Jerusalem

For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation).

"al-Quds" redirects here. For other uses, see al-Quds (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox Israel muni Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם , Yerushaláyim; Arabic: القُدس , al-Quds)^[ii] is the capital^[iii] and largest city of Israel in both population and area, with 732,100 residents in an area of 125.1 square kilometers (49 sq mi). Located in the Judean Mountains, between the Mediterranean Sea and the northern tip of the Dead Sea, the city has a history that goes back as far as the 4th millennium BCE, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual center of the Jewish people since the 10th century BCE. The city contains a number of significant ancient Christian sites and is considered the third-holiest city in Islam.

The walled area of Jerusalem, which constituted the entire city until the 1860s, is now called the Old City, and was added to the List of World Heritage Sites in danger in 1982. The Old City has been traditionally divided into four quarters, although the names used today—the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters—were only introduced in the early 19th century. Despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometer (0.35 square mile), the Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians, and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims.

Modern Jerusalem has grown up around the Old City, with its civic and cultural hub extending westward toward Israel's urban center in Gush Dan. The Arab population resides in clusters in the North, East and South. Today, Jerusalem remains a bone of contention in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem (captured in the 1967 Six-Day War) has been particularly controversial, as Palestinians view this part of the city as the capital of a potential Palestinian state. The status of a "united Jerusalem" as Israel's "eternal capital" has not been officially recognized by the international community. Although some countries maintain consulates in Jerusalem, and two maintain embassies in Jerusalem suburbs, all embassies are located outside of the city proper, mostly in Tel Aviv.

Etymology

Further information: [[:Names of Jerusalem]]

Although the precise origin of the Hebrew name for Jerusalem, Yerushalayim remains uncertain, scholars have come up with a variety of interpretations. Some say it means "legacy of peace" — a portmanteau of yerusha (legacy) and shalom (peace). "Shalom" is a cognate of the Hebrew name "Shlomo," i.e., King Solomon," the builder of the First Temple. Alternatively, the second part of the portmanteau could be Salem (Shalem literally "whole" or "in harmony"), an early name for Jerusalem that appears in the Book of Genesis. Others cite the Amarna letters, where the Akkadian name of the city appears as Urušalim, a cognate of the Hebrew Ir Shalem. Some believe there is a connection to Shalim, the beneficent deity known from Ugaritic myths as the personification of dusk.

A Midrashic interpretation in Genesis Rabba explains that Abraham came to the city that was then called Shalem after rescuing Lot. Upon arrival, he asked the king and high priest Melchizedek to bless him, and Melchizedek did so in the name of God (indicating that he, like Abraham, was a monotheist). This encounter between Melchizedek and Abraham was commemorated by renaming the city in their honor: the name Yeru (derived from Yireh, the name Abraham gave to the Temple Mount) was combined with Shalem, producing Yeru-Shalem, meaning the "city of Shalem," or "founded by Shalem." If shalem means "complete," or "without defect, " Yerushalayim would mean the "perfect city," or "the city of he who is perfect". The ending -im indicates the plural in Hebrew grammar and -ayim the dual, leading to an interpretation of the name as representing two facets of the city, such as two hills. The pronunciation of the last syllable as -ayim appears to be a late development, which had not yet appeared at the time of the Septuagint.

History

Main article: History of Jerusalem

See also: History of ancient Israel and Judah, History of Palestine, and Timeline of Jerusalem

Ceramic evidence indicates the occupation of Ophel, within present-day Jerusalem, as far back as the Copper Age, c. 4th millennium BCE, with evidence of a permanent settlement during the early centuries of the Early Bronze Age, c. 3000-2800 BCE. Ann Killebrew has shown how Jerusalem was a large and important walled city in the MB IIB and IA IIC (ca. 1800-1550 and 720-586 BCE), during the intervening Late Bronze (LB) and IA I and IIA/B Ages Jerusalem was a small and relatively insignificant and unfortified town. The earliest written references to the city are probably in the Berlin and Brussels groups of Execration Texts (c. 19th century BCE) (which refer to a city called Roshlamem or Rosh-ramen) and the Amarna letters (c. 14th century BCE). Some archaeologists, including Kathleen Kenyon, believe Jerusalem as a city was founded by West Semitic people with organized settlements from around 2600 BCE. According to tradition the city was founded by Shem and Eber, ancestors of Abraham. The Biblical account portrays the Jebusites as having control of the city, inhabiting the area around the present-day city until the late 11th century BCE when David is said to have invaded and conquered their city, Jebus, and established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah (c. 1000s BCE).^[iv] Recent excavations of a large stone structure are interpreted by some archaeologists as lending credence to the biblical narrative.

