Jerusalem, the capital of Israel and a holy city for Jews, Muslims, and Christians, has a long and complex history. The Old City in Jerusalem is thought to have been inhabited, consistently, for 5000 years! Its history is marred with painful conflict and tensions. The Old City is sectioned into various segregated quarters: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Armenian. The sovereignty of Jerusulem, that is, under which country it belongs, has long been a controversial debate. Israel claims it as its capital, and it is recognized as such now, but it was not always this way. East Jerusalem and the Old City used to be part of Jordan, until the 6 day war in 1967. As a result of that war, Israel gained territory from Jordan, among other countries, and this territory (the West Bank) included East Jerusalem and the Old City. Israel treated the West Bank as an occupied territory, but treated East Jerusalem and the Old City as an extension of Israel's border. This was condemned by the UN. The UN had originally proposed that Jerusalem be an "international city" split between Israel and a Palestinian state. Of course, this was not implemented. Supporters of a Palestinian state, however, maintain their desire for Jerusalem to be their capital.
The city has a very unique character, being both ancient, with ancient structures, and metropolitan/urban. It is multi-linguistic with Hebrew, Arabic, English and various other languages spoken.
Comments