Jerusalem : Three Family

#Jerusalem : Three Family

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Throughout its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times.

For almost a century Arabs and Jews have fought for control of the Holy Land. Jerusalem is sacred to all three monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam and here politics and religion are profoundly linked. All three religions associate the city with their core beliefs. So how do those who live here cope with this tense situation?

For Christians Jerusalem is the city where Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built on the site where these events are believed to have happened 

For Jews Jerusalem is the holy city that God has given them. The Western Wall is all that remains of the second temple destroyed by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago where the temple once stood. According to the Bible, King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and established it as the capital of the united kingdom of Israel, and his son, King Solomon, commissioned the building of the First Temple. Modern scholars argue that Jews branched out of the Canaanite peoples and culture through the development of a distinct monolatrous—and later monotheistic—religion centered on El/Yahweh. 

After Mecca and Medina this site in Jerusalem is the holiest in Islam. The Dome of the rock is built on the spot where Muhammad (PBUH) is believed to have ascended into heaven. 

In the old city which covers less than one square kilometre the three religions live side-by-side in clearly defined districts. All three view Abraham as their father and they all believe in the same God but there are differences. There's also the political dimension. In 1967, Israel occupied East Jerusalem and it's here that a mountain of contention lies the elevation that the Jews called Temple Mount and Muslims Al-Haram Al-Sharif. 

According to the Quran Arabs call it Al Haram Al Sharif, the noble sanctuary and that's exactly what it is to the sides. This is where the Prophet Mohamemd (PBUH) is believed to have ascended into heaven on the wings of Jibrael (AS) to receive Allah's Commandments in what Muslims refer to as his Journey to Miraz. 

The other end of the old city on Mount, Zion lives in the Goldstein's an Orthodox Jewish. Basically the people in this area most of them are very religious and their religion is that core of the existence that's a primary in the life. According to Orthodox tradition at least 10 males over the age of 13 must be present at the prayers hall. A Jewish boy is considered spiritually mature at 13. A new section of the Torah is read out each week so that the first five books of the Bible, the law of Moses are read each year in their entirety. The women are separated from the men and participate silently. What does Rabbi Goldstein think is the essence of religion.

A fantastic decription from Imam Haj Al Bakery says" Moose's(PBUH) message was until the time of Jesus (PBUH). When Jesus (PBUH) came the message of Moses(PBUH) is end. We have no more religion of Moses(PBUH). You have to believe in Jesus(PBUH). Now every human beings believes in the message of Jesus(PBUH) until the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) came. When the Prophet Mohammed(PBUH) came, he came with the Quran. The Quran collect all the messages which has been before by Moses(PBUH) and by Jesus(PBUH)"

How did Christians live in the old city? 

Close to the seventh station of the cross, on the border between the Muslim and Christian quarters live in the Shahada. 

However in a city like Jerusalem where even children are drawn into political and religious tensions they are anxious about their future. "What will happen if we have a lot of fights with the other religion like how we will live in a lot of rare place work with killing? I will live, we will live happily".  

Looking east from jerusalem a seven meter high wall that Israel has built to enclose the Palestinian territories can be seen. Those territories include the West Bank and part of the Judean Desert. In the six-day war of 1967 Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank as well as Gaza. The Palestinians want to see the pre-1967 borders, reinstated and the recognition of an autonomous Palestinian state. This political conflict is inseparable from the diversity of people's and their centuries-old religious conflicts father Josef Suk beanies sees little progress. "Sadly religions are sometimes a source of division. In the Middle East rather than a basis for living together, among the people of the Middle East religious feelings are the most sensitive. They can easily e played upon and manipulated sometimes. We suffer from the fanatical Orthodox Jews as well as from fanatical Muslims but the political question is the most important.  What will the Israelis trade for peace? Will they give up East 

Jerusalem? Will they return Palestine to its pre-1967 borders? Yes, everybody has their rights. We are all humans, God's creation". That's the Christian view.

The rights of both nations, the Jewish people and the Palestinian people both have rights but the reality that we experience is that peace is a long way off.

A model for how diverse cultures and religions can coexist peacefully is the little village of "Never Shalom Wahad Al Salam" midway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The name is a combination of Hebrew and Arabic and means oasis of peace. Evie Guggenheim a Swiss Jew met the Palestinian Muslim Iasbeta at an intercultural workshop here in 1988. Years later they married and they have made "Never Shalom Wahad Al Salam". Their home founded by the French priest Bruno Osar in 1967. The spiritual center at 

"Never Shalom Wahad Al Salam" welcomes both Arabs and Jews people from various cultures and religious backgrounds meet up here in an effort to understand each other in their faith. In the school of peace we've observed encounters between people that give me some hope in this dead-end situation gossiping. 

Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, together with additional surrounding territory. One of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister (Beit Aghion) and President (Beit HaNassi), and the Supreme Court. The international community rejects the annexation as illegal and treats East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel