Yom Yerushalayim: A Time Line Jerusalem, the Eternal Capital of Israel

Yom Yerushalayim: A Time Line
Jerusalem, the Eternal Capital of Israel

-- The Jews were allowed access to the city when the Arabs took control in the 5th century and resumed their worship at the Kotel -- the Wailing Wal -- the last remnant of the Holy Second Temple destroyed by the Romans. In the late 7th century the Dome of the Rock – the conspicuous Arab mosque these days recognized by its golden dome - was constructed on the temple mount. -- King David designated Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the Jewish people 3,000 years ago and his son, King Solomon built the first temple there. The temple was the center of Jewish religious and national life. King Solomon and his descendants ruled for over 400 years until the Babylonians conquered the city and exiled its Jewish inhabitants.

-- Approximately 70 years later the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians who allowed the Jews to return and rebuilt the city and its temple. Over the next 500 years, many nations conquered the City of Jerusalem and tried to assimilate the Jews into their culture. The Jews successfully fought back until the year 70 in the common era, when the Romans destroyed the city and its temple and banished most of the Jews from Jerusalem.

-- For five centuries following the second temple destruction, Jerusalem was under Roman and Byzantine rule. During that time Jews were banned from entering the old city, while the Romans constructed Christian sites in Jerusalem.

-- In the 1099 Jerusalem was once again conquered, this time by the crusaders. The crusaders massacred the Jewish and Arab population of Jerusalem and established the Kingdom of Jerusalem a collection of towns under the Christian king’s rule.

-- By 1187 Jerusalem was taken away from the Crusaders by Saladin, who allowed Jews and Arabs to return and inhabit the city. Though the period that Saladin ruled was a time of building and growth, with construction of many houses, markets and public bathes, the city did not gain in stature and was considered no more than a village, due to in fighting.

-- From 1250 – 1517 Jerusalem changed hands a number of times and was besieged by many earthquakes and the black plague.

-- From 1517 – 1917 Jerusalem and its surrounding area was controlled by the Ottoman Turks. Under Suleiman the Magnificent rule, Jerusalem enjoyed prosperity, peace and a rebuilding of the walls around the old city and their impressive Gates. It was also during that time that modernization entered the city, with the Turks’ introduction of the wheel as a mode of transportation, as well the oil lantern. The first paved road was constructed from Jaffa to Jerusalem in the mid-19th century and the railroad reached Jerusalem towards the end of that century.

-- Jerusalem was annexed in 1831 by Muhammad Ali of Egypt and foreign consulates began to be established in the city. Ibraim Pasha, Muhammad Ali’s son succeeded his father in 1836 and allowed the Jewish residents of Jerusalem to rebuild and restore four major synagogues including the famous Hurva synagogue. 

-- Though the Ottoman’s reestablished their rule in 1840, many Egyptian Muslims chose to remain in the city, while a growing number of Jewish immigrants from Algiers and North Africa settled in Jerusalem.

-- In the 1860s poor conditions within the old city such as extreme overcrowding and appalling sanitary conditions, prompted establishment of new neighborhoods outside the old city walls. These included the Russian Compound and Mishkenot Shaananim.

-- The British Army under the leadership of General Edmund Allenby conquered Jerusalem and in 1922 the League of Nations assigned the United Kingdom the Mandate over Palestine, Transjordan and Iraq.

-- Between 1922- 1948 there were clashes between Arab and Jews in all of Palestine. However, the British during this time built new garden suburbs in the northern and western part of Jerusalem. It was also during this period that universities were founded including the famous Hebrew University.

-- 1948 - End of the British Mandate, as voted upon in the U.N. on November 29th, 1947

-- 5th day of Iyar - 1948, Israel declares its independence.

-- 1948 Expulsion of Jews from the Old City of Jerusalem: 
Originally upon the expiration of the British Mandate, the UN had proposed a ten year plan in which Jerusalem would be ruled by an international regime. However, that plan never came to fruition, as the war between Arabs and Jews erupted after the British withdrew and Jewish nation of Israel declared its independence. As a result of the war, Jews were expelled from the Jewish Quarter of the Old city by the Arab legion.

-- Jerusalem, Divided:
After the war, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan with most of East Jerusalem under Jordanian rule. Upon the creation of the State of Israel, Jerusalem was proclaimed as its official capital city. Jordan officially annexed East Jerusalem in 1950 thus subjugating its inhabitants to Jordanian law.

-- June 1967 - Jerusalem United Once again:
Though part of the agreement between Jordan and Israel on the division on Jerusalem included Jewish access to the holy sites in East Jerusalem, Jordan did not honor that provision. It was only after the 1967 Six Day War, when the Jewish army recaptured east Jerusalem that Jewish and Christian access to the holy sites was reinstated.

Mazor Guide to Yom Yerushalayim brings you much more about the holiday, its meaning and its traditions... See the links below.

• Yom Yerushalayim:The Reunification of Israel's Eternal Capital - Basic Information
• Yom Yerushalayim - A Time Line: Jerusalem, the Eternal Capital of Israel
• Yom Yerushalayim - How is this holiday celebrated?
• The Gates of the Old City of Jerusalem

MazorGuide Recommended Reading

  A House of Prayer for All Nations: The Holy Temple of Jerusalem ~ by Chaim Richman
  Letters from Jerusalem 1947-1948 (Paperback)  ~ by Zipporah Porath
  The Story of Israel - Special Edition: From Theodor Herzl to the Roadmap for Peace ~ by Martin Gilbert
  Tales Out of Jerusalem: Seven Gates to the City  ~ by Rabbi Emanuel Feldman

LEGALLY, ISRAEL’S POSSESSION OF EAST JERUSALEM HOLDS WEIGHT

MAY 18, 2012 SERGIUSZ SCHELLER LEAVE A COMMENT

Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, basing their arguments on misinterpreted and irrelevant legal acts.

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[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he question of legal right to sovereignty over East Jerusalem has been disputed among the parties involved and international actors since the establishment of the State of Israel. The UN General Assembly foresaw the internationalization of the Holy City in Resolution 181 in order to prevent any conflicts between Jews and Arabs and marginalize any claims of both sides. The reality however took a different course after the War of Independence in which Jerusalem became divided into two parts: Israeli in the west, and Jordanian in the east. The Six Day War in 1967 gave a chance for reunification of the city; Israel expanded the municipal area of the city by 28 surrounding Arab villages’ land and by doing so declared the annexation of East Jerusalem and treated it as an integral part of Israel proper. Consequently in 1980, the Israeli parliament passed its Basic Law, in which it reiterated the legal status of Jerusalem within Israeli jurisprudence as the undivided capital of Israel and the place of residence for Israeli governmental and other state institutions.

No country around the world has recognized any part of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and no country around the world recognized the annexation of East Jerusalem to Israel. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the future capital of their state and vehemently oppose Israeli claims to East Jerusalem. The UN Security Council response to the ‘Jerusalem Law’ was Resolution 478 which called the aforementioned law “null and void” and this resolution has been complied with and agreed upon by a majority of states. The last countries to move their embassies to Tel Aviv were Costa Rica and El Salvador in 2006.

East Jerusalem is home to 428,304 people, constituting 59,5% of Jerusalem’s population, from which 181,457 are Jewish, 229,004 are Muslim and 13,638 are Christian. Obviously, both Muslim and Christian population are predominantly Palestinian, thus constituting a majority. The Arab residents are not, however, given an automatic Israeli citizenship but a permanent residence card and right to vote in municipal elections.  Israeli citizenship can be obtained by an application and swearing loyalty to the State of Israel.

Israel holds a de facto sovereignty over East Jerusalem. The city, from Pisgat Ze’ev and the Mount of Olives to Ein Kerem, it has a unified infrastructure system – roads, sewage system, electricity and gas pipelines – and an open access for all the residents to welfare services, healthcare etc.

As stated by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem has never been as significant for other nations as for the Jews. Israelis argue that their right to sovereignty over the entirety of Jerusalem is rooted in 3000 years history of Jewish affiliation to the city as their capital. Israel has also guaranteed a peaceful administration of the city. Since its takeover of East Jerusalem in 1967, freedom of access was granted to the holy sites to the pilgrims of all the religions, and the government maintained good relations with the administrative bodies of the holy sites, something that was lacking during the Jordanian rule of the Old City (under which the Jewish quarter was destroyed, Christians had a very limited access to the Holy Sepulcher and only Muslims could visit the Temple Mount without any restrictions).

International law experts such as Steven Schwebel, Eli Lanterpacht or Yehuda Blum provide more concrete legal arguments for Israel for her claims. According to those experts, Israel has much better claims to sovereignty over East Jerusalem, since the Six Day War that Israel won was a defensive war on her part and therefore the territories, which were acquired in this war, do not fall under the category of an unlawful occupation. Jordan has rescinded its claims to the West Bank in the Peace Treaty of 1994 and therefore there is no other claimant who could outweigh Israeli claims to the city. As for Palestinians, they have never in history formed a separate state and presented a sense of Palestinian nationhood and only recently did they claim Jerusalem for their capital, whereas Jews, since the establishment of the city by King David, did. Following those arguments, Israeli side claims that the status of Jerusalem is non-negotiable and Israel holds exclusive sovereignty over the city.

The Palestinian position concerning East Jerusalem is quite simple. East Jerusalem is a subject to Resolution 242 and therefore Israel must withdraw from this area as well as from all the areas conquered in 1967. The whole of Jerusalem, including the Western part, is a subject to negotiations on the Final Status as stated in the Declaration of Principles signed both by PA and Israel in 1993. Palestinians also claim that Jerusalem should be an open city without any restrictions on movement whatsoever, and claims that upon the return of East Jerusalem to Palestinian state as its capital, such a state will guarantee free access to the holy sites to the believers of all faiths. Furthermore, Palestinians claim the vital importance of Jerusalem for Palestine as the most important city of the West Bank, a connecting point between the northern and southern part of Palestinian Occupied Territories. Palestinians point to Jerusalem as the only and natural place for the capital of future Palestinian state and clearly indicate the illegality of not only Israeli occupation of the West Bank, but the annexation of East Jerusalem and even its presence in West Jerusalem.

As far as the world public opinion is considered, the stance of the main actors – US, EU and the UN – do not differ greatly. American statements clearly indicate the need for regulating the status of the city in direct negotiations between Israel and PA. As for the EU, on March 1st 1999  the German ambassador in Israel, Theodor Wallau, wrote to Ariel Sharon, confirming “the long standing view” of European Union, which considers the status of Jerusalem in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947, i.e. as an international zone. In 2009 the Council of the European Union called in its statement for Jerusalem to become the capital of both states – Israeli and future Palestinian one.

The UN Secretary General, irrespective of who was holding the post, followed the policies adopted by the Security Council and General Assembly. The statement by Ban Ki-Moon confirmed the UN demands for the negotiations of the status of Jerusalem and indicated the need for division of the city and the end of Israeli occupation.

Relevance of the Resolution 181/1947 and Israel – Jordan Armistice agreement

The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947, in which the states agreed upon partitioning the territory of former British Mandate of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, included the internationalization of the Greater Jerusalem area as well. Jewish representatives accepted the plan, since it was the first legal international act legitimizing the existence of Israel, however the Arab countries expressed their vehement opposition to the resolution and rejected it outright. The plan did not work out since the Arab states invaded Israel after the British evacuation and the armistice agreements with Egypt, Jordan and Syria formed new borders, which did not reflect in any sense the borders of the partition plan.  The borders of 1949 Armistice line were, in accordance with the armistice agreement with Jordan, solely a military arrangement as stated in Article II, clause 2 of the agreement, void of any political implications:

“It is also recognised that no provision of this Agreement shall in any way prejudice the rights, claims and positions of either Party hereto in the ultimate peaceful settlement of the Palestine question, the provisions of this Agreement being dictated exclusively by military considerations.”

 It is therefore legitimate to argue, that neither Jordan nor Israel recognized each other’s sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem, leaving its status subject to final negotiations. Nevertheless, the territory of Israel drawn by the armistice lines, which existed between 1949 and 1967 became internationally recognized as Israel proper. In those years, merely a few countries recognized West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. As it was mentioned before, EU considers Jerusalem an international zone in accordance with the Resolution 181, and claims to change its stance only upon a mutually agreed status between Palestinian Authority and Israel. It seems that the international community is willing to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over West Jerusalem, as agreed between Jordan and Israel in 1949.

Relevance of the resolution no. 242/1967 and the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty

The Six Day War expanded Israeli territory into West Bank, with East Jerusalem falling under its control. The UN Security Council Resolution 242 issued the same year reads:

Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:

- Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict;

-Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force

The Arab side argues, in contradiction to the real meaning of the resolution, that Israel has to withdraw from all the territories, acquired in the 1967 war. However, even the author of the resolution, Lord Caradon, representative of the UK to UNSC stressed that firstly borders have to be mutually agreed and only then Israel is to withdraw to “secured and recognized borders”, hence it implies the status of East Jerusalem as pending the final agreement between Israel and Jordan. The final agreement was already signed in 1994 in the form of a peace treaty between those two states. Although the treaty stipulates Jordanian recognition of the borders of Israel “without any prejudice to the territories of West Bank”, the treaty fulfills all the conditions presented in Resolution 242.

