Etymology and names
Etymology
The name "Jerusalem" is variously etymologized to mean "foundation (Semitic ''yry 'to found, to lay a cornerstone') of the god Shalem"; the god Shalem was thus the originalAncient Egyptian sources
TheHebrew Bible and Jewish sources
The form ''Yerushalem'' or ''Yerushalayim'' first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua. According to a Midrash, the name is a combination of two names united by God, ''Yireh'' ("the abiding place", the name given by Abraham to the place where Binding of Isaac, he planned to sacrifice his son) and ''Salem (Bible), Shalem'' ("Place of Peace", the name given by high priest Shem).Oldest written mention of ''Jerusalem''
One of the earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word ''Jerusalem'' is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin, Israel, Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states: "I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem", or as other scholars suggest: "Yahweh is the God of the whole earth. The mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem". An older example on papyrus is known from the previous century. In extra-biblical inscriptions, the earliest known example of the ''-ayim'' ending was discovered on a column about 3 km west of ancient Jerusalem, dated to the first century BCE.Jebus, Zion, City of David
An ancient settlement of Jerusalem, founded as early as the Bronze Age on the hill above the Gihon Spring, was, according to the Bible, named Jebusite, Jebus., p. 113 Called the "Fortress of Zion" (''metsudat Zion''), it was renamed as the "City of David", and was known by this name in antiquity. Another name, "Zion", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole, and afterwards to represent the whole biblical Land of Israel.Greek, Roman and Byzantine names
In Greek and Latin, the city's name was transliterated ''Hierosolyma'' (Greek: Ἱεροσόλυμα; in Greek ''hieròs'', ''ἱερός'', means holy), although the city was renamed Aelia Capitolina for part of the Ancient Rome, Roman period of its history.Salem
The Aramaic language, Aramaic Genesis Apocryphon, Apocryphon of Genesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 22:13) equates Jerusalem with the earlier "Salem" (שלם), said to be the kingdom of Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Other early Hebrew sources, early Christian renderings of the verse and ''targumim'', however, put Salem in Northern Israel near Shechem (Sichem), now Nablus, a city of some importance in early sacred Hebrew writing. Possibly the redactor of the Apocryphon of Genesis wanted to dissociate Melchizedek from the area of Shechem, which at the time was in possession of the Samaritans. However that may be, later Rabbinic sources also equate Salem with Jerusalem, mainly to link Melchizedek to later Temple traditions.Arabic names
In Arabic, Jerusalem is most commonly known as , transliterated as ''al-Quds'' and meaning "The Holy" or "The Holy Sanctuary", cognate with he, הקדש, Ha-Qodesh, The Holy. The (Q) is pronounced either with a voiceless uvular plosive (/q/), as in Classical Arabic, or with a glottal stop (ʔ) as in Levantine Arabic. Official Israeli government policy mandates that , transliterated as ''Ūršalīm'', which is the cognate of the Hebrew and English names, be used as the Arabic language name for the city in conjunction with . . Palestinian Arab families who hail from this city are often called "''Qudsi''" or "''Maqdisi''", while Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemites may use these terms as a demonym.History
Given the city's central position in both Jewish nationalism (Zionism) and Palestinian nationalism, the selectivity required to summarize some 5,000 years of inhabited history is often Historiography and nationalism, influenced by ideological bias or background. Israeli or Jewish nationalists claim a right to the city based on Jewish indigeneity to the land, particularly History of the Jews and Judaism in the Land of Israel, their origins in and descent from the Israelites, for whom Jerusalem is their capital, and their yearning for return. In contrast, Palestinian nationalists claim the right to the city based on modern Palestinian people, Palestinians' longstanding presence and descent from many different peoples who have settled or lived in the region over the centuries. Both sides claim the history of the city has been politicized by the other in order to strengthen their relative claims to the city, and that this is borne out by the different focuses the different writers place on the various events and eras in the city's history.Overview of Jerusalem's historical periods
Prehistory
The first archaeological evidence of human presence in the area comes in the form of flints dated to between 6000 and 7000 years ago, with ceramic remains appearing during the Chalcolithic period, and the first signs of permanent settlement appearing in the Early Bronze Age in 3000–2800 BCE.Late Bronze Age
The earliest evidence of city fortifications appear in the Bronze Age#Near East, Mid to Late Bronze Age and could date to around the 18th century BCE. By around 1550-1200 BCE, Jerusalem was the capital of an Egyptian vassal city-state, a modest settlement governing a few outlying villages and pastoral areas, with a small Egyptian garrison and ruled by appointees such as king Abdi-Heba, At the time of Seti I (r. 1290–1279 BCE) and Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BCE), major construction took place as prosperity increased.Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, ''Keys to Jerusalem: Collected Essays'', Oxford University Press, 2012 pp. 5–6. The city's inhabitants at this time were Canaanites, who are believed by scholars to have evolved into the Israelites via the development of a distinct Yahweh-centric monotheistic belief system.Iron Age
Archaeological remains from the ancient Israelite period include the Siloam Tunnel, an aqueduct built by Kingdom of Judah, Judahite king Hezekiah and once containing an ancient Hebrew inscription, known as the Siloam Inscription; the so-called Broad Wall (Jerusalem), Broad Wall, a defensive fortification built in the 8th century BCE, also by Hezekiah; the Silwan necropolis (9th-7th c. BCE) with the Monolith of Silwan and the Silwan necropolis#Tomb of the Royal Steward, Tomb of the Royal Steward, which were decorated with monumental Hebrew inscriptions; and the so-called Israelite Tower, remnants of ancient fortifications, built from large, sturdy rocks with carved cornerstones. A huge water reservoir dating from this period was discovered in 2012 near Robinson's Arch, indicating the existence of a densely built-up quarter across the area west of the Temple Mount during theBiblical account
This period, when Canaan formed part of the Egyptian empire, corresponds in biblical accounts to Joshua's invasion, but almost all scholars agree that the Book of Joshua holds little historical value for early Israel. In the Bible, Jerusalem is defined as lying within territory allocated to the tribe of Benjamin though still inhabited by Jebusites.Classical antiquity
