Stay Informed

Sign up to receive the Middle East Bulletin!

Support Middle East Progress

Setting the Record Straight

Already Divided

“Even the Arab minority in the city has shown its preference for living under Israeli rule, as many have moved to the Israeli side of the security barrier being built around Jerusalem. Their choice is reasonable, as Jerusalem offers the quality of life of a modern western city while only a few kilometers away the norm is a third world standard of living, chaos and religious intolerance. An undivided Jerusalem is the best guarantee of a better life for all Jerusalemites.”
—Nathan Diament, Director of Public Policy, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, July 23, 2008 versus
  • “Those who believe that Jerusalem should not be divided, and mean by that that the Arab neighborhoods should not be separated from the city, should be the first to insist that an active policy be adopted by the government and the municipality to improve the lot of local Arab residents. Barring that, Jerusalem will continue to remain a divided city.”
    —Moshe Arens, former Israeli defense and foreign minister (Likud), “A Story of Neglect,” Haaretz, July 28, 2008

    • Intractable Jerusalem?

    Printer version

    (Associated Press)

    How to Deal with Jerusalem

    by Lt. Col. (Res.) Ron Shatzberg, Project Director, Economic Cooperation Foundation. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

    [T]he Historical Basin, comprised of the Old City and a surrounding area of 2.4 square kilometers, is the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. ... The issue ... is not only complicated due to the difficulties of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to compromise on but also because other players–Saudi Arabia, the Arab League, the Supreme Muslim Council, members of the Jewish Diaspora and the Christian establishment–feel that they are also stakeholders in the story. If we solve this issue, we’ll be able to jump ahead in the peace process. ...

    The United States as the facilitator of the process should create a framework with its allies in the Arab and Muslim worlds–mostly Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and the Supreme Muslim Council–that would support a compromise on Jerusalem. The solution is clear to all, they just need to be treated as part of the process and the U.S. can help make sure the Camp David mistake of 2000–ignoring the global importance of Jerusalem–is not repeated. Access the full interview>>

    Analysis

    Israel Releases 199 Palestinian Prisoners


    The Israeli ministerial committee that oversees prisoner releases approved today the cabinet decision to release 199 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of goodwill to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. This move comes a month after the Israeli government exchanged with Hezbollah five Hezbollah terrorists, including the killer Samir Kuntar, and 199 bodies of Lebanese combatants and infiltrators, for the remains of Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

    In June, Middle East Bulletin spoke with Brigadier General (Ret.) Ilan Paz, former

    more

    Significant Lebanese-Syrian Meeting Overshadowed by Bombing


    While news agencies have been focused on a bombing attack in northern Lebanon, there were separate events unfolding in Damascus that could affect Lebanese and Syrian politics for years to come. On August 14, Lebanese President Michel Suleiman completed a historic two-day visit to Syria, the first by a Lebanese president since Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in April 2005. During the visit, Suleiman and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pledged to work together on four critical issues:

    1)

    more

    The Challenge of Jerusalem

    by Prof. Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov, head, Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies; professor of international relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

    If the current situation remains as is and there is no significant progress in the peace talks, it is important to look at temporary alternative ways to manage the city better for the welfare of all of its residents. …

    De facto, Jerusalem is already divided. There is no real integration between Jews and Arabs. We suggest dividing the city into separate boroughs, Jewish and Arab, all of which would be under Israeli sovereignty until a peace agreement is reached, but

    more

    News

    Heard on the Street

    Base Barrier on Security

    Yossi Alpher, coeditor, bitterlemons family of internet publications, former director, Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University, "Hard Questions, Tough Answers," Americans for Peace Now, July 28, 2008:

    “At the time the Jerusalem security barrier was built, many Israeli security experts … pointed out that the wall was attaching 230,000 Palestinians to Israel and detaching them from the West Bank in a way that was sure to spell trouble. Only in Jerusalem has the barrier attached to a Jewish city large numbers of Palestinians; everywhere else it is designed to separate Jews and Arabs. It’s not too late to move the wall in Jerusalem. Such an act could dovetail perfectly with a government of Israel decision to recognize Arab East Jerusalem as the capital city of a Palestinian state. Only in Greater Jerusalem does the barrier … follow not security and demographic logic but rather ideology—the claim of ‘united Jerusalem, eternal capital of Israel.’ But Jerusalem is not united and never has been. Um Tuba has absolutely nothing to do with the capital of Israel. How many more desperate acts of senseless terror will be required for Israelis and their leaders to tune into this reality?”

    Background Basics

    Jerusalem’s Religious Centrality

    Christianity
    Jerusalem is the birthplace of Christianity. It was the location of the Last Supper, Jesus’ final meal with his 12 disciples. Within the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City is the Via Dolorosa, the Path of Sorrows, which is believed to be the path along which Jesus Christ carried his cross to Calvalry. The Old City is also home to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which marks the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial.

    more