The resolution does not mention Palestinians in any of its paragraphs or does not demand the establishment of independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. The PA’s argument that Israel acts in breach of the Resolution 242 by annexing East Jerusalem is therefore void; Israel and Jordan already fulfilled the requirements of the 242 – they agreed upon the borders and therefore Israel’s sovereignty over East Jerusalem, in the context of 242, is definitely and legally substantiated.

Jerusalem law and Resolution 478

It is not, however, Resolution 242 that puts Israel’s sovereignty in East Jerusalem at odds. In 1980, The Israeli Knesset passed a Basic Law, commonly referred to as Jerusalem law, which states that Jerusalem, undivided and complete, is the capital of Israel. The international public opinion did not accept this motion and the same year UNSC passed a Resolution 478, which called the Jerusalem law “void and null”, followed by a recommendation of moving the embassies outside Jerusalem. Today all countries comply with it. One could argue that Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty has made the Resolution 478 expired, but clearly none of the countries perceives it that way.

Other Considerations

Although the international community clearly sees Israel’s claim over East Jerusalem as void and illegal, some universal legal and technical aspects of  it have to be taken into consideration, if the subject is supposed to be examined in a purely non-politicized fashion. It has been stated numerous times, that the international law is focused on stability and it’s main purpose is to reduce the implications of change in the balance of power. The demanded division of Jerusalem, which advocates stability, is obviously not an option. Jerusalem has been administered peacefully for the last 40 years. The Arab rioters fighting with Israeli police do not really count, since numerous examples can be given drawing upon Europe or USA, where severe riots broke out, but there was no one to question the sovereignty of those states over the riot areas.

The most important consideration is the fact that the division of the city is abnormal and unnatural. The international community sought the reunification of Berlin as soon as possible. The division of Lefkosa/Nikosia in Cyprus is still unacceptable. Dividing the city is also hard to implement because of the topography and unified infrastructure of Jerusalem – the Jewish neighbourhoods are mixed with the Arab ones and splitting all of the city’s infrastructural systems would paralyze both parts of the city.

In sum, it is a general international consensus that creates a legal basis for state’s actions; if then, from day 1, a majority of countries did not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over West Jerusalem, it is hard to argue that Israel holds sovereignty also over East Jerusalem, despite its concrete and strong legal arguments. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, basing their arguments on misinterpreted and irrelevant legal acts. Israelis claim sovereignty over all of Jerusalem in accordance with the international law. Despite this, none of the countries around the world will accept Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, until it is negotiated in the Final Status agreement. In the light of all of the aspects, facts and legal documents presented, it is right, in this author’s opinion, to say that the status of Jerusalem is unregulated and none of the parties holds a de jure sovereignty over East Jerusalem.

Jerusalem as a Political Issue

Introduction

Introduction

Since Israel was established in 1948, Jerusalem’s diplomatic and international status has been controversial and unresolved. Neither violence nor proposed solutions – of which there were many throughout Jerusalem’s long history – have brought peace to the divided city.

Historic background

On November 29, 1947 the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 181 (11), known as “The Partition Plan.” The resolution partitioned the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, one Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem defined as a corpus separatum – a separate body under UN protection. The plan was never implemented. The War of Independence led to the city’s division. When a cease-fire was reached, Israel controlled the west part of the city while Jordan controlled the east side. In 1949 Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion established Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the Jordanians annexed East Jerusalem, including the Old City.

Neither Jerusalem as the capital of Israel nor the Jordanian annexation were recognized by any state or official international organization, on the grounds that Resolution 181 could not be canceled except by agreement between the parties. From 1949 to 1967 the city remained divided, with the Jordanian part being separated from the Israeli part with no man’s lands, fences and barriers. During that time, very few attempts were made to change the situation.

During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Directly after the war Israel redrew the boundaries of Jerusalem and applied Israeli law within the new boundaries. The new borders made East Jerusalem ten times bigger than the old Jordanian East Jerusalem, and included 28 Palestinian villages that were previously not part of the city, and two refugee camps that became Jerusalem neighborhoods. The expansion of the city’s boundaries and application of Israeli law were de facto annexation, even though annexation was not declared out of fear of a severe international reaction. In November 1967 the UN passed Security Council Resolution 242 calling for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories, but Israel never accepted its validity for Jerusalem. At the same time, despite being annexed, the Palestinians who found themselves under Israeli rule did not receive full civil status but the status of permanent residents. This status gives them the same rights and responsibilities of citizens but allows them to vote only in local elections and not in national elections, prevents them from holding Israeli passports and can be revoked if the resident stays out of town for a certain amount of time.

To establish Israeli rule over the Palestinian population that did not want it, Israel used the “stick and carrot method.” On the one hand, it granted the Palestinians of Jerusalem more welfare services and rights than it did to the Palestinians under military occupation in the territories. On the other hand, any expression of Palestinian nationality was suppressed and the Israeli hold on the land was strengthened by the massive construction of neighborhoods for Jews in East Jerusalem. In 1980 the Knesset passed Basic Law: Jerusalem, providing that “Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel” and “the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court.” UN Security Council Resolution 478 completely rejected and denounced the “Jerusalem law.” But the first intifada that broke out in December 1987 made clear that the Palestinian national and religious connection to Jerusalem is a fact that cannot be ignored. In 1988 the Hashemite Kingdom relinquished its claim to the West Bank, including Jerusalem, to the Palestinian national movement led by the PLO, and Jerusalem became one of the core issues that must be resolved in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Negotiations over Jerusalem until the Oslo accords

During those years there were hardly any negotiations, official or unofficial, over Jerusalem. Israel refused direct negotiations with the PLO until 1993. Many reports said that the US State Department treated Jerusalem as “the J word,” a subject whose very mention could foil negotiations and set the region on fire. The complexity of Jerusalem, in its municipal, religious and governmental aspects, led the parties’ representatives to believe that finding a model that would match the interests of all sides was doomed to fail.

However, under the auspices of European governments, the EU, semi-governmental agencies and civil society organizations, Israelis and Palestinians gradually began to meet and discuss the city’s future. By 1993 there were dozens of groups working through unofficial channels, some of which dealt with functional aspect and others with political solutions to the conflict. Despite the difficulties, groups that were not bound by the constraints of official negotiations, managed to come up with new ideas and concepts. These include special solutions for “the holy basin” (the Old City and its surroundings), “functional autonomy,” “demographic sovereignty” over people as opposed to sovereignty over territory, new definitions of the city limits and complex patterns of separation and integration.

In 1993, the “Oslo channel,” which had been operating for several years under a cloak of secrecy, became public and the Israeli government adopted the process officially. In September of that year, the discussions led to a joint declaration of principles by Israel and the PLO and constituted a basic change of Israeli policy: for the first time Israel showed a willingness to negotiate over Jerusalem as a political and national issue and not only as a religious issue. But even the Oslo Accords, which were a series of temporary interim agreements, stated that the question of Jerusalem would be postponed until discussions over a final settlement, and only after agreement was reached on the other subjects and trust was built between the sides.

Nonetheless, it was clear to everyone that there was a close connection between the question of Jerusalem and the other elements of the declaration of principles. Israel planned and delayed its redeployment in the West Bank in an attempt to hold onto “bargaining chips,” such as future demands for concessions in Jerusalem. Israel also initiated massive construction in East Jerusalem to establish facts on the ground ahead of the discussions, as did the Palestinians, who encouraged construction to create continuity between the Palestinian neighborhoods in the city’s north and south and the West Bank. Even though it was not stated openly, the Oslo accords served as an introduction to the Camp David summit meeting in July 2000, where the issue of Jerusalem was officially discussed for the first time.

Indefinite postponement of discussion over Jerusalem again increased the importance of unofficial negotiations. The most comprehensive unofficial talks were held under a cloak of secrecy in the years 1994-1995, and led to the Beilin-Abu Mazen agreements. Even though Jerusalem was not a key element of that document, it introduced new ideas into the public discourse about Jerusalem, such as a “super municipality” with two secondary municipalities beneath it: one Israeli, which would be responsible for the Western city and the Israeli neighborhoods in the East, and the other Palestinian, which would be responsible for the Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and in the suburbs. The Jewish municipality would administer Jerusalem the capital of Israel, and the Palestinian municipality would administer al-Quds, the capital of Palestine. It was also agreed that the Palestinians would wave their flag over Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, but the compound itself would be under exterritorial sovereignty.

Both sides’ optimism as to a possible breakthrough collapsed in the wake of the wave of suicide attacks in the mid-1990s in which hundreds of Israelis were murdered and which focused on Jerusalem, and the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Benjamin Netanyahu was elected prime minister in June 1996, defeating Shimon Peres with the intimidation campaign: “Peres will divide Jerusalem.” Under the new government the peace process came to a standstill and finally even Abu Mazen gave up on it.

Negotiations over Jerusalem at Camp David

In an attempt to break out of the cycle of futile discussions, in July 2000 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PA Chairman Yasser Arafat met US President Bill Clinton at the Camp David state. The question of Jerusalem, and especially the issue of Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, became the focus of the summit meeting and the main reason for its failure.

There is no official record of the Camp David talks and there are many versions of different participants with different explanations of how the talks failed and who was responsible. During the meeting, Israel proposed a complex model of sovereignty and control. The proposal included full Palestinian control of al-Quds, comprised mainly of the outer circle of Palestinian neighborhoods, in exchange for expanding the city limits and annexing to Israel the nearby settlements.

The Palestinian neighborhoods closest to the city center and the historic basin would remain under Israeli sovereignty, but the Palestinians would be given municipal autonomy in them. In the holy basin and the Christian and Muslim quarters of the Old City there would be formal Israeli sovereignty but the administration and functional government would be Palestinian. Israel also agreed to establish a Palestinian presidential compound in the Muslim quarter. According to the proposal, Haram al-Sharif would be under functional Palestinian control, including the right to wave their flag at the site, but sovereignty would remain Israeli.

The Palestinians, for their part, demanded complete sovereignty and control of all of East Jerusalem including the holy sites, first and foremost Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, and the dismantlement of all of the Israeli neighborhoods built beyond the Green Line. The Palestinians also objected to the Israeli demand to establish a prayer area for Jews on Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, and completely rejected Israel’s religious and historic connection to the holy places. An alternative proposal that was also discussed at the meeting would have given Palestinians sovereignty over the surface of the mountain and Israel sovereignty beneath ground level, including the Western Wall, but the Palestinians rejected the proposal.

The failure of the Camp David summit left the clear impression of an unbridgeable gap between Israel’s most far-reaching offers and the Palestinians’ minimal demands. The failure of the talks, along with the mistrust over the diplomatic stalemate during which construction of settlements accelerated, and opposition leader Ariel Sharon’s provocative ascent of Temple Mount, set off the second intifada, called the al-Quds Intifada, which quickly escalated from popular protests that met a strong Israeli response to a second wave of terror aimed at civilians, in which one third of casualties on the Israeli side were in Jerusalem.

The political horizon

Despite its failure, the Camp David summit broke the taboo on discussing Jerusalem and undermined the common assumption that the sovereignty and borders established unilaterally by Israel were unchangeable. The very fact that maps were drawn and alternative practical solutions were discussed helps dispel the myths surrounding the question of Jerusalem. For the first time since the Six-Day War Israelis showed a willingness to challenge their own assumptions and discuss basic questions such as: what is included in the city limits of Jerusalem and what are Israel’s interests in it? Which parts of it are negotiable and where should its borders rest?

In the shadow of the rising violence of December 2000, US president Clinton proposed a document of principles for a political settlement to Jerusalem. Under these “Clinton parameters,” Israel would have sovereignty over the Western Wall and “symbolic ownership” of Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, which would be under Palestinian sovereignty. The parties would share the archaeological and structural excavations underneath the mountain. East Jerusalem and the Old City would be divided along ethnic-demographic lines: the Israeli neighborhoods would be physically connected to the Western part of the city and remain under Israeli sovereignty. The Palestinian neighborhoods would be transferred to Palestinian sovereignty, physically connected to the West Bank and constitute the capital of Palestine. Israel officially accepted the Clinton parameters for division of sovereignty in Jerusalem with reservations. The US administration accepted Israel’s willingness to negotiate on that basis and rejected the more substantial reservations submitted by the Palestinians.

Between July 2000 and January 2001 there were more than 30 meetings at different levels in an attempt to reach a breakthrough, but to no avail. In January 2001 the sides met again in Taba in a last attempt for the present round of talks. The Taba summit ended in failure and the peace process was suspended. In June 2002 the “Quartet” submitted a document of principles known as the “Roadmap to Peace” calling for a Palestinian state to be established alongside Israel. Israel formally accepted the document, but this acceptance did not seem to have any practical implications. In 2002 the Arab League issued the Arab Peace Initiative (API) offering full normalization of relations between the entire Arab world and Israel in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders, a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem and an agreed solution of the refugee question on the basis of UN Resolution 194. This initiative was completely ignored by the Israeli governments but in 2011 an unofficial Israeli group called the Israeli Peace Initiative was established as a grassroot response to the Arab initiative.

The most important unofficial initiative was the Geneva Initiative. Launched in December 2003 after two years of secret talks between Israeli and Palestinian figures, including some who had been part of official negotiations such as Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abu Rabbo along with civil society figures, the Geneva Initiative published a model for a final settlement that should have put an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was based on the previous official agreements, international resolutions, the Clinton parameters, the roadmap and the API, and provided a detailed practical interpretation of the Clinton parameters for the division of sovereignty in Jerusalem while maintaining its function as the capital of two states.