In 538 BCE, the Achaemenid Empire, Persian List of kings of Persia, King Cyrus the Great invited the Babylonian captivity, Jews of Babylon to return to Judah to rebuild the Temple. Construction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem, Second Temple was completed in 516 BCE, during the reign of Darius I of Persia, Darius the Great, 70 years after the destruction of the First Temple. Sometime soon after 485 BCE Jerusalem was besieged, conquered and largely destroyed by a coalition of neighbouring states. In about 445 BCE, King Artaxerxes I of Persia issued a decree allowing the city (including its walls) to be rebuilt. Jerusalem resumed its role as capital of Judah and centre of Jewish worship. Many Jewish tombs from the Second Temple period have been unearthed in Jerusalem. One example, discovered north of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City, contains human remains in a 1st-century CE ossuary decorated with the Aramaic inscription "Simon the Temple Builder." The Tomb of Abba, also located north of the Old City, bears an Aramaic inscription with Paleo-Hebrew letters reading: "I, Abba, son of the priest Eleaz(ar), son of Aaron the high (priest), Abba, the oppressed and the persecuted, who was born in Jerusalem, and went into exile into Babylonia and brought (back to Jerusalem) Mattathi(ah), son of Jud(ah), and buried him in a cave which I bought by deed." The Tomb of Benei Hezir located in Kidron Valley is decorated by monumental Doric columns and Hebrew inscription, identifying it as the burial site of Second Temple priests. The Tombs of the Sanhedrin, an underground complex of 63 rock-cut tombs, is located in a public park in the northern Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sanhedria. These tombs, probably reserved for members of the Sanhedrin and inscribed by ancient Hebrew and Aramaic writings, are dated to between 100 BCE and 100 CE. When Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire, Jerusalem and Judea came under Macedonian control, eventually falling to the Ptolemaic dynasty under Ptolemy I Soter, Ptolemy I. In 198 BCE, Ptolemy V Epiphanes lost Jerusalem and Judea to the Seleucid Empire, Seleucids under Antiochus III the Great, Antiochus III. The Seleucid Empire, Seleucid attempt to recast Jerusalem as a Hellenistic civilization, Hellenized polis, city-state came to a head in 168 BCE with the successful Maccabees, Maccabean revolt of Mattathias and his five sons against Antiochus IV Epiphanes, and their establishment of the Hasmonean Kingdom in 152 BCE with Jerusalem as its capital. In 63 BCE, Pompey the Great intervened in a struggle for the Hasmonean throne and captured Jerusalem, extending the influence of the Roman Republic over Judea. Following a short invasion by Parthian Empire, Parthians, backing the rival Hasmonean rulers, Judea became a scene of struggle between pro-Roman and pro-Parthian forces, eventually leading to the emergence of an Edomite named Herod. As Roman Empire, Rome became stronger, it installed Herod the Great, Herod as a Vassal state, client king of the Jews. Herod the Great, as he was known, devoted himself to developing and beautifying the city. He built walls, towers and palaces, and Herod's Temple, expanded the Temple Mount, buttressing the courtyard with blocks of stone weighing up to 100 tons. Under Herod, the area of the Temple Mount doubled in size. Shortly after Herod's death, in 6 CE Judea came under direct Roman rule as the Iudaea Province, although the Herodian dynasty through Agrippa II remained client kings of neighbouring territories until 96 CE. Roman rule over Jerusalem and Judea was challenged in the First Jewish–Roman War (66-73 CE), which ended with a Roman victory. Early on, the city was devastated by a Zealot Temple Siege, brutal civil war between several Jewish factions fighting for control of the city. In 70 CE, the Romans Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple. The contemporary Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the city "was so thoroughly razed to the ground by those that demolished it to its foundations, that nothing was left that could ever persuade visitors that it had once been a place of habitation." Of the 600,000 (Tacitus) or 1,000,000 (Josephus) Jews of Jerusalem, all of them either died of starvation, were killed or were sold into slavery. Roman rule was again challenged during the Bar Kokhba revolt, beginning in 132 CE and suppressed by the Romans in 135 CE. More recent research indicates that the Romans had founded Aelia Capitolina before the outbreak of the revolt, and found no evidence for Bar Kokhba ever managing to hold the city. Following the Bar Kokhba revolt, Emperor Hadrian combined Iudaea Province with neighbouring provinces under the new name of ''Syria Palaestina'', replacing the name of Judea. The city was renamed Aelia Capitolina, and rebuilt it in the style of a typical Roman town. Jews were prohibited from entering the city on pain of death, except for one day each year, during the holiday of Tisha B'Av. Taken together, these measures (which also affected Jewish Christians) essentially "secularized" the city. The ban was maintained until the 7th century, though Christians would soon be granted an exemption: during the 4th century, the Roman emperor Constantine I ordered the construction of Christian holy sites in the city, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Burial remains from the Byzantine period are exclusively Christian, suggesting that the population of Jerusalem in Byzantine times probably consisted only of Christians. In the 5th century, the eastern continuation of the Roman Empire, ruled from the recently renamed Constantinople, maintained control of the city. Within the span of a few decades, Jerusalem shifted from Byzantine to Achaemenid Empire, Persian rule, then back to Roman-Byzantine dominion. Following Sassanid Empire, Sassanid Khosrau II's early 7th century push through Syria, his generals Shahrbaraz and Shahin Vahmanzadegan, Shahin attacked Jerusalem ( fa, Dej Houdkh) aided by the Jews of Palaestina Prima, who had risen up against the Byzantines. In the Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem, Siege of Jerusalem of 614, after 21 days of relentless siege, siege warfare, Jerusalem was captured. Byzantine chronicles relate that the Sassanids and Jews slaughtered tens of thousands of Christians in the city, many at the Mamilla Pool, and destroyed their monuments and churches, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This episode has been the subject of much debate between historians. The conquered city would remain in Sassanid hands for some fifteen years until the Byzantine emperor Heraclius reconquered it in 629. Jerusalem reached a peak in size and population at the end of the Second Temple Period, when the city covered and had a population of 200,000.Early Muslim period
Byzantine Jerusalem was conquered by the Arab armies of Umar ibn al-Khattab in 638 CE. Among the firstCrusader/Ayyubid period
In 1099, the Fatimid ruler expelled the native Christian population before Jerusalem was Siege of Jerusalem (1099), besieged by the soldiers of the First Crusade. After taking the solidly defended city by assault, the Crusaders massacred most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, and made it the capital of their Kingdom of Jerusalem. The city, which had been virtually emptied, was recolonized by a variegated inflow of Greeks, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Georgians, Armenians, Syrians, Egyptians, Nestorians, Maronites, Jacob Baradeus, Jacobite Miaphysites, Copts and others, to block the return of the surviving Muslims and Jews. The north-eastern quarter was repopulated with Eastern Christians from the Transjordan. As a result, by 1099 Jerusalem's population had climbed back to some 30,000. In 1187, the city was wrested from the Crusaders by Saladin who permitted Jews and Muslims to return and settle in the city. Under the terms of surrender, once ransomed, 60,000 Franks were expelled. The Eastern Christian populace was permitted to stay. Under the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin, a period of huge investment began in the construction of houses, markets, Hammam, public baths, and pilgrim hostels as well as the establishment of religious endowments. However, for most of the 13th century, Jerusalem declined to the status of a village due to city's fall of strategic value and Ayyubid internecine struggles. From 1229 to 1244, Jerusalem peacefully reverted to Christian control as a result of a 1229 treaty agreed between the crusading Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and al-Kamil, the Ayyubid dynasty, Ayyubid sultan of Egypt in the Middle Ages, Egypt, that ended the Sixth Crusade. The Ayyubids retained control of the Muslim holy places, and Arab sources suggest that Frederick was not permitted to restore Jerusalem's fortifications. In 1244, Siege of Jerusalem (1244), Jerusalem was sacked by the Khwarazmian army between 1231 and 1246, Khwarezmian Tatars, who decimated the city's Christian population and drove out the Jews.Gilbert (1978), p. 25. The Khwarezmian Tatars were driven out by the Ayyubids in 1247.Mamluk period
