A few words are perhaps needed here as sidebars and guideposts, before Hollywood transforms this baroque literary vehicle into a psychic event. It seems that the biblical and non-biblical "evil-doers" are always confronting modern Israel in some way. We all know the story of modern warfare in the Middle East-even now. Ancient war history repeats itself there, day and night, sometimes in newer subtle themes and forms and unexpected developments. The latter happens in "The Jerusalem Vampire".

Even the Pope and Count Dracula and Golda Meir are involved in this current vampire tale, set in Jerusalem. The old city becomes a different type of resurrection center and conclave under the direction of Count Culandra and his strange retinue. We witness a stunning series of unknown and bewildering events. There is a litany of new sorrows recited in Jerusalem. Who will save the city? Not the Templars, The Crusaders, the Ottoman Turks, The Arab Caliphates, the Mideast dynasties, the Sheikdoms, the Missionaries, the Modern terrorists, etc. And hopefully, not the vampire clan. The "City of Peace,"or "City of Salem," Jerusalem, rarely knows peace, as in shalom, under the present circumstances in this story.

We clearly see that Israel (once Roman Palestine) as the culture hearth of the three major world religions (Muslim, Christian, Jewish) is not immune to modern dilemmas and disagreements. Herein, it becomes the Middle Eastern meeting place for unwanted visitors and for a new unexpected problem in the midst of warfare. Jerusalem, the golden, is the focus here, as capital city in the Holy Land. Some historians have even claimed that Rome, Moscow, and Jerusalem are the center of the world. Others have called Jerusalem the center of the Universe. So why not a Dracula problem there, in Jerusalem, before we face a midnight in Moscow menace, or a sinister Vatican vampire?

In the fictional realm presented in this vampire compte rendue, the vampires of this retelling, renew the "evil-doer" role with a vengeance-and even the recruitment and conversion activity. Who can forget the scene in the Hilton Hotel? We see that the vampire myth/motif in modern fiction and folklore proceeds here in an updated and unexpected form and format in Israel. Lazarus once got a reprieve from death, and so does the vampire as folktale as we transition here from Bram Stoker to the times of Roman Polanski, Whitley Strieber, Stephen King, Paul Wilson, Fred Saberhagen, and Anne Rice. The ending in this vampire story is almost crypto-biblical for Count Culandra and his unholy assembly in the Holy City. We may be mildly surprised at this turn of events. The reader must decide that aspect.

Above all, "The Jerusalem Vampire", a modern folktale for the new century, reminds us that the basic psychological and spiritual conflict of good-versus-evil continues even in the Middle East, even during unstable times of war. And so it goes-enter Professor Hohveh, savant and savior, new problem solver extraordinaire for this terrible and lingering newer type of Middle Eastern dilemma. The conflict goes on and on. We do hope and trust and pray that the "best man" wins. Good luck.

We find in this ethnic oriented story/teleplay/script, a tendency to satirize or engage in SCENARIO constructions which are somewhat tongue-in-cheek. But whether sabra or olim or purely literati, the critic or criticism should agree that an attempt was made to paint a Middle Eastern tableau and to weave an Israeli and also Palestinian tapestry in "The Jerusalem Vampire", as oral history. It is not quite a Proustian mini-world within a world, but there were ambitions and attempts in that domain.

Finally, let it be said that there was also a vague attempt at establishing a convincing nexus of co-equality and co-operation and good will between some Christians and Jews on the issue of vampire eradication. This may have convinced only a few. But on the issue of constant warfare, hopefully more were convinced with the premise that we should try to fight: "one war at a time." There were also many literary and religion allusions in the text, often intermixed with double-talk and satire. The mosaic tiles of myth, mythology, memory, metaphor, magic, superstition, philosophy and symbology were also included in the mix. Quite a menu, for the vampire connoisseur.

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