The Israeli Futura Institute and the Palestinian International Peace and Cooperation Center sponsor yet another multidisciplinary working group that has developed a joint vision and a multitude of possible scenarios for Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem. The scenarios show clearly that without momentum towards a resolution the situation in the city will deteriorate. Thee scenarios, therefore, are meant to provide incentives to finding an agreed solution. The group also developed strategies for the parties and the international community for moving forward and preventing the anticipated deterioration. At the end of the agreements, according to this group, the city will remain “divided politically and united geographically.”

In 2011 the press reported that the 2008 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni negotiated with the Palestinian Authority. According to the reports, Olmert proposed international control of the holy basin and a joint team to administer East Jerusalem until a final settlement was agreed. The Palestinians showed a willingness to give up most of the Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. The press reports also said that the Temple Mount issue was not discussed in detail but the sides had agreed in principle that “creative solutions could be found.” However, the current prime minister publicly opposed any division of the city and rejected Olmert’s proposals. A Jordanian initiative to restart direct negotiations in November 2011 also failed.

It is clear to all that a solution in Jerusalem will require addressing the three elements of the conflict: the religious, the political and the municipal, allowing all residents of the city to express their historic, spiritual, national and cultural identities. In the absence of such a solution, Jerusalem’s political status as the capital of Israel can be expected to continue to go unrecognized by any country except Israel, and the unilateral annexation of East Jerusalem will continue to be perceived as illegitimate. The insistence of Israeli governments to continue to build in East Jerusalem is a constant source of tension between Israel and its closest allies, and government support for the Judaization of Palestinian neighborhoods by way of settlement of right-wing organizations is expected to thwart any compromise or normalization of relations with Palestinians in the city. Jerusalem is at the very heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and therefore also at the heart of its solution. Even without serious negotiations, unilateral steps that change the situation on the ground are expected to make the difficult situation worse and prevent reaching a resolution to the conflict in the future.

- See more at: http://www.ir-amim.org.il/en/issue/jerusalem-political-issue#sthash.JvxWbwHB.dpuf

Jerusalem Facts By the Institute for Public Affairs & Americans Allied for an Undivided Jerusalem

Jerusalem Facts

By the Institute for Public Affairs & Americans Allied for an Undivided Jerusalem

* The Jewish claim to Jerusalem is rooted in more than 3,000 years of history. Jerusalem has been at the center of Jewish consciousness for over 3,000 years, even before King David made it the capital of his kingdom in 1004 BCE. Abraham's binding of Isaac and the dream of Jacob's ladder took place in Jerusalem, according to the Bible. No other city has played such a prominent role in the history, culture, and religion of a people, as has Jerusalem for the Jews.

* Throughout the Jewish Diaspora, Jerusalem has always remained foremost in the thoughts of the Jewish people as they turn to Jerusalem three times a day in prayer. No wedding or other celebration is without references to the Jewish people for their ancient capital. Jerusalem is mentioned in everyday prayers and on holidays and festivals. At the end of the Passover Seder and the Yom Kippur Services, Jews proclaim, "Next Year in Jerusalem."

* Jewish independence in the land of Israel, which ended in 70 CE and was renewed in 1948, marks the longest period of sovereignty over Jerusalem by any nation. No other nation can claim such a long political existence in the recorded history of this unique city. Jerusalem was never the capital of any other state.

* Throughout all the periods of foreign rule over Jerusalem (Roman, 70CE 324; Byzantine, 324 614; Persian, 614 640; Arab 640 1099; Crusader, 1099 1291; Mamluk, 1291 1516; and Ottoman Turk, 1516 1918) Jews were persecuted, massacred, and subject to exile. Even so, the Jewish presence in Jerusalem remained constant and enduring.

* Jews have always chosen to settle in Jerusalem. Since 1840, Jews constituted the largest ethnic group in this city and have held an uninterrupted majority in Jerusalem since the 1860s.

* No other nation or state which gained political sovereignty over the area had ever made Jerusalem a capital city. Both the Arab and Mamluk empires chose to rule from Damascus, while the Ottoman ruler resided in Constantinople. None of these empires even granted Jerusalem the status of district capital. When Israel reunited the city in 1967, she found Jerusalem in a state of ruin and destruction, badly neglected by those who formerly had jurisdiction over Jerusalem.

* The liberation and reunification of Jerusalem occurred in 1967 during the Six Day War. The only time the city was divided was between the years of 1948 and 1967, the result of unprovoked attack followed by unrecognized annexation by Jordan: - On May 14, 1948, upon the termination of the British Mandate, Israel proclaimed its independence. Immediately, the surrounding Arab countries attacked the fledgling state and besieged the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City. - On May 28, 1948, the Arab Legion overran the Jewish Quarter in eastern Jerusalem while Israel held onto the Jewish populated western neighborhoods of the city. Jerusalem was divided for the first time in its history. - In 1950, Transjordan annexed the West Bank and Jerusalem in an act which was neither recognized by the world community nor by the Arab states.

* On June 5, 1967, an unprovoked Arab attack was launched on the Jewish-populated western neighborhoods of Jerusalem. Indiscriminate artillery bombardment damaged religious sites, hospitals, and schools across the 1949 armistice line. The UN headquarters south of Jerusalem was seized, and enemy troops began to enter nearby Jewish neighborhoods.

* On June 7, the IDF retook the Old City, reuniting Jerusalem. The barbed wire and concrete barriers which had divided Jerusalem were finally torn down, and Israeli law, jurisdiction, and administration was extended to the eastern neighborhoods of the city.

* Jerusalem is and has always been an undivided city except for this 19-year period. There is no justification for this short period to be viewed as a factor in determining the future of this city and to negate over 3,000 years of unity.

* There is no basis in international law for the position supporting the status of the separate entity for the city of Jerusalem. This concept originated in a proposal contained in the UN General Assembly resolution 181 of November 1947, which dealt with the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine. This was a non- binding proposal and never materialized. It was rendered irrelevant when the Arab states rejected the UN resolution and invaded Israel.

* Immediately following the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, Jerusalem's Arab residents were offered full Israeli citizenship, though most declined to accept it. Those who chose not to accept it still retain the rights to participate in municipal elections and enjoy all economic, cultural, and social benefits afforded Israeli citizens including health benefits, and social security, among others.

* In 1949, Prime Minister David Ben Gurion acted to reconstitute the seat of government in Jerusalem and the Knesset was reconvened in the city in December of that year.

* Following the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967, together with the extension of Israeli jurisdiction and administration over East Jerusalem, the Knesset passed the `Preservation of the Holy Places Law of 1967', which ensured protection and freedom of access to all holy sites of the city to members of all faiths.