From 1260 to 1516/17, Jerusalem was ruled by the Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo), Mamluks. In the wider region and until around 1300, many clashes occurred between the Mamluks on one side, and the crusaders and the Mongol raids into Palestine, Mongols, on the other side. The area also suffered from many earthquakes and Black Death, black plague. When Nachmanides visited in 1267 he found only two Jewish families, in a population of 2,000, 300 of whom were Christians, in the city. The well-known and far-traveled Lexicography, lexicographer Fairuzabadi (1329–1414) spent ten years in Jerusalem. The 13th to 15th centuries was a period of frequent building activity in the city, as evidenced by the 90 remaining structures from this time. The city was also a significant site of Mamluk architecture, Mamluk architectural patronage. The types of structures built included madrasas, libraries, Bimaristan, hospitals, caravanserais, fountains (or Sebil (fountain), sabils), and public baths. Much of the building activity was concentrated around the edges of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif. Old gates to the Haram lost importance and new gates were built, while significant parts of the northern and western porticoes along the edge of the Temple Mount plaza were built or rebuilt in this period. Tankiz, the Mamluk Emir, amir in charge of Syria (region), Syria during the reign of al-Nasir Muhammad, built a new market called ''Suq al-Qattatin'' (Cotton Market) in 1336–7, along with the gate known as ''Bab al-Qattanin'' (Cotton Gate), which gave access to the Temple Mount from this market. The late Mamluk sultan Qaitbay, al-Ashraf Qaytbay also took interest in the city. He commissioned the building of the Madrasa Al-Ashrafiyya, Madrasa al-Ashrafiyya, completed in 1482, and the nearby Fountain of Qayt Bay, Sabil of Qaytbay, built shortly after in 1482; both were located on the Temple Mount. Qaytbay's monuments were the last major Mamluk constructions in the city.Ottoman period (16th–19th centuries)
In 1517, Jerusalem and its environs fell to the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turks, who generally remained in control until 1917. Jerusalem enjoyed a prosperous period of renewal and peace underBritish Mandate (1917–1948)
In 1917 after the Battle of Jerusalem (1917), Battle of Jerusalem, the British Army, led by Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, General Edmund Allenby, captured the city. In 1922, the League of Nations at the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23, Conference of Lausanne entrusted the United Kingdom to Mandatory Palestine, administer Palestine (region), Palestine, neighbouring Emirate of Transjordan, Transjordan, and British Mandate of Mesopotamia, Iraq beyond it. The British had to deal with a conflicting demand that was rooted in Ottoman rule. Agreements for the supply of water, electricity, and the construction of a tramway system—all under concessions granted by the Ottoman authorities—had been signed by the city of Jerusalem and a Greek citizen, Euripides Mavromatis, on 27 January 1914. Work under these concessions had not begun and, by the end of the war the British occupying forces refused to recognize their validity. Mavromatis claimed that his concessions overlapped with the Auja Concession that the government had awarded to Rutenberg in 1921 and that he had been deprived of his legal rights. The Mavromatis concession, in effect despite earlier British attempts to abolish it, covered Jerusalem and other localities (e.g., Bethlehem) within a radius of around the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. From 1922 to 1948 the total population of the city rose from 52,000 to 165,000, comprising two-thirds Jews and one-third Arabs (Muslims and Christians). Relations between Arab Christians and Muslims and the growing Jewish population in Jerusalem deteriorated, resulting in recurring unrest. In Jerusalem, in particular, 1920 Palestine riots, Arab riots occurred in 1920 and 1929 Palestine riots, in 1929. Under the British, new garden suburbs were built in the western and northern parts of the city and institutions of higher learning such as the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hebrew University were founded.Divided city: Jordanian and Israeli rule (1948–1967)
As the British Mandate for Palestine was expiring, the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, 1947 UN Partition Plan recommended "the creation of a special international regime in the City of Jerusalem, constituting it as a ''corpus separatum (Jerusalem), corpus separatum'' under the administration of the UN." The international regime (which also included the city of Bethlehem) was to remain in force for a period of ten years, whereupon a referendum was to be held in which the residents were to decide the future regime of their city. However, this plan was not implemented, as the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, 1948 war erupted, while the British withdrew from Palestine and Declaration of Independence (Israel), Israel declared its independence. In contradiction to the Partition Plan, which envisioned a Corpus separatum (Jerusalem), city separated from the Arab state and the Jewish state, Israel took control of the area which later would become West Jerusalem, along with 1948 Arab–Israeli War#1949 Armistice Agreements, major parts of the Arab territory allotted to the future Arab State; Jordan took control of East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank. The war led to displacement of Arab and Jewish populations in the city. The 1,500 residents of the Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem), Jewish Quarter of the Old City were expelled and a few hundred taken prisoner when the Arab Legion captured the quarter on 28 May. Arab residents of Katamon, Talbiya, and the German Colony, Jerusalem, German Colony were driven from their homes. By the time of the armistice that ended active fighting, Israel had control of 12 of Jerusalem's 15 Arab residential quarters. An estimated minimum of 30,000 people had become refugees. The war of 1948 resulted in the division of Jerusalem, so that the Old City (Jerusalem), old walled city lay entirely on the Jordanian side of the Green Line (Israel), line. A no-man's land between East and West Jerusalem came into being in November 1948: Moshe Dayan, commander of the Israeli forces in Jerusalem, met with his Jordanian counterpart Abdullah el-Tell in a deserted house in Jerusalem's Musrara, Jerusalem, Musrara neighbourhood and marked out their respective positions: Israel's position in red and Jordan's in green. This rough map, which was not meant as an official one, became the final Green Line (Israel), line in the 1949 Armistice Agreements, which divided the city and left Mount Scopus as an Israeli Enclave and exclave, exclave inside East Jerusalem. Barbed wire and concrete barriers ran down the centre of the city, passing close by Jaffa Gate on the western side of the Old City (Jerusalem), old walled city, and a crossing point was established at Mandelbaum Gate slightly to the north of the Old City (Jerusalem), old walled city. Military skirmishes frequently threatened the ceasefire. After the establishment of the state of Israel, Jerusalem was declared its capital city. Jordan formally annexed East Jerusalem in 1950, subjecting it to Jordanian law, and in 1953 declared it the "second capital" of Jordan. Only the United Kingdom and Pakistan formally recognized such annexation, which, in regard to Jerusalem, was on a ''de facto'' basis. Some scholars argue that the view that Pakistan recognized Jordan's annexation is dubious. After 1948, since the Old City (Jerusalem), old walled city in its entirety was to the east of the armistice line,Israeli rule (1967–present)