Temple periods

Artist's depiction of the First Temple, according to Biblical descriptions

According to the Hebrew Bible, David reigned until 970 BCE, when his son Solomon became king of Israel. Within a decade, Solomon began to build the Holy Temple on Mount Moriah inside the city. Solomon's Temple (later known as the First Temple), went on to play a pivotal role in Jewish history as the repository of the Ark of the Covenant. The next four centuries, up until the destruction of Solomon's Temple (c. 586 BCE), are known in history as the First Temple Period. Upon Solomon's death (c. 930 BCE), the ten northern tribes split off to form the Kingdom of Israel. Under the leadership of the House of David and Solomon, Jerusalem remained the capital of the Kingdom of Judah. When the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE, Jerusalem was strengthened by a great influx of refugees from the northern kingdom. The First Temple period ended around 586 BCE, as the Babylonians conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and laid waste to Solomon's Temple. However, many claims of the Fall of Jerusalem are gathered from the Ptolemaic records, in which some dates have been found to be erroneous. Some religions (JWs, Bible students and several others) claim that Jerusalem fell in 606-607 BCE; however, no historical evidence supports that the 18th or 19th year of Nebuchadrezzar was in the year 607 BCE, and Zecharias 7:1-5 establishes the year 587 BCE for the complete and final attack on Jerusalem by the Babylonians.

In 538 BCE, after fifty years of Babylonian captivity, Persian King Cyrus the Great permitted the Jews to return to Judah to rebuild Jerusalem and their holy temple. Construction of the Second Temple, was completed in 516 BCE, during the reign of Darius the Great, seventy years after the destruction of the First Temple. Jerusalem resumed its role as capital of Judah and center of Jewish worship. When Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, Jerusalem and Judea fell under Macedonian control, eventually falling to the Ptolemaic dynasty under Ptolemy I. In 198 BCE, Ptolemy V lost Jerusalem and Judea to the Seleucids under Antiochus III. The Seleucid attempt to recast Jerusalem as a Hellenized polis came to a head in 168 BCE with the successful Maccabean revolt of Mattathias the High Priest and his five sons against Antiochus Epiphanes, and their establishment of the Hasmonean Kingdom in 152 BCE with Jerusalem again as its capital.

The Tower of David as seen from the Hinnom Valley

The Jewish-Roman wars and the Jewish diaspora

As Rome became stronger it installed Herod as a Jewish client king. Herod the Great, as he was known, devoted himself to developing and beautifying the city. He built walls, towers and palaces, and 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. In 6 CE, the city, as well as much of the surrounding area, came under direct Roman rule as the Iudaea Province and Herod's descendants through Agrippa II remained client kings of Judea until 96 CE. Roman rule over Jerusalem and the region began to be challenged with the first Jewish-Roman war, the Great Jewish Revolt, which resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. In 130 CE Hadrian Romanized the city, and renamed it Aelia Capitolina. Jerusalem once again served as the capital of Judea during the three-year rebellion known as the Bar Kochba revolt. The Romans succeeded in recapturing the city in 135 CE and as a punitive measure Hadrian banned the Jews from entering it. As a result the city became entirely pagan (non-Jewish). Hadrian proceeded to rename the entire Iudaea Province to Syria Palaestina after the Biblical Philistines in an attempt to thwart future rebellion and to de-Judaize Judea. Enforcement of the ban on Jews entering Aelia Capitolina continued until the 4th century CE.

