs are not friendly with each other, as a rule, but there are many thousands of interactions between them each day, and nearly all of them are uneventful.

What we have here is not peace but peacefulness—a budding, breakable, imperfect coexistence obvious to anyone sensitive to the pulse of the city. It reflects a broader phenomenon in Israel: According to a poll published last month by Ha'aretz, when Arab Israelis were asked if they were "generally satisfied" with their lives in Israel, 79 percent said yes. That is not an uncomplicated "yes," but neither is that statistic insignificant."

Tablet