In 1967, despite Israeli pleas that Jordan remain neutral during thePolitical status
From 1923 until 1948, Jerusalem served as the administrative capital of Mandatory Palestine. From 1949 until 1967, West Jerusalem served as Israel's capital, but was not recognized as such internationally because United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194, UN General Assembly Resolution 194 envisaged Jerusalem as an international city. As a result of the Six-Day War in 1967, the whole of Jerusalem Reunification of Jerusalem, came under Israeli control. On 27 June 1967, the government of Levi Eshkol extended Israeli law and jurisdiction to East Jerusalem, but agreed that administration of the Temple Mount compound would be maintained by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, Jordanian waqf, under the Jordanian Ministry of Religious Endowments. In 1988, Israel ordered the closure of Orient House, home of the Arab Studies Society, but also the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization, for security reasons. The building reopened in 1992 as a Palestinian guesthouse. The Oslo Accords stated that the final status of Jerusalem would be determined by negotiations with the Palestinian National Authority, Palestinian Authority. The accords banned any official Palestinian presence in the city until a final peace agreement, but provided for the opening of a Palestinian trade office in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority regards East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. President Mahmoud Abbas has said that any agreement that did not include East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine would be unacceptable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has similarly stated that Jerusalem would remain the undivided capital of Israel. Due to its proximity to the city, especially the Temple Mount, Abu Dis, a Palestinian suburb of Jerusalem, has been proposed as the future capital of a Palestinian state by Israel. Israel has not incorporated Abu Dis within its security wall around Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority has built a possible future parliament building for the Palestinian Legislative Council in the town, and its Jerusalem Affairs Offices are all located in Abu Dis.International status
While the international community regards East Jerusalem, including the entire Old City, as part of the occupied Palestinian territories, neither part, West or East Jerusalem, is recognized as part of the territory of Israel or the State of Palestine. Under the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1947, Jerusalem was envisaged to become a corpus separatum (Jerusalem), corpus separatum administered by the United Nations. In the war of 1948, the western part of the city was occupied by forces of the nascent state of Israel, while the eastern part was occupied by Jordan. The international community largely considers the legal status of Jerusalem to derive from the partition plan, and correspondingly refuses to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the city.Status under Israeli rule
Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel extended its jurisdiction and administration over East Jerusalem, establishing new municipal borders. In 2010, Israel approved legislation giving Jerusalem the highest national priority status in Israel. The law prioritized construction throughout the city, and offered grants and tax benefits to residents to make housing, infrastructure, education, employment, business, tourism, and cultural events more affordable. Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon said that the bill sent "a clear, unequivocal political message that Jerusalem will not be divided", and that "all those within the Palestinian and international community who expect the current Israeli government to accept any demands regarding Israel's sovereignty over its capital are mistaken and misleading". The status of the city, and especially its holy places, remains a core issue in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Israeli government has approved building plans in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City in order to expand the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem, while some Islamic leaders have made claims that Jews have no historical connection to Jerusalem, alleging that the 2,500-year-old Western Wall was constructed as part of a mosque. Palestinians regard Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, and the city's borders have been the subject of bilateral talks. A team of experts assembled by the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000 concluded that the city must be divided, since Israel had failed to achieve any of its national aims there. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in 2014 that "Jerusalem will never be divided". A poll conducted in June 2013 found that 74% of Israeli Jews reject the idea of a Palestinian capital in any portion of Jerusalem, though 72% of the public regarded it as a divided city. A poll conducted by Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion and American Pechter Middle East Polls for the Council on Foreign Relations, among East Jerusalem Arab residents in 2011 revealed that 39% of East Jerusalem Arab residents would prefer Israeli citizenship contrary to 31% who opted for Palestinian citizenship. According to the poll, 40% of Palestinian residents would prefer to leave their neighbourhoods if they would be placed under Palestinian rule.Jerusalem as capital of Israel
On 5 December 1949, Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, proclaimed Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal" and "sacred" capital, and eight days later specified that only the war had "compelled" the Israeli leadership "to establish the seat of Government in Tel Aviv", while "for the State of Israel there has always been and always will be one capital only – Jerusalem the Eternal", and that after the war, efforts had been ongoing for creating the conditions for "the Knesset... returning to Jerusalem." This indeed took place, and since the beginning of 1950 all branches of the Politics of Israel, Israeli government—Politics of Israel#Legislative branch, legislative, Politics of Israel#Judicial system, judicial, and Politics of Israel#Prime Ministers and governments in the last ten years, executive—have resided there, except for the Ministry of Defense (Israel), Ministry of Defense, which is located at HaKirya in Tel Aviv. At the time of Ben Gurion's proclamations and the ensuing Knesset vote of 24 January 1950, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan, and thus the proclamation only applied to West Jerusalem. In July 1980, Israel passed theGovernment precinct and national institutions
The Kiryat HaLeom (national precinct) project is intended to house most government agencies and national cultural institutions. They are located in the Kiryat HaMemshala (government complex) in the Givat Ram neighbourhood. Some government buildings are located in Kiryat Menachem Begin. The city is home to the Knesset, the Supreme Court, the Bank of Israel, the National Headquarters of the Israel Police, the official residences of theJerusalem as capital of Palestine