Shifts in control

File:Jerusalem1099.jpg

Capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade, 1099 (from a medieval manuscript)

In the five centuries following the Bar Kokhba revolt, the city remained under Roman then Byzantine rule. During the 4th century, the Roman Emperor Constantine I constructed Christian sites in Jerusalem such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Jerusalem reached a peak in size and population at the end of the Second Temple Period: The city covered two square kilometers (0.8 sq mi.) and had a population of 200,000 From the days of Constantine until the Arab conquest in 638, Jews were banned from Jerusalem, but were allowed back into the city by Muslim rulers. By the end of the 7th century, an Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik had commissioned and completed the construction of the Dome of the Rock over the Foundation Stone. In the four hundred years that followed, Jerusalem's prominence diminished as Arab powers in the region jockeyed for control.

In 1099, Jerusalem was besieged by the First Crusaders, who killed most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, apart from many Christians. That would be the first of several conquests to take place over the next four hundred years. In 1187, the city was taken from the Crusaders by Saladin. Between 1228 and 1244, it was given by Saladin's descendant al-Kamil to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Jerusalem fell again in 1244 to the Khawarizmi Turks, who were later, in 1260, replaced by the Mamelukes. In 1517, Jerusalem and its environs fell to the Ottoman Turks, who would maintain control of the city until the 20th century. This era saw the first expansion outside the Old City walls, as new neighborhoods were established to relieve the overcrowding that had become so prevalent. The first of these new neighborhoods included the Russian Compound and the Jewish Mishkenot Sha'ananim, both founded in 1860.

General Edmund Allenby enters the Jaffa Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem on December 11, 1917

In 1917 after the Battle of Jerusalem, the British Army, led by General Edmund Allenby, captured the city. The League of Nations, through its 1922 ratification of the Balfour Declaration, entrusted the United Kingdom to administer the Mandate of Palestine and help establish a Jewish state in the region. The period of the Mandate saw the construction of new garden suburbs in the western and northern parts of the city and the establishment of institutions of higher learning such as the Hebrew University, founded in 1925.

State of Israel

See also: UN General Assembly Resolution 194

As the British Mandate of Palestine was expiring, the 1947 UN Partition Plan (Part III) recommended "the creation of a special international regime in the City of Jerusalem, constituting it as a corpus separatum under the administration of the United Nations." However, this plan was never implemented and at the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Jerusalem found itself divided between Israel and Jordan (then known as Transjordan). The ceasefire line established through the Armistice Agreement of 1949 between Israel and Jordan, cut through the center of the city from 1949 until 1967, during which time West Jerusalem was part of Israel and East Jerusalem was part of Jordan. In 1949, Israel designated West Jerusalem as its capital. Contrary to the terms of the Armistice Agreement of 1949 between Jordan and Israel, Israelis were denied access to Jewish holy sites, many of which were desecrated, and only allowed extremely limited access to Christian holy sites.

Following the 1967 Six-Day War Israel captured East Jerusalem, asserted sovereignty over the entire city, and later in 1980 declared Jerusalem, "complete and united", to be the capital of Israel. However, East Jerusalem has been seen by the Palestinian Arabs as a possible capital of a proposed Palestinian state. They also refer to Security Council resolution 252, which considers invalid expropriation of land and other actions that tend to change the legal status of Jerusalem. The status of the city and of its holy places remains disputed to this day.

Geography

Ein Karem in the hills of southwest Jerusalem

Jerusalem is situated around 31°47′N 35°13′E on the southern spur of a plateau in the Judean Mountains, which include the Mount of Olives (East) and Mount Scopus (North East). The elevation of the Old City is approximately 760 m. The whole of Jerusalem is surrounded by valleys and dry riverbeds (wadis), although those to the north are less pronounced than those on the other sides.

Three of the most prominent valleys in the region, the Kidron, Hinnom, and Tyropoeon Valleys, intersect in an area just south of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Kidron Valley runs just to the east of the Old City and separates the Mount of Olives from the city proper. Along the southern side of old Jerusalem is the Valley of Hinnom, a steep ravine associated in Biblical eschatology with the concept of Gehenna or hell. A third valley commenced in the northwest near the present-day location of Damascus Gate, ran south-southeasterly through the center of the Old City down to the Pool of Siloam, and divided the lower part into two hills, the Temple Mount to the east, and the rest of the city to the west (the lower and the upper cities described by Josephus). Today, this valley, the Tyropoeon Valley, is mostly hidden from view due to the amount of debris that has accumulated within the ravine over the past few millennia.