* In 1980, the Knesset legislated `Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel' which restates the position that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel" and the seat of its main governing bodies. This law reiterates Israel's commitment to protecting the holy places and to developing the city.

* There has always been a national consensus in Israel on the status of Jerusalem. Since the reunification of the city in 1967, all Israeli governments had declared their policy that united Jerusalem, Israel's eternal capital, is one indivisible city under Israeli sovereignty.

* On May 28, 1995, then Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin stated, "In 1980, the Knesset passed the Jerusalem law. All the governments of Israel, including the present government, have been fully confident that what was determined in 1967, what was legislated in 1980 transforming Jerusalem into a unified city under Israeli sovereignty, the capital of Israel, the heart of the Jewish people these are facts that will endure for eternity."

(Communicated by the Institute for Public Affairs & Americans Allied for an Undivided Jerusalem)

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Book review excerpt of Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad; or, The New Pilgrims' Progress, from The Mirriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature, April 1, 1995:

"A humorous travel narrative by Mark Twain, published in 1869 and based on Twain's letters to newspapers about his 1867 steamship voyage to Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land. The Innocents Abroad sharply satirized tourists who learn what they should see and feel by reading guidebooks. Assuming the role of a keen-eyed, shrewd Westerner, Twain was refreshingly honest and vivid in describing foreign scenes and his reactions to them. He alternated serious passages--history, statistics, description, explanation, argumentation--with risible ones. The humor itself was varied, sometimes in the vein of the Southwestern yarn spinners, sometimes in that of contemporaneous humorists such as Artemus Ward and Josh Billings, who chiefly used burlesque and parody and other verbal devices."

Order your copy of Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad: Or, the New Pilgrims Progress