The Palestinian National Authority views East Jerusalem as occupied territory according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. The Palestinian Authority claims Jerusalem, including the Haram al-Sharif, as the capital of the State of Palestine,In the Palestine Liberation Organization's Palestinian Declaration of Independence of 1988, Jerusalem is stated to be the capital of the State of Palestine. In 1997, the Palestinian Legislative Council passed the Palestinian ''Basic Law'' (ratified by Chairman Yasser Arafat in 2002), designating the city as such. Article 3: ''"Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine."''Municipal administration
The Jerusalem city council, City Council is a body of 31 elected members headed by the mayor, who serves a five-year term and appoints eight deputies. The former mayor of Jerusalem, Uri Lupolianski, was elected in 2003. In the November 2008 city elections, Nir Barkat was elected. In November 2018, Moshe Lion was elected mayor. Apart from the mayor and his deputies, City Council members receive no salaries and work on a voluntary basis. The longest-serving Jerusalem mayor was Teddy Kollek, who spent 28 years—six consecutive terms—in office. Most of the meetings of the Jerusalem City Council are private, but each month, it holds a session that is open to the public. Within the city council, religious political parties form an especially powerful faction, accounting for the majority of its seats. The headquarters of the Jerusalem Municipality and the mayor's office are at Safra Square (''Kikar Safra'') on Jaffa Road. The municipal complex, comprising two modern buildings and ten renovated historic buildings surrounding a large plaza, opened in 1993 when it moved from the Jerusalem Old Town Hall, old town hall building built by the Mandate Palestine, Mandate authorities. The city falls under the Jerusalem District, with Jerusalem as the district's capital. 37% of the population is Palestinian, but in 2014 not more than 10% of tax revenues were allocated for them. In East Jerusalem, 52% of the land was excluded from development, 35% designated for Jewish settlements, and 13% for Palestinian use, almost all of which was already built on.Geography
Jerusalem is situated on the southern spur of a plateau in theClimate
The city is characterized by a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification, Köppen: ''Csa''), with hot, dry summers, and mild, wet winters. Snow flurries usually occur once or twice a winter, although the city experiences heavy snowfall every three to four years, on average, with short-lived accumulation. January is the coldest month of the year, with an average temperature of ; July and August are the hottest months, with an average temperature of , and the summer months are usually rainless. The average annual precipitation is around , with rain occurring almost entirely between October and May. Snowfall is rare, and large snowfalls are even more rare. Jerusalem received over of snow on 13 December 2013, which nearly paralyzed the city. A day in Jerusalem has on average, 9.3 sunshine hours. With summers averaging similar temperatures as the coastline, the maritime influence from the Mediterranean Sea is strong, in particular given that Jerusalem is located on a similar latitude as scorching hot deserts not far to its east. The highest recorded temperature in Jerusalem was on 28 and 30 August 1881, and the lowest temperature recorded was on 25 January 1907. Most of the air pollution in Jerusalem comes from vehicular traffic. Many main streets in Jerusalem were not built to accommodate such a large volume of traffic, leading to traffic congestion and more carbon monoxide released into the air. Industrial pollution inside the city is sparse, but emissions from factories on the Israeli coastal plain, Israeli Mediterranean coast can travel eastward and settle over the city.Demographics
Demographic history
Jerusalem's population size and composition has shifted many times over its 5,000-year history. Since medieval times, the Old City of Jerusalem has been divided intoCurrent demographics
In December 2007, Jerusalem had a population of 747,600—63.7% were Jewish, 33.1% Muslim, and 2% Christian. At the end of 2005, the population density was . According to a study published in 2000, the percentage of Jews in the city's population had been decreasing; this was attributed to a higher Muslim birth rate, and Jewish residents leaving. The study also found that about nine percent of the Old City's 32,488 people were Jews. Of the Jewish population, 200,000 live in East Jerusalem settlements which are considered illegal under international law. In 2005, 2,850 new immigrants settled in Jerusalem, mostly from the United States, France and the former Soviet Union. In terms of the local population, the number of outgoing residents exceeds the number of incoming residents. In 2005, 16,000 left Jerusalem and only 10,000 moved in. Nevertheless, the population of Jerusalem continues to rise due to the high birth rate, especially in the Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jewish and Arab people, Arab communities. Consequently, the total fertility rate in Jerusalem (4.02) is higher than in Tel Aviv (1.98) and well above the national average of 2.90. The average size of Jerusalem's 180,000 households is 3.8 people. In 2005, the total population grew by 13,000 (1.8%)—similar to the Israeli national average, but the religious and ethnic composition is shifting. While 31% of the Jewish population is made up of children below the age fifteen, the figure for the Arab population is 42%. This would seem to corroborate the observation that the percentage of Jews in Jerusalem has declined over the past four decades. In 1967, Jews accounted for 74 percent of the population, while the figure for 2006 is down nine percent. Possible factors are the high cost of housing, fewer job opportunities and the increasingly religious character of the city, although proportionally, young Haredi Judaism, Haredim are leaving in higher numbers. The percentage of secular Jews, or those who 'wear their faith lightly' is dropping, with some 20,000 leaving the city over the past seven years (2012). They now number 31% of the population, the same percentage as the rising Haredi population. Many move to the suburbs and coastal cities in search of cheaper housing and a more secular lifestyle. In 2009, the percentage of Haredim in the city was increasing. , out of 150,100 schoolchildren, 59,900 or 40% are in state-run secular and Religious Zionism, National Religious schools, while 90,200 or 60% are in Haredi schools. This correlates with the high number of children in Haredi families.While some Israelis avoid Jerusalem for its relative lack of development and religious and political tensions, the city has attracted Palestinians, offering more jobs and opportunity than any city in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. Palestinian officials have encouraged Arabs over the years to stay in the city to maintain their claim. Palestinians are attracted to the access to jobs, health care, healthcare, social security, other benefits, and quality of life Israel provides to Jerusalem residents. Arab residents of Jerusalem who choose not to have Israeli citizenship are granted an Israeli identity card that allows them to pass through checkpoints with relative ease and to travel throughout Israel, making it easier to find work. Residents also are entitled to the subsidized healthcare and social security benefits Israel provides its citizens, and have the right to vote in municipal elections. Arabs in Jerusalem can send their children to Israeli-run schools, although not every neighbourhood has one, and universities. Israeli doctors and highly regarded hospitals such as Hadassah Medical Center, Hadassah Medical Centre are