Jerusalem is 60 kilometers (37 mi) east of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean Sea. On the opposite side of the city, approximately 35 kilometers (22 mi) away, is the Dead Sea, the lowest body of water on Earth. Neighboring cities and towns include Bethlehem and Beit Jala to the south, Abu Dis and Ma'ale Adumim to the east, Mevaseret Zion to the west, and Ramallah and Giv'at Ze'ev to the north.

Climate

The city is characterized by a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers, warm to cool spring and autumn, and cold, wet winters. Snowfall occurs every couple of winters. January is the coldest month of the year, with an average temperature of 8 °C (46 °F). July and August are the hottest months, with an average temperature of 23 °C (73 °F). Temperatures vary widely from day to night, and Jerusalem evenings are typically cool even in summer. The average annual precipitation is close to 590 millimetres (23 in) with rain occurring usually from October to May.

Climate data for Jerusalem
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: The Weather Channel

Most of the air pollution in Jerusalem comes from vehicular traffic, especially in East Jerusalem. 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 Mediterranean coast can travel eastward and settle over the city.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Jerusalem

In May 2006, Jerusalem had a population of 724,000, of whom 65% were Jewish, 32% were Muslim, and 2% were Christian, and a population density of Template:Pop density km2 to mi2. In 2005, Jerusalem received 2,450 immigrants, with nearly three quarters of them arriving from the United States, France, and former members of the Soviet Union. Within Israel, emigrants from Jerusalem outnumber immigrants to the city. In 2005, over ten thousand Israelis migrated to Jerusalem while over sixteen thousand left the city. The population of Jerusalem, however, continues to rise due to high birth rates, especially among the Arab and Haredi Jewish communities (whose birth rates are higher than the Israeli national average). Consequently, the total fertility rate in Jerusalem (4.02) is far higher than those of comparable cities in the region such as Tel Aviv (1.98) and well above the national average of 2.90. Similarly, the average size of Jerusalem's 180,000 households is 3.8 people.

In 2005, the total number of residents in Jerusalem grew by approximately thirteen thousand (1.8%) — also well above the Israeli national average. However, as the city has continued to grow, the religious and ethnic composition of Jerusalem has proceeded to shift. Although Jews account for the majority of people in Jerusalem, they only account for thirty-one percent of the children under age fifteen. This recent data corroborates the observation that the Jewish population of Jerusalem has been declining over the past four decades. In 1967, the year of the Six-Day War, Jews accounted for seventy-four percent of the population, which is nine percent more than their share of the population in 2006. Explanations for this decline are the soaring cost of housing in Jerusalem, the smaller job market and the growing religious character of the city. Many young people are moving to the suburbs and coastal cities in search of cheaper housing and the more secular lifestyle offered by other cities.

Demographics and the Jewish-Arab population split continue to play a major role in carving the outcome of the dispute over Jerusalem. In 1998, the chairman of the Jerusalem Development Authority even proposed expanding city limits to the west so as to include more areas heavily populated with Jews.

Local government

Safra Square, Jerusalem City Hall

The Jerusalem City Council has thirty-one elected members, one of whom is the mayor. The mayor serves a five-year term and appoints six deputies. The current mayor of Jerusalem, Uri Lupolianski was elected in 2003. 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 twenty-eight 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 new municipal complex, comprising two modern buildings and ten renovated historic buildings surrounding a large plaza, opened in 1993. The city falls under the Jerusalem District, with Jerusalem as the district's capital.

Capital of Israel

Further information: [[:Positions on Jerusalem]]

See also: Politics of Israel

On December 5, 1949, the State of Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, proclaimed Jerusalem as Israel's capital and since then all branches of the Israeli government — legislative, judicial, and executive — have resided there. At the time of the proclamation, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan and thus only West Jerusalem was considered Israel's capital. Immediately after the 1967 Six-Day War, however, Israel annexed East Jerusalem, making it a de facto part of the Israeli capital. Israel enshrined the status of the "complete and united" Jerusalem — west and east — as its capital, in the 1980 Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel.