History of Jerusalem

History of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is considered a holy city by three major faiths—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—and figures prominently in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since 1004 BCE, when King David established Jerusalem as the capital of his kingdom, there has been a continuous Jewish presence in Jerusalem, the holiest city in Judaism. Following the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the designation of other holy sites by Constantine the Great in 333 CE, Jerusalem became a destination of Christian pilgrimages. During Umayyad rule from 661 to 750 CE, the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque were built on the site where the Jewish Temples had once stood, and Jerusalem became the third holiest city in Islam. Jews have constituted the largest ethnic group in Jerusalem since 1820. According to Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, "In the second half of the nineteenth century and at the end of that century, Jews comprised the majority of the population of the Old City ..." (Jerusalem in the Nineteenth Century). Martin Gilbert reports that 6,000 Jews resided in Jerusalem in 1838, compared to 5,000 Muslims and 3,000 Christians (Jerusalem: Rebirth of a City). Encyclopaedia Britannica of 1853 "assessed the Jewish population of Jerusalem in 1844 at 7,120, making them the biggest single religious group in the city." (Terence Prittie, Whose Jerusalem?). And others estimated the number of Jewish residents of Jerusalem at the time as even higher. Until about 1860, Jerusalem residents lived almost exclusively within the walls of the Old City, in east Jerusalem.  Between 1860 and 1948, Jews lived in both eastern and western Jerusalem. During the 19 years when Jordan occupied eastern Jerusalem and its holy sites (1948-1967), Jerusalem was divided. Jews were expelled from eastern Jerusalem and barred from visiting their holy places. As a result of the Six Day War, the entire city of Jerusalem and its holy sites came under Jewish control. Israel reunified the city, extending Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration to the parts previously occupied by Jordan. The Israeli Knesset passed laws to protect holy sites and ensure freedom of worship to all, and offered Israeli citizenship to Jerusalem’s Arab residents, most of whom declined. Since 1967, Jerusalem has become a focal point of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. In 1980, Israel passed the Basic Law: Jerusalem Capital of Israel, reaffirming the unified Jerusalem as its eternal, undivided capital. Palestinians insist Jerusalem must be the capital of their intended state. Jerusalem in Jewish Tradition Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest city, is mentioned hundreds of times in the Hebrew Bible. It was the capital city of ancient Jewish kingdoms and home to Judaism’s holiest Temple (Beit HaMikdash). Jews from all over the ancient world would make pilgrimages to the Beit HaMikdash three times a year to participate in worship and festivities, as commanded in the Torah. Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash have remained the focus of Jewish longing, aspiration, and prayers. Daily prayers (said while facing Jerusalem and the Temple Mount) and grace after meals include multiple supplications for the restoration of Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash. Jews still maintain the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av, the date on which both the First and Second Temples were destroyed, as a day of mourning. The Jewish wedding ceremony concludes with the chanting of the biblical phrase, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning,” and the breaking of a glass by the groom to commemorate the destruction of the Temples. And Yom Kippur services and the Passover Seder conclude each year with the phrase “Next Year in Jerusalem.” Model of the Second Jewish Temple The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. The Temple was built, according to Jewish tradition, on the Even Hashtiya, the foundation stone upon which the world was created. This is considered the epicenter of Judaism, where the Divine Presence (Shechina) rests, where the biblical Isaac was brought for sacrifice, where the Holy of Holies and Ark of the Covenant housing the Ten Commandments once stood, and where the Temple was again rebuilt in 515 BCE before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. The Temple Mount is also known as Mount Moriah (Har HaMoriah), mentioned frequently in the Bible. The Western Wall (Kotel Hama’aravi, known simply as the Wall or Kotel) is the remnant of the outer retaining wall built by Herod to level the ground and expand the area housing the Second Jewish Temple. Its holiness derives from its proximity to the Temple site and specifically its proximity to the Western Wall of the Temple’s Holy of Holies (Kodesh Hakodashim---the inner sanctuary that housed the Ark of the Covenant–the Aron HaBrit–and where the High Priest–Kohen Gadol--alone was permitted to enter on Yom Kippur). According to Midrashic sources, the Divine Presence never departed from the Western wall of the Temple’s Holy of Holies. For the last several hundred years, Jews have prayed at Herod’s Western Wall because it was the closest accessible place to Judaism’s holiest site. Jerusalem in Muslim Tradition Jerusalem assumed significance as an Islamic holy site during the rule of the Umayyads (661-750 CE). Facing challenge to his power from Ibn al-Zubayr, a rebel who controlled Mecca, the Syrian-based Caliph Abd al Malik sought to consolidate his leadership by establishing a place of worship for his followers in Jerusalem in place of Mecca. He built the Dome of the Rock (Masjid Qubbat As Sakhrah) in 688-691 CE on the spot where the Jewish Temples had stood. Dome of the Rock Two decades later, in 715 CE, the Umayyads built another mosque on the Temple Mount which they named the Furthest Mosque (Masjid al Aqsa ) to connote the “furthest mosque” alluded to in the Quran (17:1). This was the metaphorical spot from which Mohammed was said to have ascended to heaven in a vision (referred to in Arabic as the Mi’raj) after a night journey from Mecca (the Isra) on a winged steed named Al Buraq. Although the Quran does not mention Jerusalem or the Temple Mount, the designation of a concrete site to what had been until then just a figurative name provided Muslims with a new religious focus. Several Qur'anic verses were subsequently construed to be obliquely referring to Jerusalem. The Temple Mount was renamed by Muslims the Noble Sanctuary (al Haram al Sharif). Over the years, Jerusalem’s stature as an Islamic holy city has waxed and waned. During the period between 1948 and 1967 when under Jordanian control, Jerusalem and its holy sites were largely neglected by the Muslim world. Since Israel gained control of East Jerusalem and reunified the city, however, there has been a growing attempt by Palestinians to marshal the religious fervor of the Arab and Muslim world in order to wrest Jerusalem from Israel. Jerusalem in Christian Tradition Church of the Holy Sepulchre According to Christian tradition, many of the events in Jesus's life and ministry took place in the Holy City. The Last Supper, referring to the final meal shared by Jesus with his disciples before his death, is believed to have taken place in the “Upper Room”or Coenaculum, on the second floor of a building over King David’s tomb on Mount Zion. The Garden of Gethsemane — according to the New Testament, the place where Jesus suffered for the sins of the world the night before he was crucified — is located at the bottom of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. On the Mount of Olives is the Shrine of the Ascension, where Jesus is believed to have ascended to heaven. (It is now run by Muslims and a dome covers the structure.) The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built by Constantine the Great to mark the site of the Resurrection, stands within the walls of the Old City. The remains of Golgotha, the hill upon which Jesus was crucified, is believed to lie inside the church. The church houses priests from the Roman Catholic Church and from numerous Eastern Orthodox traditions. The Via Dolorosa, or “Way of Sorrows,” leading to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, is the traditional path taken by Christians pilgrims to symbolically relive the events of Jesus’ passion. Because of Jesus's historical connection to these and other locations, Jerusalem is venerated by Christians throughout the world. Partition Plan: Corpus Separatum On November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly recommended Palestine be partitioned into two states–Arab and Jewish. The plan called for Jerusalem to become a corpus separatum, an international city administered by the UN, for an interval of 10 years, after which the city’s status was to be redetermined in a referendum. While Jewish leaders reluctantly accepted this, Arab leaders rejected the entire plan, including Jerusalem’s internationalization. Arab delegates to the UN declared the partition invalid. Deadly Arab attacks on Jewish residents of Palestine increased, and Arab forces blockaded the road to Jerusalem. When Israel declared Independence in May 1948, five neighboring Arab countries invaded the new state. 1948 Arab-Israeli War During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Transjordan’s Arab Legion attempted to capture the entire city of Jerusalem, shelling it and cutting off its Jewish residents from the coastal plain. Western portions of Jerusalem came under Israel’s control only after Israeli forces broke the Arab siege of the city. In the first four weeks of Arab attacks, 200 Jewish civilians were killed and over 1,000 were wounded in Jerusalem. But, defending themselves, Israeli forces managed to capture some suburbs and villages from the Arabs. The Israeli defenders were not as successful in protecting the Jewish community of eastern Jerusalem. On May 28, 1948, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City fell to the Arab Legion. After 10 months of fighting, an armistice agreement was signed on April 3, 1949, dividing Jerusalem along the November 1948 ceasefire lines of Israeli and Transjordanian forces, with several areas of no-man’s land. The armistice line served as a temporary border between what had formerly been two mixed communities. Western Jerusalem became Israel’s capital city, while eastern Jerusalem, including the holy sites, was occupied by Transjordan, which in 1949 became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The city was essentially divided between two armed camps separated by barbed wire, concrete walls, minefields and bunkers. 1948-1967: Jordanian Occupation of Eastern Jerusalem Destruction and Desecration of Religious Sites Expulsion of Jews from Old City, 1948 Upon its capture by the Arab Legion, the Jewish Quarter of the Old City was destroyed and its residents expelled. Fifty-eight synagogues—some hundreds of years old—were destroyed, their contents looted and desecrated. Some Jewish religious sites were turned into chicken coops or animal stalls. The Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives, where Jews had been burying their dead for over 2500 years, was ransacked; graves were desecrated; thousands of tombstones were smashed and used as building material, paving stones or for latrines in Arab Legion army camps. The Intercontinental Hotel was built on top of the cemetery and graves were demolished to make way for a highway to the hotel. The Western Wall became a slum area. Hurva synagogue before and after Jordanian occupation.  