available to residents. Demographics and the Jewish-Arab population divide play a major role in the dispute over Jerusalem. In 1998, the Jerusalem Development Authority proposed expanding city limits to the west to include more areas heavily populated with Jews. Within the past few years, there has been a steady increase in the Jewish birthrate and a steady decrease in the Arab birthrate. In May 2012, it was reported that the Jewish birthrate had overtaken the Arab birthrate. The city's birthrate stands about 4.2 children per Jewish family and 3.9 children per Arab family. In addition, increasing numbers of Jewish immigrants chose to settle in Jerusalem. In the last few years, thousands of Palestinians have moved to previously fully Jewish neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem, built after the 1967 Six-Day War. In 2007, 1,300 Palestinians lived in the previously exclusively Jewish neighbourhood of Pisgat Ze'ev and constituted three percent of the population in Neve Ya'akov. In the French Hill neighbourhood, Palestinians today constitute one-sixth of the overall population.At the end of 2008, the population of East Jerusalem was 456,300, comprising 60% of Jerusalem's residents. Of these, 195,500 (43%) were Jews, (comprising 40% of the Jewish population of Jerusalem as a whole), and 260,800 (57%) were Muslim (comprising 98% of the Muslim population of Jerusalem). In 2008, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported the number of Palestinians living in East Jerusalem was 208,000 according to a recently completed census. Jerusalem's Jewish population is overwhelmingly religious. Only 21% of Jewish residents are secular. In addition,Urban planning issues
Critics of efforts to promote a Jewish majority in Jerusalem say that government planning policies are motivated by demographic considerations and seek to limit Arab construction while promoting Jewish construction. According to a World Bank report, the number of recorded building violations between 1996 and 2000 was four and half times higher in Jewish neighbourhoods but four times fewer demolition orders were issued in West Jerusalem than in East Jerusalem; Arabs in Jerusalem were less likely to receive construction permits than Jews, and "the authorities are much more likely to take action against Palestinian violators" than Jewish violators of the permit process. In recent years, private Jewish foundations have received permission from the government to develop projects on disputed lands, such as the City of David (archaeological site), City of David archaeological site in the 60% Arab neighbourhood of Silwan (adjacent to the Old City), and the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem, Museum of Tolerance on Mamilla Cemetery (adjacent to Zion Square)."Movement and Access Restrictions in the West Bank: Uncertainty and Inefficiency"Religious significance
Jerusalem has been sacred to Judaism for roughly 3000 years, to Christianity for around 2000 years, and to Islam for approximately 1400 years. The 2000 Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem lists 1204 synagogues, 158 churches, and 73 mosques within the city. Despite efforts to maintain peaceful religious coexistence, some sites, such as the Temple Mount, have been a continuous source of friction and controversy.Judaism
Jerusalem has been the Four Holy Cities, holiest city in Judaism and the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since King David proclaimed it his capital in the 10th century BCE. Without counting its other names, Jerusalem appears in the Hebrew Bible 669 times. The first section, the Torah (Pentateuch), only mentions Moriah, but in later parts of the Bible, the city is mentioned explicitly. The Temple Mount, which was the site of Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple, is the holiest site in Judaism and the place Jews turn towards during prayer. The Western Wall, a remnant of the wall surrounding the Second Temple, is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray. Synagogues around the world are traditionally built with the Holy Ark facing Jerusalem, and Arks within Jerusalem face the Holy of Holies. As prescribed in the Mishnah, Mishna and codified in the ''Shulchan Aruch'', daily prayers are recited while facing towards Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Many Jews have "Mizrah, Mizrach" plaques hung on a wall of their homes to indicate the direction of prayer.Christianity
Jerusalem is generally considered the cradle of Christianity. Christianity reveres Jerusalem for its Old Testament history, and also for its significance in the life of Jesus. According to theIslam
Jerusalem is the third-holiest city in Sunni Islam. Islamic tradition holds that for approximately a year, before it was permanently switched to the Kaaba inEconomy
Historically, Jerusalem's economy was supported almost exclusively by religious pilgrims, as it was far from the major ports of Jaffa and Gaza City, Gaza. Jerusalem's religious and cultural landmarks today remain the top draw for foreign visitors, with the majority of tourists visiting the Western Wall and the Old City. In 2010, Jerusalem was named the top leisure travel city in Africa and the Middle East by Travel + Leisure, ''Travel + Leisure magazine''. in 2013, 75% of the 3.5 million tourists to Israel visited Jerusalem. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the national government has remained a major player in Jerusalem's economy. The government, centred in Jerusalem, generates a large number of jobs, and offers subsidies and incentives for new business initiatives and start-ups. Although Tel Aviv remains Israel's financial centre, a growing number of high tech companies are moving to Jerusalem, providing 12,000 jobs in 2006. Northern Jerusalem's Har Hotzvim industrial park and the Jerusalem Technology Park in south Jerusalem are home to large Research and Development centres of international tech companies, among them Intel Corporation, Intel, Cisco Systems, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, IBM, Mobileye, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic and more. In April 2015, Time Magazine picked Jerusalem as one of the five emerging tech hubs in the world, proclaiming that "The city has become a flourishing centre for biomed, cleantech, Internet/mobile startups, accelerators, investors and supporting service providers." Higher than average percentages are employed in education (17.9% vs. 12.7%); health and welfare (12.6% vs. 10.7%); community and social services (6.4% vs. 4.7%); hotels and restaurants (6.1% vs. 4.7%); and public administration (8.2% vs. 4.7%). During the British Mandate, a law was passed requiring all buildings to be constructed of Jerusalem stone in order to preserve the unique historic and aesthetic character of the city. Complementing this building code, which is still in force, is the discouragement of heavy industry in Jerusalem; only about 2.2% of Jerusalem's land is zoned for "industry and infrastructure." By comparison, the percentage of land in Tel Aviv zoned for industry and infrastructure is twice as high, and in Haifa, seven times as high. Only 8.5% of the Jerusalem District work force is employed in the manufacturing sector, which is half the national average (15.8%). Although many statistics indicate economic growth in the city, since 1967, East Jerusalem has lagged behind the development of West Jerusalem. Nevertheless, the percentage of households with employed persons is higher for Arab households (76.1%) than for Jewish households (66.8%). The unemployment rate in Jerusalem (8.3%) is slightly better than the national average (9.0%), although the civilian labor force, labour force accounted for less than half of all persons fifteen years or older—lower in comparison to that of Tel Aviv (58.0%) and Haifa (52.4%). Poverty remains a problem in the city as 37% of the families in Jerusalem lived in 2011 below the poverty line. According to a report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), 78% of Arabs in Jerusalem lived in poverty in 2012, up from 64% in 2006. While the ACRI attributes the increase to the lack of employment opportunities, infrastructure and a worsening educational system, Ir Amim blames the legal status of Palestinians in Jerusalem.High-rise construction