The Knesset Building in Jerusalem, home to the legislative branch of the Israeli government

The non-binding United Nations Security Council Resolution 478, passed on August 20, 1980, declared that this law was "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith." Member states were advised to withdraw their diplomatic representation from the city as a punitive measure. Most of the remaining countries with embassies in Jerusalem complied with the resolution by relocating them to Tel Aviv, where many embassies already resided prior to Resolution 478. Currently there are no embassies located within the city limits of Jerusalem, although there are embassies in Mevaseret Zion, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, and four consulates in the city itself. In 1995, the United States Congress had planned to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem with the passage of the Jerusalem Embassy Act. However, U.S. presidents, including President Bush and President Clinton, have argued that Congressional resolutions regarding the status of Jerusalem are merely advisory. The Constitution reserves foreign relations as an executive power, and as such, the US embassy is still in Tel Aviv. Israel's most prominent governmental institutions, including the Knesset, the Supreme Court, and the official residences of the President and Prime Minister, are located in Jerusalem.

Palestinian claims

Further information: [[:Positions on Jerusalem (Palestinian)]]

Prior to the creation of the State of Israel, Jerusalem served as the administrative capital of the British Mandate of Palestine, which included present-day Israel and Jordan. From 1949 until 1967, West Jerusalem served as Israel's capital but was not recognized internationally as Israel's capital, because UN General Assembly Resolution 194 ruled Jerusalem an international city. As a result of the Six-Day War in 1967, the whole of Jerusalem came under Israeli control. According to the Oslo Accords, the final status of Jerusalem should be determined by peaceful negotiations, as the Palestinian National Authority sees East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Orient House was the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1980s and 1990s, but is currently closed.

Culture

The Shrine of the Book, housing the Dead Sea Scrolls, at the Israel Museum

Outside the Children's Memorial at Yad Vashem

Although Jerusalem is known around the world for its religious significance, the city is also home to many artistic and cultural venues. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem's premier art museum, annually attracts nearly one million visitors, approximately one-third of them international tourists. The twenty-acre museum complex comprises several buildings featuring special exhibits and extensive collections of Judaica, archeological findings, and Israeli and European art. The Dead Sea scrolls, discovered in the mid-twentieth 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 program, is visited by 100,000 children a year. The museum has a large outdoor sculpture garden, and a scale-model of the Second Temple was recently moved from the Holyland Hotel to a new location on the museum grounds. Other museums affiliated with the Israel Museum are the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum, Ticho House, and the Paley Center of Art. The Rockefeller Museum, located in East Jerusalem, was the first archeological museum in the Middle East. It was built in 1938 during the British Mandate. 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.

File:P1000649.JPG

Mahane Yehuda Market in west Jerusalem

Another prominent cultural institution in Jerusalem is Yad Vashem, Israel's national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Yad Vashem houses the world's largest library of Holocaust-related information, with 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 whose lives were torn asunder, and a gallery displaying permanent and changing exhibits of work by artists who died in the Holocaust. Another memorial at Yad Vashem commemorates the 1.5 million Jewish children who perished at the hands of the Nazis. Yad Vashem operates as both a research and educational institution.

The Jerusalem Theater at night

One of the city's foremost orchestras is the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, which has been operating since the 1940s. The Orchestra has held performances in cities around the world, including Vienna, Frankfurt, and New York City. Within walking distance of the Old City is a cultural district which includes the Khan Theatre, the only repertoire theater in the city, and the Jerusalem Cinematheque. The Jerusalem Theater, located in the Komemiyut (Talbiya) neighborhood, hosts over 150 concerts a year, as well as theater and dance companies and performing artists from overseas. Other prominent facilities for the performing arts include the International Convention Center (Binyanei HaUma) near the entrance to city, where the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra plays, the Gerard Behar Center in downtown Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Music Center in Yemin Moshe, and the Targ Music Center in Ein Kerem. The Palestinian National Theatre, founded in 1984 and once the only center for art and culture in East Jerusalem, today presents art from the Palestinian perspective. The Israel Festival, featuring local and international vocal artists, concerts, plays and street theater, has been held annually since 1961. For the past 25 years, Jerusalem has been the major organizer of this event, which takes place in May-June, and most of the performances take place at venues around the city.

