Middle East History – Jerusalem

Elizabeth Cavness
Period E
Middle East History
Jerusalem
The conflict in Jerusalem is rooted in religious, political, and historical aspects. As a center for the worlds three major religions, with a history of political divisions and borders, as well as historical claims to the territory, it calls for a peaceful coexistence and sensitive diplomacy which will enable an accepted agreement. Jerusalem is a prize which, for thousands of years, has been fought over. Israeli’s and Palestinians live side-by-side in the Old City, each claiming that Jerusalem belongs to them. There is no judgment that can be given, there is no right or wrong answer to the problem. For this issue to be solved, both sides must give concessions to each other, and truly feel the need for peace and friendly diplomacy in Jerusalem.
The Torah, the most sacred Jewish text, claims that Jerusalem is the ancestral home of the Jewish people. The Torah says that the land was given to Abraham, the Jews patriarch, and his descendent as a birthright for his faithfulness to God. In 1000 BC, David, the Jewish king, established Jerusalem as his capital, and his son, Solomon, built a temple in the city for the Jewish people. Four centuries later, the Jews were conquered and forced into exile. They would not return to Jerusalem until the founding of modern Israel in 1948.
During the Roman occupation of Palestine, Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem. For Christians, Jesus is the Son of God, and the Messiah. Because of his religious beliefs, he as crucified near Jerusalem, and three days later, was resurrected. Tradition holds that the tomb was where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is today. The Holy Land gave birth to the faith of Christianity.
Shortly after the death of Mohammed, the man who established Islam and whom Muslims believe to be the prophet of Allah, the Muslims conquered Jerusalem. Muslims, too, claimed a rightful ownership of the land. They believe that they have an inheritance connection to the patriarch, Abraham, through a different lineage. Jerusalem holds incredible religious significance for the Muslims. Ten years before his death, Mohammed traveled to Jerusalem, where he then rose to heaven to speak with Allah directly. The Muslim people built the Dome of the Rock on top of the Temple Mount in honor of Mohammed’s journey to the heavens. The Dome of the Rock is considered the third-holiest sight in Islam. At the base of the Temple Mount is the Western Wall, the holiest sight in Judaism. And less than a mile away is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of Christ’s burial and resurrection.
The struggle for ownership of the city intensified many years later at the end of the war, when Britain had total control of Palestine. The Balfour Declaration issued in 1917, included in the British mandate of Palestine, called for the idea of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. However, the Arabs believed that Palestine would be created an independent state by helping the British in the campaign against the Ottoman empire. Unfortunately, the British did not include this in their plans. They did set up a separate Arab state in 1921, which is now Jordan. However, the remainder of the Palestinian territory wished for independence.
After World War II, Holocaust survivors flooded into Palestine and Jerusalem, and a partition by the United Nations was established.In November 1947, the British mandate ended, and Palestine was partitioned into Jewish and Arab states with Jerusalem as an international city. The Arabs did not agree to this plan, as they were intent on preventing any Jewish control in the area. However, Israel defended itself, and by 1949, it had joined the United Nations, and been recognized by more than 50 governments around the world.
In a series of ?battles? in 1949 with Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, Israel established borders like those of Palestine during the British mandate. In 1967, the Six-Day War, Israel launched an attack against Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Israel defeated all three, taking the Sinai and Gaza from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank from Jordan. In 1979, the Sinai was returned to Egypt, and a peace