Land Of Jerusalem Research Paper

Jerusalem is mentioned in the Old Testament 660 times. David transformed Jerusalem into the religious center of his kingdom by bringing into it the Ark of the Covenant. The arrival of the ark forever linked Jerusalem with the cult of Yahweh.

Jewish people say they have a right to the land based on history and their religion. The Palestine

There are two parts in Jerusalem. There is the New City and the Old City. In the Old city there are many temples, one of the most important being the Haram esh-Sharif, or "Venerable Sanctuary." In the Old City there is also the Christian Church of Holy Sepulchre, which is the place where they believe Jesus Christ was buried after coming off the Cross. There is also the Wailing Wall that the Jews go to pray at. The Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque are there for the Muslim community. Jerusalem is the third holiest site for the Muslim population behind Mecca and Medina.

In the biblical text, Jerusalem is characterized as a “differentiated” religious place by portraying it as God’s selection for Israel people. In the book Genesis, God tested Abraham by commanding him to go to the land of Moriah and sacrifice his only son Isaac as a burnt offering. The language in Hebrew Bible specifically emphasized how the “land of Moriah” is divinely mandated: “…one of the mountains that I shall show you”, “…went to the place in the distance that God had shown him”, and “when they came to the place that God had shown him” all highlight that it is the Israelite God who explicitly chose the “land of Moriah” as the place for Abraham’s test. Because of such divinely mandated feature, the “land of Moriah,” where the city of Jerusalem is located, differentiated itself from other generic

Palestine has a long history of being ruled by different empires, all of which followed different religions. Its culture has been exposed to the influence of the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Ottomans and a few others. It is in the heart of the Middle East and it houses the three major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; Judaism being one of the oldest religions, dating as far back as 2000 BCE in Canaan. Christianity, which then took into Judaism’s steps spread more vigorously and was more recently “recognized in New Testament studies” (Yencich 120). Then many years later came Islam, which had its own peak as well. These three monotheistic religions seem to echo each other’s tales, ideals, and values. The conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis over this Holy Land has been going on for years.

The crisis in Jerusalem dragged both Israel and Palestine into a vortex of violence and a religious conflict. Both Israelis and Palestinians had claim the city as a sacred religious site and their political capital. The conflict became quite violent causing the closure of holy sites, a deadly terrorist attack caused the Palestinian's to end all contact with Israel. Despite the peace efforts between the states, societies continued to rupture along ethnic and religious lines. Israel's continued unfolding with religious conflict and persisted in illegal actions causing living conditions for Palestinian civilians to become unlivable. Jews have formed the largest religious group in the city and have been in the majority. However, the Arab and Jewish communities in Palestine were in mortal dispute. Under an agreement approved by the United Nations, Jerusalem was meant to become a separated body but due to Arab forces sieging Jerusalem, and withdrawing of the British mandate, Jerusalem became a huge battleground. Jewish settlers pushed Muslim Arabs out of their homes and established the state of Israel on their land during the middle of the 20th century. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are extremely tied to the ancient city due to them recognizing Jerusalem as a holy place. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is over which gets what land and how that land is

Judaism holds claim over Jerusalem because of the history of the Jewish people in Jerusalem. According to the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, the First Temple was built by King Solomon, at the site known as the Temple Mount today. The temple is believed to have been built by King Solomon, who was the king of Israel and Judea, as a place of worship. Jerusalem is also the location of Mount Moriah, which is where Abraham almost sacrificed his son and spoke with God. When the Babylonians captured the city, they destroyed the First Temple and sent the Jews out of

The city is holy for Christians because it has the Church of Holy Sepulchre, it is “located on a site which in central to the story of Jesus, his death, crucifixion and resurrection.”(bbc.com) in other words, it is believed that Jesus was crucified there. Jerusalem is of importance to the Muslims as it contains the shrine of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in islam. “It is believed that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) travelled here from Mecca during his night journey and prayed with the souls of all the prophets. A few steps away, the shrine of the Dome of the Rock is where the Prophet then ascended to heaven.”(bbc.com) The western Wall, a “remnant of the retaining wall of the mount in which the Holy temple once stood,” is the most sacred site in Judaism. Jews believe that this was where the foundation stone which created the world, and where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. “Today, the Western Wall is the closest place Jews can pray to the Holy of the