Religious significance

Main article: Religious significance of Jerusalem

Jerusalem plays an important role in the three monotheistic religions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. 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.

The Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism

Jerusalem has been sacred to the Jews since the 10th century BCE, as the site of Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple. It is mentioned in the Bible 632 times. Today, the Western Wall, a remnant of the Second Temple, is a holy site for Jews, second only to the Temple Mount itself. 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 Mishna and codified in the Shulchan Aruch, daily prayers are recited while facing towards Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Many Jews have "Mizrach" plaques hung on a wall of their homes to indicate the direction of prayer.

The main entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Christianity reveres Jerusalem not only for its role in the Old Testament but also for its significance in the life of Jesus. According to Biblical accounts, Jesus was brought to the city of Jerusalem not long after his birth and later in his life cleansed the Second Temple. The Cenacle, believed to be the site of Jesus' Last Supper, is located on Mount Zion in the same building that houses the Tomb of King David. Another prominent Christian site in Jerusalem is Golgotha, the site of the crucifixion. The Gospel of John describes it as being located outside Jerusalem, but recent archaeological evidence suggests Golgotha is a short distance from the Old City walls, within the present-day confines of the city. The land currently occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is considered one of the top candidates for Golgotha and thus has been a Christian pilgrimage site for the past two thousand years.

Dome of the Rock viewed through the Temple Mount's Cotton Gate (Bab al-Qattanin)

According to tradition, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city in Islam. Before it was permanently switched to the Kabaa in Mecca, the qibla (direction of prayer) for Muslims was Jerusalem. The city's lasting place in Islam, however, is primarily due to Muhammad's Night of Ascension (c. 620 CE). Muslims believe Muhammad was miraculously transported one night from Mecca to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, whereupon he ascended to Heaven to meet previous prophets of Islam. The first verse in the Qur'an's Surat al-Isra notes the destination of Muhammad's journey as al-Aqsa (the farthest) mosque, in reference to the location in Jerusalem. Today, the Temple Mount is topped by two Islamic landmarks intended to commemorate the event — al-Aqsa Mosque, derived from the name mentioned in the Qur'an, and the Dome of the Rock, which stands over the Foundation Stone, from which Muslims believe Muhammad ascended to Heaven.

Sports

The two most popular sports in Jerusalem, and Israel as a whole, are football (soccer) and basketball. Beitar Jerusalem Football Club is one of the most popular teams in Israel. Fans include several former and current political figures who make a point of attending its games. Jerusalem's other major football team, and one of Beitar's top rivals, is Hapoel Jerusalem Football Club. Whereas Beitar has been Israel State Cup champion five times, Hapoel has only won the Cup once. Also, Beitar plays in the more prestigious premier league, while Hapoel is in the third division national league.

In basketball, Hapoel Jerusalem is higher up on the scale. In a league dominated by Maccabi Tel Aviv it has yet to win a championship, but it has won the Israeli Cup three times, and it took the European ULEB Cup in 2004. Since its opening in 1992, Teddy Kollek Stadium has been Jerusalem's primary football stadium, with a capacity of 21,000.

Economy

Kanyon Hadar shopping mall in Talpiot

Ben Yehuda Street on Shabbat, when businesses are closed

Historically, Jerusalem's economy was supported almost exclusively by religious pilgrims, as it was located far from the major ports of Jaffa and Gaza. Jerusalem's religious landmarks today remain the top draw for foreign visitors, with the majority of tourists visiting the Western Wall and the Old City, but in the past half-century it has become increasingly clear that Jerusalem's providence cannot solely be sustained by its religious significance.

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 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 in the city has increased dramatically in recent years; between 2001 and 2007, the number of people below the poverty threshold increased by forty percent. In 2006, the average monthly income for a worker in Jerusalem was NIS5,940 (US$1,410), NIS1,350 less than that for a worker in Tel Aviv.

