Five years ago, the Palestinian east Jerusalem neighborhood of Kfar Ekev was cut off from the rest of the city by the security fence, and municipal services completely ceased. Now, finally, the neighborhood has gained some token acknowledgment by the city's government in the form of....

400,000 NIS worth of new trash bins! Sixty in all, to be precise. It ain't the light rail exactly, but it's a fresh-smelling start.

Hopefully, unlike the reliably short-lived municipal trash bins of Meah Shearim and Geulah, nobody will set these on fire as the opening salvo in healthy municipal political dialogue....

Photo of Kfar Ekev's new fleet of dumpsters courtesy of the Jerusalem Municipality.