Arabs and Jews continue to gather peacefully to enjoy the animals at the
Jerusalem Zoo, notwithstanding the ongoing intifada and the recent
"mini-war" (as Israelis call it) to root out the terrorist infrastructure
from the West Bank, according to Shai Doron, the zoo's director.

Unlike many other Israeli attractions, which have witnessed a precipitous
decline in their attendance -- up to 90 percent at some tourist-dependent
places -- the Jerusalem Zoo has seen its attendance fall by less than 10
percent, from about 500,000 to 460,000 visitors per year, Doron said during
a recent telephone interview from Jerusalem.

The comparatively strong attendance is a reflection of the fact that the
zoo's principal customers are Jerusalemites themselves, rather than tourists
from other countries, Doron said. Whereas tourists may be afraid to come to
Israel, Jerusalemites of all religions and backgrounds find the zoo a good
place to escape all the stress and to focus on something that people of
divergent political and religious persuasions can share -- a love for
animals.

Signage at the zoo is trilingual -- Hebrew, Arabic and English. The staff
represents a variety of cultures, with Arab workers occupying such
prestigious positions as head keeper for the elephants, director of food
services, and deputy head of the maintenance department, Doron said. There
are Arabic brochures as readily available as Hebrew ones, and on Muslim
holidays visitors are greeted with flowers as they enter the gates.

"Everything happens around the Zoo -- we are not far from Bethlehem or places
that suffer from terror in Jerusalem -- but here it's like an island," Doron
said.

That is not to say that there isn't a high level of security at the zoo.
Numerous guards visibly patrol both outside and inside the facility.
The Jerusalem Zoo has strong links to San Diego's Jewish community resulting
from the activities of the San Diego Friends of the Jerusalem Zoo group
headed by Robert Price.

Price expressed particular interest in the situation of the Arab workers
several months ago, during a zoo visit, Doron recalled.

"He had an interesting chat with some of our workers," Doron said. "They
told him a beautiful story about the difference between traveling to and
from work and being at the zoo. Being an Arab in Jerusalem is not always a
comfortable situation, but when they are at the Zoo -- at a place where their
loyalty is unquestioned -- they feel very comfortable and give the best
service to our clients."

Another indication that the zoo is considered a common meeting ground is the
fact that both Arab and Jewish parents send their children with physical and
mental handicaps to a special program putting them in contact with small
animals at a children's zoo house paid for by the San Diego group.

Arab high school students are expected to be among a group of Israelis who
will travel to San Diego this summer for a zoo-related exchange program,
which also sends San Diego students to work at the Jerusalem Zoo.
Both Arab and Jewish staff members of the Jerusalem Zoo also will travel to
San Diego this year to participate in study programs at the San Diego Zoo,
Doron said.

Almost anywhere one goes in the Jerusalem Zoo, one sees the influence of San
Diego contributors. The Bible Lands Wild Animal Preserve -- a scaled-down
version of San Diego's Wild Animal Park, but which particularly emphasizes
animals mentioned in the Bible -- was financed with contributions by the San
Diego group. A lake at the zoo is named for San Diego contributor Ellen
Barnett, while the island on which siamang (gibbons) swing and frolic, to
the delight of visitors from all cultures, is named for San Diego
contributor Ann Taubman.

Because revenues have dipped by 10 percent, the San Diego group's current
fundraising is aimed at making up the shortfall, Doron said. As soon as
times are better, he added, the group has made plans to raise funds for a
new Australian yard, which will become home to kangaroos, wallabies and emus
-- but not to koalas.

Koalas, Doron explained, require special diets and a level of care that the
Jerusalem Zoo, at this point at least, cannot afford.

The Jerusalem Zoo -- also known as the Tisch Family Zoological Gardens --
follows the San Diego Zoo's lead in becoming recognized as a breeding
grounds for rare and endangered species.

It is engaged in a project to release fallow deer back into the environment
in the western Galilee near the Lebanese border and in the mountains of
Judah, perhaps 15 kilometers from the zoo.