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Jerusalem has played a critical role in history—both in world history and in biblical history. It was the city of Melchizedek, the king of Salem, 4,000 years ago. It was Jerusalem that King David conquered and made the capital of his empire, 3,000 years ago. It remained the capital of Solomon’s empire, with its magnificent temple, until his death when it became the center of Judah. It was the city Nebuchadnezzar conquered in 586 BC, which resulted in the final Jewish deportation to Babylon. It was the center of the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah as the exiles returned from Babylon. It was the focal point and objective of Jesus’ public ministry, where of course He died and was resurrected. He will return to the Mount of Olives and make Jerusalem the center of His millennial kingdom. The Bible speaks of a New Jerusalem that will be a part of the new heaven and new earth. In short, Jerusalem is the key to biblical history—for both the Old Testament and the New Testament. But it also important to Islam, for it teaches that it was in Jerusalem where Muhammad in 620 met with Jesus, Moses and Abraham and then was miraculously transported to the 7th heaven. The Dome of the Rock is presumably built on the spot of that ascension; a place Muslims call the “Noble Sanctuary.” Today, Muslims claim Jerusalem as one of their three most holy cities, together with Mecca and Medina. The modern state of Israel claims it as its capital, and of course Christians regard Jerusalem as the most important city of the Christian world. It has been and apparently will remain the most disputed and fought over city in world history. In this perspective I want to review its importance in 2006.
- First, a review of its centrality since 1948 when the modern nation state of Israel was created. From 1948 until 1967, the armistice line between Israel and Jordan ran through Jerusalem, dividing Jewish west from Arab east. After Israel captured Jerusalem in 1967, Israel claimed that the reunited city was its eternal capital. Current plans are that the “Security Barrier” that Israel is building in and around the West Bank will divide Jerusalem. That security barrier will include the new Jewish suburbs Israel has built in east Jerusalem since 1967 and most of the old Arab city. When the barrier is completed, Arab Jerusalem will be cut off from the rest of the West Bank. Jerusalem is therefore the key metaphor for the Arab-Israeli conflict. Since 1948 Arabs and Jews have found no way either to share or to divide the city. As The Economist has stated, “This is a city in which religions as well as nationalisms collide.” The United Nations cannot solve this conundrum nor has any other world leader. Most recently, Bill Clinton, in the last days of his presidency, tried to get Ehud Barak and Yasir Arafat to agree to a creative solution for that divided the city. It failed and produced Arafat’s final intifada. It is an understatement but there will be no permanent peace in the Middle East until the problem of Jerusalem is solved. Indeed, I believe that the Bible declares it will not be permanently solved until Jesus returns. Again as The Economist declares, “Both Israel and Palestine say that they cannot live without it. So any operation designed to separate Israel from the Palestinians must be exceptionally sensitive and delicate. Worse, it must be performed from the outset in the knowledge that complete separation is out of the question. In Jerusalem at least, Israel and Palestine are doomed to remain perpetually entwined.” The huge physical changes that modern Israel has effected since 1967, creating vast Jewish neighborhoods to the north, east and south, have made it impossible to redivide the city along the pre-1967 boundary.
- Second, what has been Israel’s strategy regarding Jerusalem? Over the last few years, the Israeli government has been pursuing a policy of unilateralism, withdrawing to borders of its own choosing. The most significant example of this is the recent withdrawal from Gaza. Unilateralism has also involved building a security barrier to keep out suicide bombers and evacuating settlements on the far side of the barrier. Israel has not negotiated with the Palestinians and is instead pursuing its own interests through this policy of unilateralism. (This strategy is now heightened with Hamas, the militant Islamic group now in control of the Palestinian parliament.) Unilateralism includes sealing off Palestinians in Jerusalem from the rest of West Bank Arabs. It is doubtful that this will solve anything for the long run. One thing is crystal clear: Israel will not abandon any part of Jerusalem as long as a hostile Hamas remains in control of the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli unilateral solution seeks to keep economic ties between Israel and the West Bank, will still grant permits to cross the barrier and will still foster an opportunity for the Arabs to be a part of the government of Jerusalem. But it is doubtful that Jerusalem’s Arabs will accept this as a solution.
- Finally, how do respective Jews and Arabs view Jerusalem’s 35 acre Mount? Jews revere the Mount as the site of the first and second Temples, the spiritual center of the nation. However, that Mount today is not controlled by Jews. The Dome of the Rock, and the al-Aqsa mosque at the southern end of the Mount, affirm Jerusalem for Muslims as al-Quds, the holy place where Muhammad ascended to heaven. The Mount and its Muslim holy places are under the custody of an Islamic waqf, or religious foundation, while Israel is responsible for security and access to the Mount. No organized Jewish prayer is permitted on the platform; this ban is substantiated by a rabbinic ruling that Jews should avoid going to the mount for fear of straying into the former site of the “holy of holies” in an impure state. What often adds to the tension is that several small, Orthodox Jewish sects dream of replacing the Muslim holy sites with the third Temple as preparation for their coming Messiah. Many evangelicals in America support this contention. So solving the problem of Jerusalem means solving the problem of what to do with the Temple Mount. Many over the years have suggested that solving this dilemma would involve denationalizing the Mount, with international guarantees that would ensure freedom of worship for all. Currently, no one is holding any such discussions, but I believe at some point that is how the Mount problem will be solved—at least temporarily. All of these matters will ultimately be a part of the eschaton, that cluster of events that will constitute the return of Jesus Christ. Jerusalem is now and will remain the most important city in the world.
See most helpful articles in The Economist (15 April 2006), pp. 13, 27-29.
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