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%). 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%). Although Tel Aviv remains Israel's financial center, a growing number of high tech companies are moving to Jerusalem, providing 12,000 jobs in 2006. Northern Jerusalem's Har Hotzvim industrial park is home to some of Israel's major corporations, among them Intel, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, and ECI Telecom. Expansion plans for the park envision one hundred businesses, a fire station, and a school, covering an area of 530,000 m² (130 acres).

Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the national government has remained a major player in Jerusalem's economy. The government, centered in Jerusalem, not only generates a large number of jobs, but also offers subsidies and incentives for new business initiatives and start-ups.

Transportation

Main article: Transport in Jerusalem

Jerusalem's Central Bus Station

The airport nearest to Jerusalem is Atarot Airport, which was used for domestic flights only until its closure in 2001. Since then it has been under the control of the Israel Defense Forces due to disturbances in Ramallah and the West Bank. All air traffic from Atarot was rerouted to Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel's largest and busiest airport, which serves nine million passengers annually.

Egged Bus Cooperative, the second-largest bus company in the world, handles most of the local and intercity bus service out of the city's Central Bus Station on Jaffa Road near the western entrance to Jerusalem from highway 1.

Israel Railways runs a limited rail service to Malha train station, from Tel Aviv via Beit Shemesh.

Begin Expressway is one of Jerusalem's major north-south thoroughfares; it runs on the western side of the city until its northern end merges with Route 443, which continues toward Tel Aviv. Route 60 runs through the center of the city near the Green Line that, de facto, separates East Jerusalem from West Jerusalem. Construction is progressing on parts of a 35-kilometer (22-mile) 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.

As of 2007, Egged buses, taxicabs and private cars are the only transportation options in Jerusalem. However, this will change with the completion of the Jerusalem Light Rail, a new rail-based transit system currently under construction. A rail-based system was first envisioned in 1995; since then, a light rail system has been chosen over a subway or monorail design due to its cheaper cost, minimal disruption, and preservation of the city center's aesthetics. The rail system will be capable of transporting an estimated 200,000 people daily. It will have twenty four stops, and is scheduled for completion in January 2009.

Another work in progress is the new high-speed rail line from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which is scheduled to be completed in 2011. Its terminus will be an underground station (80m deep) serving the national Convention centre and the Central Bus Station, and is planned to be extended eventually to Malha station.

Education

The campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem atop Mount Scopus

Jerusalem is home to several prestigious universities, with courses offered in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Founded in 1925, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem is one of the most respected institutions of higher learning in Israel. The Board of Governors has included such prominent Jewish intellectuals as Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud. The university has produced several Nobel laureates; recent winners associated with Hebrew University include Avram Hershko, David Gross, and Daniel Kahneman. One of the university's major assets is the Jewish National and University Library, which houses over five million books. The library opened in 1892, over three decades before the university was established, and is one of the world's largest repositories of books on Jewish subjects. Today it is both the central library of the university and the national library of Israel. The Hebrew University operates three campuses in Jerusalem, on Mount Scopus, on Giv'at Ram and a medical campus at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital.

Al-Quds University was established in 1984, to serve as a flagship university for the Arab and Palestinian peoples. It describes itself as the "only Arab university in Jerusalem". Al-Quds University resides southeast of the city proper on a campus encompassing 190,000 square metres (47 acres). Other institutions of higher learning in Jerusalem are the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, whose buildings are located on the campuses of the Hebrew University.

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The campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem at Givat Ram

The Jerusalem College of Technology, founded in 1969, combines training in engineering and other high-tech industries with a Jewish studies program. It is one of many schools in Jerusalem, from elementary school and up, that combine secular and religious studies. Numerous religious educational institutions and Yeshivot are based in the city, with the Mir yeshiva claiming to be the largest. There were nearly 8,000 twelfth-grade students in Hebrew-language schools during the 2003–2004 school year. However, due to the large portion of students in Haredi Jewish frameworks, only fifty-five percent of twelfth graders took matriculation exams (Bagrut) and only thirty-seven percent were eligible to graduate. Unlike public schools, many Haredi schools do not prepare students to take standardized tests. To attract more university students to Jerusalem, the city has begun to offer a special package of financial incentives and housing subsidies to students who rent apartments in downtown Jerusalem.