Religious spaces, characterized by Thomas Tweed, are “differentiated,” “interrelated,” and “kinetic.” As a sacred city with spiritual significance in three major religions, Jerusalem is depicted thoroughly in the Hebrew Bible and illustrated as one of the spaces Tweed defines. The Bible emphasizes that Jerusalem was chosen by God and honored by Israelites, which differentiates it as a special, singular space; the description of Solomon’s Temple shows that the Holy City was interrelated to economic power and involved in the judgment of civil cases. Moreover, the conquest, development and destruction of Jerusalem illustrate the city as a kinetic space, reflecting the unsettled history of the Iron Age. These characteristics all make Jerusalem

Israel is sacred for its age and for its people. Now, people see Israel for one important thing, one important city, and for all the religions that converge on that city. Jerusalem, a city known and praised for the religious figures that walked its very streets hundreds of years ago. It also fought over by the Palestinian Arabs and the Israelis Jews. Which brings the real question which is, who should own the Holy Land? The Jewish have earned the right to own that city over many long and hard years in and out of their homeland. The Jewish were there in biblical long before the Arabian people and according to Islamic belief and history it is not the only Holy city they have, unlike the Jews. This is where conflict erupts on who should have

The city of Jerusalem is recognized as the holy city by three religions: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. All three faiths consider Jerusalem as the most sacred place, the center of the world and the city of the Lord. Jerusalem established its sacredness and revealed itself as the axis mundi by the biblical texts. In the biblical texts, Jerusalem was revealed as the holy city through the milestone events of the Kings in Israel, including Abraham’s test, David initiating the temple building for the Lord and his punishment, and Solomon building the first temple for the Lord.

The Christian religion views Jerusalem of importance because it is the location of “His crucifixion, burial and ascension” and it “symbolizes the new people of God redeemed by the Messiah, Jesus Christ.” Christians view this location as a place of worship because of the important sacrifices and events that occurred within Jerusalem. Judaism believes that Jerusalem is significant because God “spoke of the place that He would choose for His people”. The place that he spoke of was Jerusalem also known as Zion. Two Temples were built and both of them were destroyed, which caused major devastation to the Jews. They continue to pray for those Temples and have a holiday in honor of the destroyed Temples. For Jews, Jerusalem is not just a city of importance “the city itself is holy”. It is prominent and significant to the Jews and it is more than just a city to them. Islam views Jerusalem as an important location but the Mecca is a more significant location to them. Jerusalem is important because the Prophet of Mohammad visited location in Jerusalem such as the Prophet of Ibrahim and the Church of the Nativity. The Prophet of Mohammad is a strong, important figure to the Muslims. Mount Moriah, located in Jerusalem, is one of the holiest locations to the Muslims. It is the “Rock where the as-Aqsa Mosque stands”. Each religion has important landmarks throughout Jerusalem which is a major reason of its importance to each of them. Jerusalem has definite importance among these three religions and remains a holy place for worship for all of

As I am still researching and learning more on my topic of Jerusalem and continually refining my thesis on Jerusalem’s sanctity. I believe that the more I continue to learn about my subject through my research, I am finding myself taking an anthropological approach as well as a sociological approach as a well to understand my subject.

Throughout history, there is Biblical and Non-Biblical evidence that Jerusalem belongs to the Israelites. They have lived in Jerusalem for more than 3,000 years and then claimed Jerusalem again as their

Since the end of World War II, the state of affairs between the Arabs and Israelis have been a topic of discussions for many fields of study. In 1947, the state of Israel was created by the means of a Partition Plan created by the UN Security Council that had given three zones, each to both the Palestinians and Israelis but has since then led to many conflicts throughout the years. Conflicts that not only include the history of the land, but of who has the right to settle on the land where the three Abrahamic religions, all share history.1 While many of the Arab nations did not fully accept the agreements of the creation of the state of Israel, it was the Jew who settled on that land that were the least satisfied due to losing the full rights to the ‘promise land’. It was through that dissatisfaction that many Jews