Humans,
each to a different degree, combine cognitive reasoning with other less-cognitive
elements. The latter group mainly includes components of their identity, their sense
of history, their ideologies, their nationalist orientation,
their faith, their spiritual beliefs, their emotional characteristics, their political
worldview etc. With this well in mind, and in very general terms, I shall try
to explain how the majority of Jews living in and outside of the State of Israel
regard Jerusalem.
Our
connection to the eternal city is more than 3,000 years old; and as the last 2,000
years of Jewish history clearly demonstrate – the connection is not only physical;
it is first and foremost spiritual and it constitutes one of the most important
bases of our national and personal identities. No matter what the historical circumstance
were, harsh or favorable, the Jews in the Diaspora kept looking to the east,
longing to reunite someday with their ancient homeland. For generations, they promised
themselves and their families, every single day of the week, to be "next
year in Jerusalem."
3,000
years ago, King David established Jerusalem as the capital of his secular kingdom.
His son, Solomon, built the Holy Temple in the city (which the Babylonians
destroyed some five decades later), thus soldering its symbolic national and
religious significance to Jewish identity. Since that ancient era, and throughout
history, Jerusalem's status as the holiest city for the Jewish people grew
ever-stronger.
The
Jews were expelled from Jerusalem by the Babylonians but returned and eventually
erected the Second Temple. Crashing the Jewish rebellion in the year 135, the
Romans destroyed the second temple and expelled the Jews from Jerusalem,
banning their return for centuries to come. All that was left of what had been for
Judaism the holiest place on the face of the earth was its Western Wall. This Wall
remains – until this very day – the most important religious place of ritual
for Jews.
No
other people but the Jewish people ever considered Jerusalem a political, spiritual
or religious capital. All through history, and like no other people, Jews
maintained a substantial presence in Jerusalem. All through history, and like
no other people, Jerusalem, both as a physical and a spiritual place, played a
major role in Jewish life, theology, teachings and yearnings.
19th
century Zionist thoughts and deeds brought about a massive immigration of Jews into
the Ottoman-ruled "Eretz Israel" (known then, internationally, as Palestine),
an administration later replaced by the British Mandate. This immigration
greatly bolstered the existing Jewish population of Jerusalem, as well. By the
time the United Nations approved the partition plan, and the State of Israel
was established (14 May 1948), Jerusalem's population was characterized by a
clear Jewish majority.
Although
Israel's War of Independence resulted in a phenomenal military and political
triumph, it left Jerusalem divided. The Western part of the city was now
controlled by the new State of Israel and the Eastern part, which included
Jerusalem's Old City and the Western Wall, was controlled by the Jordanians.
This meant devastation for religious Jews, who were deprived of a basic right
that had hitherto been given both by the Ottomans and by the British – i.e. to practice
their religious rituals in their holiest of places.
The
Jordanians, who were in total control of the Holy places from 1948 until 1967, provided
limited access for Christians and no access whatsoever for Jews. Israel
liberated Eastern Jerusalem during the 1967 Six Days War, immediately implementing
freedom of religious practice to all faiths and denominations. The
reunification of Jerusalem also brought about recognition of the rights of
these faiths to manage their respective holy sites. Israel even went further
and granted the Muslims in Jerusalem the right to administer what Judaism
considers its holiest site – the much contested Temple
Mount.
It
should be noted that History has witnessed an absurd process with regards to
Muslims and Jerusalem. Although there is no evidence that the prophet
Muhammad ever visited Jerusalem, or that Jerusalem was ever an Arab city for
that matter, Muslims still consider the city holy. Studies by the finest Islamic
scholars claim that Muhammad was influenced by Judeo-Christian ideas, those
adhering to Monotheism, Judgment-Day and one's moral responsibility for his/her
actions. The holy importance of Jerusalem, they claim, was a part of this set
of beliefs and values. It seems that the Israeli-Arab conflict, and the rise of
a new tribe of Arabs during the 20th Century called Palestinian,
shifted the focus of Islamic theology from Mecca as its holiest city to
Jerusalem.
With
this in mind, the Arab claim for East Jerusalem has no historical basis. What
it really means – at the end of the day – is that Arabs control the most sacred
Jewish and Christian holy sites. One has to consider past and present
experience with Arab intolerance toward other faiths, mainly with Christianity,
before supporting such an idea. One has to also consider Terror.
Jerusalem
has experience terrorist attacks by so called Palestinian Arabs like no other
city in the world. Horrific attacks, inhumane ones, which targeted innocent
civilians – woman and children. Dozens of innocent people have been killed on
Jerusalem's streets, in its busses and cafés. The proponents
of these barbaric onslaughts wish to make our lives in the city so unbearable
that we will forfeit our historical right to it. They have been at it since the
1920s but have failed to learn from experience. Nothing will ever make us
Israelis give up Jerusalem – Nothing!
All
those who favor Arab total claims for Jerusalem or the division of the city must
understand the implications on the Jewish people as a whole and on us Israelis
in particular. For Jews living in Israel and out, disengagement from the Old City, which is located in East
Jerusalem, means spiritual desolation
Unified
Jerusalem is the Capital of the State of Israel. This is an undisputable fact for
us Israelis, and confronting us with baseless claims about the rights of others
to the Holy City will not change it. No amount of terrorist attacks on our
populations, no amount of political pressure and no international posturing for
dividing the city could ever change what Jews feel towards Jerusalem. In fact,
all of those do just the opposite – they unite us and strengthen our
convictions.
This is
how we feel as a People. This is how most of us feel as individuals. So please
remember to take all of that into consideration when forming your opinion about
us Israelis.
A link for a short movie about Jerusalem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mR2W43t6tI&feature=youtu.be