Jerusalem has traditionally had a low-rise skyline. About 18 tall buildings were built at different times in the downtown area when there was no clear policy over the matter. One of them, Holyland Tower 1, Jerusalem's tallest building, is a skyscraper by international standards, rising 32 stories. Holyland Tower 2, which has been approved for construction, will reach the same height. A new master plan for the city will see many high-rise buildings, including skyscrapers, built in certain, designated areas of downtown Jerusalem. Under the plan, towers will line Jaffa Road and King George Street (Jerusalem), King George Street. One of the proposed towers along King George Street, the Migdal Merkaz HaYekum, is planned as a 65-story building, which would make it one of the tallest buildings in Israel. At the entrance to the city, near the Jerusalem Chords Bridge and the Jerusalem Central Bus Station, Central Bus Station, twelve towers rising between 24 and 33 stories will be built, as part of a complex that will also include an open square and an Jerusalem Binyanei HaUma Railway Station, underground train station serving a new express line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and will be connected by bridges and tunnels. Eleven of the skyscrapers will be either office or apartment buildings, and one will be a 2,000-room hotel. The complex is expected to attract many businesses from Tel Aviv, and become the city's main business hub. In addition, a complex for the city's courts and the prosecutor's office will be built, as well as new buildings for Central Zionist Archives and Israel State Archives. The skyscrapers built throughout the city are expected to contain public space, shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, and it has been speculated that this may lead to a revitalization of downtown Jerusalem. In August 2015, the city council approved construction of a 344-foot pyramid-shaped skyscraper designed by Daniel Libeskind and Yigal Levi, in place of a rejected previous design by Libeskind; it is set to break ground by 2019.Transportation
Jerusalem is served by highly developed communication infrastructures, making it a leading logistics hub for Israel. The Jerusalem Central Bus Station, located on Jaffa Road, is the busiest bus station in Israel. It is served by Egged (company), Egged Bus Cooperative, which is the second-largest bus company in the world, The Dan Bus Company, Dan serves the Bnei Brak-Jerusalem route along with Egged, and Superbus (company), Superbus serves the routes between Jerusalem, Modi'in Illit, and Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut. The companies operate from Jerusalem Central Bus Station. Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem and routes between Jerusalem and locations in the West Bank are served by the East Jerusalem Central Bus Station, a transportation hub located near the Old City's Damascus Gate. The Jerusalem Light Rail initiated service in August 2011. According to plans, the first rail line will be capable of transporting an estimated 200,000 people daily, and has 23 stops. The route is from Pisgat Ze'ev in the north via the Old City and city centre to Mt. Herzl in the south. Another work in progress is a new High-speed railway to Jerusalem, high-speed rail line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which became partially operational in 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2019. Its terminus will be a Jerusalem Binyanei HaUma Railway Station, new underground station ( deep) serving the International Convention Center (Jerusalem), International Convention Centre and the Central Bus Station, and is planned to be extended eventually to Jerusalem Malha Railway Station, Malha station. Israel Railways operates train services to Jerusalem Malha Railway Station, Malha train station from Tel Aviv via Beit Shemesh. Highway 50 (Israel), Begin Expressway is one of Jerusalem's major north–south thoroughfares; it runs on the western side of the city, merging in the north with Route 443 (Israel), Route 443, which continues toward Tel Aviv. Highway 60 (Israel), Route 60 runs through the centre of the city near the Green Line (Israel), Green Line between East and West Jerusalem. Construction is progressing on parts of a beltway, ring road around the city, fostering faster connection between the suburbs. The eastern half of the project was conceptualized decades ago, but reaction to the proposed highway is still mixed.Airport
Jerusalem is served by Ben Gurion Airport, some northwest of the Jerusalem, on the route to Tel Aviv. The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway runs non-stop from Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station to the airport and began operation in 2018. In the past, Jerusalem was also served by the local Atarot Airport. Atarot ceased operation in 2000.Education
Universities
Jerusalem is home to several prestigious universities offering courses inArab schools
Schools for Arabs in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel have been criticized for offering a lower quality education than those catering to Israeli Jewish students. While many schools in the heavily Arab East Jerusalem are filled to capacity and there have been complaints of overcrowding, the Jerusalem Municipality is building over a dozen new schools in the city's Arab neighbourhoods. Schools in Ras al-Amud, Ras el-Amud and Umm Lison opened in 2008. In March 2007, the Israeli government approved a five-year plan to build 8,000 new classrooms in the city, 40 percent in the Arab sector and 28 percent in the Haredi sector. A budget of 4.6 billion shekels was allocated for this project. In 2008, Jewish British philanthropists donated $3 million for the construction of schools for Arabs in East Jerusalem. Arab high school students take the ''Bagrut'' matriculation exams, so that much of their curriculum parallels that of other Israeli high schools and includes certain Jewish subjects.Culture
Although Jerusalem is known primarily for its Religious significance of Jerusalem, religious significance, the city is also home to many artistic and cultural venues. The Israel Museum attracts nearly one million visitors a year, approximately one-third of them tourists. The museum complex comprises several buildings featuring special exhibits and extensive collections of Jewish ceremonial art, Judaica, archaeological findings, and Israeli and European art. The Dead Sea scrolls, discovered in the mid-20th century in the Qumran Caves near the Dead Sea, are housed in the Museum's Shrine of the Book. The Youth Wing, which mounts changing exhibits and runs an extensive art education programme, is visited by 100,000 children a year. The museum has a large outdoor sculpture garden and includes the Holyland Model of Jerusalem, a scale-model of the city during the late Second Temple period. The Ticho House in downtown Jerusalem houses the paintings of Anna Ticho and the Judaica collections of her husband, an ophthalmologist who opened Jerusalem's first eye clinic in this building in 1912. Next to the Israel Museum is the Bible Lands Museum, near Israel Antiquities Authority#The National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, The National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, which includes the Israel Antiquities Authority offices. A World Bible Centre is planned to be built adjacent to