Jerusalem, sitting in the Judean Hills between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean and established over 5,000 years ago, is one of the oldest and holiest cities in the world.
It is the spiritual center of Judaism and home to holy sites of Christianity and Islam. Jerusalem, according to Israeli author Amos Oz, “contains more different versions of heaven than any outsider can imagine.”
For thousands of years, when Jews were in exile and when they held sovereignty over the city, Jerusalem remained a point of veneration and adulation. Jews adopted the word aliyah to describe going to Israel or, literally, “going up” to Jerusalem, the same term Jews use in their prayer service when called to bless the Torah when it is read in public.
Having been captured and recaptured 44 times, the city fuses multiple cultural traditions and languages, all of which are layered on top of religious controversies and archaeological treasures. The old walled city inside greater Jerusalem was built in the early 1500s, with Armenian, Jewish, Christian and Muslim quarters.
Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, a unified city since the conclusion of the June 1967 war, with unfettered access to all holy places. Since then, its political future has been continually discussed in Arab-Israeli negotiations and often has been a focal point for Arab and radical Islamic denunciation because of Israeli and Jewish control. The phrase “the liberation of Jerusalem” often is used as shorthand for advocating the destruction of Israel, and Jerusalem has been a frequent location for Arab-Jewish violence the past 100-plus years.
In January 2018, Israel’s parliament passed a law that requires a two-thirds majority support (80 of 120 Knesset members) for any section of Jerusalem to be transferred to a foreign government.
Throughout time, pilgrims from the three major monotheistic religions have made Jerusalem an essential destination.
The Jewish people have a 3,000-year history with the city of Jerusalem as a political, economic, religious and cultural center. In ancient times, the city housed the First and Second Temples where Jews from throughout the Land of Israel and the growing Diaspora made regular pilgrimages. Español | Italiano
Since the 1920s the Sacred Esplanade of Jerusalem came to symbolise the bone of contention in the conflict over Palestine. The maintenance and even definition of the lines of division between the communities was a clear aim of the British authorities from 1920-1948. The communal/religious conflicts intensified after 1967 with the Israeli capture of East Jerusalem and other Arab-populated territory, which left neither side fully content.
The Hebrew Bible, Prophetic Books, the Talmud, the daily prayer book, and ancient Jewish texts reinforce Judaism’s relationship to G-d and Eretz Yisrael.
The UN recommended establishing Arab and Jewish states in Palestine, with an international regime for Jerusalem. Zionists were jubilant; Arab states and the Palestinians were indignant and rejected two state solution. No Arab state is established, Israel is in 1948
December 5, 1949 Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion declares in a Knesset speech that “Jewish Jerusalem is an organic, inseparable part of the state of Israel” and that Israel rejects any attempt by the United Nations…
On the last day of negotiations at Camp David, President Carter asked Israel to accept the US position that Jerusalem was occupied territory; Dayan shot back in vigorous opposition, “if we had known that you would declare your position on Jerusalem, we would not have come here. This is the first time that we are confronted with an American position and specifically on the most sensitive issue. All your positions with regards to settlements are insignificant compared to our confrontation on the issue of Jerusalem.”
In 1950, the Knesset passes a law that states, “Whereas with establishment of the state of Israel, Jerusalem once more becomes the capital.” In 1980, the Knesset elevates the law to a Basic Law, giving the political status of Jerusalem increased legislative weight.
In 1995, Senators Robert Dole and Jon Kyl introduced the Jerusalem Embassy Act to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. The bill was adopted by an overwhelming majority in both houses of Congress; it provided Presidential authorization to effectively delay the embassy move every six months, if deemed necessary for U.S. national security interests.
President Trump’s proclamation to “officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel” breaks precedent. In doing so, he incurs bipartisan support in the US congress, but a flurry of criticism from analysts, diplomats and foreign leaders. In his remarks, Trump rebukes claims that he disqualified the US as a “reliable mediator” in future Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.
This presentation addresses the changing practices within shared holy places in Jerusalem between conflict and contestation with special focus on the Temple Mount compound and the Western Wall. It discusses strategies of stakeholders and conflict management methods that have been used in order to mitigate disputes as well as the incentives for tolerance and coexistence. Presenter Yitzhak Reiter, ISMI visiting scholar, is a Professor of Islam, Middle East and Israel Studies. He chairs the Department of Israel Studies and is the head of the Research Authority at Ashkelon Academic College.
In the aftermath of the 1948 War of Independence, Israel signed armistice agreements with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. These armistice lines lasted until the immediate aftermath of the June 1967 War. Israel has 1068 kilometers in land borders. Egypt 208 km, Gaza Strip 59 km, Jordan 307 km, Lebanon 81 km, Syria 83 km, and the West Bank 330 km; its Mediterranean coastline 273 km. CIA The World Factbook – Israel
The Old City of Jerusalem is divided into four religious quarters: Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim areas. The overall population of the Old City is 34,000, 11 percent of whom are Jews. Jews account for 59 percent of the population of the Old City’s Jewish Quarter and 49 percent of the Armenian Quarter.
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