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 currently building over a dozen new schools within the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Sheikh Jarrah, Issawiya, Sur Baher, Umm Lison, Beit Hanina, and Wadi Joz. In March 2007, the Israeli government approved a 5-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. Because Arab high school students take the Bagrut matriculation exams, much of their curriculum parallels that of other Israeli high schools, including certain Jewish subjects.

See also

• Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day)
• List of places in Jerusalem
• Jerusalem Light Rail
• Uri Lupolianski, current mayor of Jerusalem
• International Day of Quds

Sister cities

• New York City, USA (1995)

Endnotes

i.	^ The website for Jerusalem is available in three languages — Hebrew, English, and Arabic.
ii.	^ Jerusalem in other languages: Arabic Bibles use أورشليم Ûrshalîm (Ûrushalîm); official Arabic in Israel: أورشليم القدس, Ûrshalîm-al-Quds (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names)
iii.	^ Jerusalem is the capital under Israeli law. The presidential residence, government offices, supreme court and parliament (Knesset) are located there. The Palestinian Authority foresees East Jerusalem as the capital of its future state. The United Nations and most countries do not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, taking the position that the final status of Jerusalem is pending future negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Most countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv (see CIA Factbook and Template:PDFlink) See Positions on Jerusalem for more information.
iv.	^ a b Much of the information regarding King David's conquest of Jerusalem comes from Biblical accounts, but modern-day historians have begun to give them credit due to a 1993 excavation.
v.	^ Statistics regarding the demographics of Jerusalem refer to the unified and expanded Israeli municipality, which includes the pre-1967 Israeli and Jordanian municipalities as well as several additional Palestinian villages and neighborhoods to the northeast. Some of the Palestinian villages and neighborhoods have been relinquished to the West Bank de facto by way of the Israeli West Bank barrier, but their legal statuses have not been reverted.
vi.	^ Sources disagree on the timing of the creation of the Pact of Umar (Omar). Whereas some say the Pact originated during Umar's lifetime but was later expanded, others say the Pact was created after his death and retroactively attributed to him. Further still, other historians believe the ideas in the Pact pre-date Islam and Umar entirely.

Other resources

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Panoramic view on the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock

• 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 ISBN 0-472-11313-5.
• Collins, Larry, and La Pierre, Dominique (1988). O Jerusalem! Simon and Shuster, N.Y. ISBN 0-671-66241-4
• Gold, Dore (2007) The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, The West, and the Future of the Holy City Regnery Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1-59698-029-7
• Köchler, Hans (1981) The Legal Aspects of the Palestine Problem with Special Regard to the Question of Jerusalem Vienna: Braumüller ISBN 3-7003-0278-9
• 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. ISBN 0-300-09730-1

External links

• Official website of Jerusalem
• Jerusalemp3, offers free virtual tours in mp3 format from the Jerusalem Municipality
• City of David
• Virtual Tour of the Old City of Jerusalem - Panoramic tour of the Old City's historical sites
• HAMEKASHER, A nostalgic website dedicated to a bus company operated in Jerusalem from the early 30's until 1967

• Template:Wikitravel

Government

• Template:PDFlink, United Nations document related to the recent dispute over Jerusalem
• Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, Government of Israel, the Israeli law making Jerusalem the capital of Israel

Culture

• Israel Museum, one of Jerusalem's premier art museums
• Yad Vashem, Israeli memorial to victims of The Holocaust

Education

• Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem's foremost institution of higher learning
• al-Quds University, "the only Arab university in Jerusalem"

Maps

• Modern-day map of Jerusalem, from the Jerusalem Municipality
• Ancient Maps of Jerusalem, from the Jewish National Library at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Media

• The Jerusalem Post, the oldest and largest English-language Israeli newspaper (formerly The Palestine Post)
• Ha'aretz, major source of Israeli news
• Ynetnews, major source of Israeli news
• Arutz Sheva (see also: Arutz Sheva)

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