Mount Zion at a site called the "Bible Hill". A planned World Kabbalah Center, World Kabbalah Centre is to be located on the nearby promenade, overlooking the Old City. The Rockefeller Museum, located in East Jerusalem, was the first archaeological museum in the Middle East. It was built in 1938 during the British Mandate. In 2006, a Jerusalem Trail was opened, a hiking trail that goes to many cultural sites and national parks in and around Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo has ranked consistently as Israel's top tourist attraction for Israelis. The national cemetery of Israel is located at the city's western edge, near the Jerusalem Forest on Mount Herzl. The western extension of Mount Herzl is the Mount of Remembrance, where the main Holocaust museum of Israel is located. Yad Vashem, Israel's national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, houses the world's largest library of Holocaust-related information. It houses an estimated 100,000 books and articles. The complex contains a state-of-the-art museum that explores the genocide of the Jews through exhibits that focus on the personal stories of individuals and families killed in the Holocaust. An art gallery featuring the work of artists who perished is also present. Further, Yad Vashem commemorates the 1.5 million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis, and honours the Righteous among the Nations. The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, established in the 1940s, has appeared around the world. The International Convention Center (Jerusalem), International Convention Centre (''Binyanei HaUma'') near the entrance to city houses the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The Jerusalem Cinemateque, the Gerard Behar Center, Gerard Behar Centre (formerly Beit Ha'Am) in downtown Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Music Centre in Yemin Moshe, and the Targ Music Centre in Ein Kerem also present the arts. The Israel Festival, featuring indoor and outdoor performances by local and international singers, concerts, plays, and street theatre has been held annually since 1961, and Jerusalem has been the major organizer of this event. The Jerusalem Theater, Jerusalem Theatre in the Talbiya neighbourhood hosts over 150 concerts a year, as well as theatre and dance companies and performing artists from overseas. The The Jerusalem Khan Theatre, Khan Theatre, located in a caravanserai opposite the old Jerusalem train station, is the city's only repertory, repertoire theatre. The station itself has become a venue for cultural events in recent years as the site of ''Shav'ua Hasefer'' (an annual week-long book fair) and outdoor music performances. The Jerusalem Film Festival is held annually, screening Israeli and international films. In 1974 the Jerusalem Cinematheque was founded. In 1981 it was moved to a new building on Hebron Road near the Valley of Hinnom and the Old City. Jerusalem was declared the 2009 Capital of Arab Culture, Capital of Arab Culture in 2009. Jerusalem is home to the Palestinian National Theatre, which engages in cultural preservation as well as innovation, working to rekindle Palestinian interest in the arts. The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music sponsors the Palestine Youth Orchestra which toured Arab states of the Persian Gulf and other Middle East countries in 2009. The Islamic Museum on the Temple Mount, established in 1923, houses many Islamic artifacts, from tiny kohl (cosmetics), kohl flasks and rare manuscripts to giant marble columns. Al-Hoash, established in 2004, is a gallery for the preservation of Palestinian art. While Israel approves and financially supports some Arab cultural activities, Arab Capital of Culture events were banned because they were sponsored by the Palestine National Authority. In 2009, a four-day culture festival was held in the Beit 'Anan suburb of Jerusalem, attended by more than 15,000 people The Museum on the Seam, which explores issues of coexistence through art, is situated on the road dividing eastern and western Jerusalem. The Abraham Fund and the Jerusalem Intercultural Centre (JICC) promote joint Jewish-Palestinian cultural projects. The Jerusalem Centre for Middle Eastern Music and Dance is open to Arabs and Jews and offers workshops on Jewish-Arab dialogue through the arts. The Jewish-Arab Youth Orchestra performs both European classical and Middle Eastern music. In 2008, the Tolerance Monument, an outdoor sculpture by Czesław Dźwigaj, was erected on a hill between Jewish East Talpiot, Armon HaNetziv and Arab Jabel Mukaber, Jebl Mukaber as a symbol of Jerusalem's quest for peace.Media
Jerusalem is the state broadcasting centre of Israel. The Israel Broadcasting Authority's main office is located in Jerusalem, as well as the TV and radio studios for Israel Radio, Channel 2 (Israel), Channel 2, Channel 10 (Israel), Channel 10, and part of the radio studios of BBC News. The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel are also headquartered in Jerusalem. Local newspapers include Kol Ha'ir, Kol Ha'Ir and The Jerusalem Times. God TV, an international Christian television network is also based in the city.Sports
The two most popular sports are Association football, football (soccer) and basketball. Beitar Jerusalem F.C., Beitar Jerusalem Football Club is one of the most well known in Israel. Fans include political figures who often attend its games. Jerusalem's other major football team, and one of Beitar's top rivals, is Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. Whereas Beitar has been Israel State Cup champion seven times, Hapoel has won the Cup only once. Beitar has won the top league six times, while Hapoel has never succeeded. Beitar plays in the more prestigious Israeli Premier League, Ligat HaAl, while Hapoel is in the second division Liga Leumit. Since its opening in 1992, Teddy Stadium has been Jerusalem's primary football stadium, with a capacity of 31,733 The most popular Palestinian football club is Jabal Al Mukaber (football club), Jabal Al Mukaber (since 1976) which plays in West Bank Premier League. The club hails from Mount Scopus at Jerusalem, part of the Asian Football Confederation, and plays at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium at Al-Ram, across the West Bank Barrier.Football and the wall: The divided soccer community of JerusalemInternational relations
; Jerusalem is twinned with * Prague, Czech Republic * Ayabe, Japan * New York City, United States ''(since 1993)'' ; Partner city * Marseille, France * Kyiv, UkraineSee also
*Greater Jerusalem *List of people from Jerusalem *List of places in Jerusalem *List of songs about JerusalemNotes
References
Bibliography
*Martin Gilbert, Gilbert, Martin (1978). ''Jerusalem: Illustrated History Atlas''. New York: Macmillan Publishing.Further reading
*Cheshin, Amir S.; Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed (1999). ''Separate and Unequal: the Inside Story of Israeli Rule in East Jerusalem''. Harvard University Press. . *Cline, Eric (2004). ''Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel''. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. . *Collins, Larry, and La Pierre, Dominique (1988). ''O Jerusalem!''. New York: Simon & Schuster . *Gold, Dore (2007) ''The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, The West, and the Future of the Holy City''. International Publishing Company J-M, Ltd. . *Hans Köchler, Köchler, Hans (1981) ''The Legal Aspects of the Palestine Problem with Special Regard to the Question of Jerusalem'' Vienna: Braumüller . *''The Holy Cities: Jerusalem'' produced by Danae Film Production, distributed by HDH Communications; 2006 *Wasserstein, Bernard (2002) ''Divided Jerusalem: The Struggle for the Holy City'' New Haven and London: Yale University Press. .External links
* of the Jerusalem Municipality