The Jordanians destroyed 58 synagogues—some hundreds of years old—when they illegally occupied eastern Jerusalem. Jordan’s Illegal Annexation In 1950, Jordan annexed the territories it had captured in the 1948 war—eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank. The April 24th resolution declared “its support for complete unity between the two sides of the Jordan and their union into one State, which is the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, at whose head reigns King Abdullah Ibn al Husain...” Great Britain and Pakistan were the only countries that recognized Jordan’s annexation of the West Bank – all other nations, including the Arab states, rejected it. However, Great Britain  never recognized Jordan's annexation of eastern Jerusalem. It viewed both Jordan’s 1950 annexation and Israel’s  annexation of west Jerusalem as illegal. Religious Restrictions and Denial of Access to Holy Sites In direct contravention of the 1949 armistice agreements, Jordan did not permit Jews access to their holy sites or to the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives. Article VIII of the Israel Jordan Armistice Agreement (April 3, 1949) established a special committee which would “direct its attention to the formulation of agreed plans and arrangements” including “free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives.” Nevertheless, and despite numerous requests by Israeli officials and Jewish groups to the UN, the U.S., and others to attempt to enforce the armistice agreement, Jews were denied access to the Western Wall, the Jewish cemetery and all religious sites in eastern Jerusalem. The armistice lines were sealed as Jordanian snipers would perch on the walls of the Old City and shoot at Israelis across the lines. Israeli Arabs, too, were denied access to the Al Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, but their Muslim sites in eastern Jerusalem were respected. While Christians, unlike Jews, were allowed access to their holy sites, they too were subject to restrictions under Jordanian law. There were limits on the numbers of Christian pilgrims permitted into the Old City and Bethlehem during Christmas and Easter. Christian charities and religious institutions were prohibited from buying real estate in Jerusalem or owning property near holy sites. And Christian schools were subject to strict controls. They were required to teach in Arabic, close on Friday, the Muslim holy day, and teach all students the Koran. At the same time, they were not allowed to teach Christian religious material to non-Christians. 1967: Reunification of Jerusalem During the 1967 war, Israel appealed to Jordan to stay out of the war, but despite this appeal, Jordanian forces fired artillery barrages from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Although Israeli forces did not respond initially, not wanting to open up a Jordanian front in the war, Jordan continued to attack and occupied UN headquarters in Jerusalem. Israeli forces fought back and within two days managed to repulse the Jordanian forces and retake eastern Jerusalem. (For more details, see Six Day War: Jordanian Front) l-r: Generals Uzi Narkiss, Moshe Dayan, Yitzchak Rabin entering Old City June 1967 On June 7, 1967, IDF paratroopers advanced through the Old City toward the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, bringing Jerusalem’s holiest site under Jewish control for the first time in 2000 years. There are sound recordings of the scene, as the commander of the brigade,Lt. General Mordechai (Motta) Gur, approaches the Old City and announces to his company commanders, “We’re sitting right now on the ridge and we’re seeing the Old City. Shortly we’re going to go in to the Old City of Jerusalem, that all generations have dreamed about. We will be the first to enter the Old City...” and shortly afterwards, “The Temple Mount is in our hands! I repeat, the Temple Mount is in our hands!” General Rabbi Shlomo Goren, chief chaplain of the IDF, sounded the Shofar at the Western Wall to signify its liberation. To Israelis and Jews all over the world, this was a joyous and momentous occasion. Many considered it a gift from God. Israeli Reaction to the Recapture of the Western Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem “For some two thousand years the Temple Mount was forbidden to the Jews. Until you came — you, the paratroopers — and returned it to the bosom of the nation. The Western Wall, for which every heart beats, is ours once again. Many Jews have taken their lives into their hands throughout our long history, in order to reach Jerusalem and live here. Endless words of longing have expressed the deep yearning for Jerusalem that beats within the Jewish heart..You have been given the great privilege of completing the circle, of returning to the nation its capital and its holy center...Jerusalem is yours forever.” –Commander Motta Gur to his brigade upon their recapture of Jerusalem’s Old City and holy sites “We have returned to all that is holy in our land. We have returned never to be parted from it again.” –Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, upon reaching the Western Wall “The Wall was before us. I trembled. There it was as I had known it—immense, mighty, in all its splendor...overcome, I bowed my head in silence.” –General Uzi Narkiss, Head of Central Command during the Six Day War “I felt truly shaken and stood there murmuring a prayer for peace. Motta Gur’s paratroopers were struggling to reach the Wall and touch it. We stood among a tangle of rugged, battle-weary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions. Their eyes were moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall, to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.” –Chief of Staff Yitzchak Rabin “I am speaking to you from the plaza of the Western Wall, the remnant of our Holy Temple. ‘Comfort my people, comfort them, says the Lord your God.’ This is the day we have hoped for, let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation. The vision of all generations is being realized before our eyes: The city of God, the site of the Temple, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, the symbol of the nation’s redemption, have been redeemed today by you, heroes of the Israel Defense Forces. By doing so you have fulfilled the oath of generations, ‘If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its cunning.’ Indeed, we have not forgotten you, Jerusalem, our holy city, our glory. In the name of the entire Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora, I hereby recite with supreme joy, Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has kept us in life, who has preserved us, and enabled us to reach this day. This year in Jerusalem – rebuilt! “ –General Rabbi Shlomo Goren, Chaplain of the Israeli Defense Forces, at the Western Wall In a statement at the Western Wall, Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan indicated Israel’s peaceful intent and pledged to preserve religious freedom for all faiths in Jerusalem: To our Arab neighbors we extend, especially at this hour, the hand of peace. To members of the other religions, Christians and Muslims, I hereby promise faithfully that their full freedom and all their religious rights will be preserved. We did not come to Jerusalem to conquer the Holy Places of others. Before visiting the Western Wall, Prime Minister Levi Eshkol met with the spiritual leaders of different faiths in his office and issued a declaration of peace, assuring that all holy sites would be protected and that all faiths would be free to worship at their holy sites in Jerusalem. He declared his intention to give the spiritual leaders of the various religions internal management of their own Holy Sites. Defense Minister Dayan immediately ceded internal administrative control of the Temple Mount compound to the Jordanian Waqf (Islamic trust) while overall security control of the area was maintained by Israel. Dayan announced that Jews would be allowed to visit the Temple Mount, but not to hold religious services there. Dayan also gave immediate orders to demolish the anti-sniping walls, clear the minefields and removed the barbed-wire barriers which marked the partition of Jerusalem. Within weeks, free movement through Jerusalem became possible and hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews flocked to the Old City to glimpse the Western Wall and touch its stones. Israeli Muslims were permitted to pray at the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock for the first time since 1948. And Israeli Christians came to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. On June 27, 1967, the Israeli Knesset extended Israel’s legal and administrative jurisdiction to all of Jerusalem, and expanded the city’s municipal borders. Eshkol again assured the spiritual leaders of all faiths that Israel was determined to protect the Holy Places. The Knesset passed the Protection of Holy Places Law granting special legal status to the Holy Sites and making it a criminal offence to desecrate or violate them, or to impede freedom of access to them. Jerusalem became a reunified city that ensured freedom of religion and access to holy sites for all. The religious freedoms enjoyed by Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the reunified Jerusalem had been unheard of during Jordanian occupation of the city, prompting even a former Jordanian ambassador to the United Nations, Adnan Abu Odeh, to acknowledge that "the situation in Jerusalem prior to 1967 [under Jordanian rule] was one of ... religious exclusion" whereas post-1967, Israel seeks "to reach a point of religious inclusion ..." (The Catholic University of America Law Review, Spring 1996). 1980:  Basic Law: Jerusalem Capital of Israel Since 1958, 14 basic laws were passed by the Israeli Knesset.  These laws, pertaining to the government, president, army, economy, judiciary,  land, human rights, and more are intended to form the essence of  the constitution of the State of Israel. In 1980, the Israeli Knesset passed  a basic law declaring reunified Jerusalem the eternal capital of Israel.  The law provides for protection of and freedom of access to each religion's holy sites.  Below is the text of the law, which can be accessed on the Israeli Knesset Web site. Jerusalem, Capital of Israel 1. Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel. Seat of the President, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court 2. Jerusalem is the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court. Protection of Holy Places 3. The Holy Places shall be protected from desecration and any other violation and from anything likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the different religions to the places sacred to them or their feelings towards those places. Development of Jerusalem 4. (a) The Government shall provide for the development and prosperity of Jerusalem and the well-being of its inhabitants by allocating special funds, including a special annual grant to the Municipality of Jerusalem (Capital City Grant) with the approval of the Finance Committee of the Knesset.(b) Jerusalem shall be given special priority in the activities of the authorities of the State so as to further its development in economic and other matters. (c) The Government shall set up a special body or special bodies for the implementation of this section.