Jerusalem

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Ancient city of Palestine, 762 m/2,500 ft above sea level, situated in hills 55 km/34 mi from the Mediterranean, divided in 1948 between Jordan and the new republic of Israel; area (pre-1967) 37.5 sq km/14.5 sq mi, (post-1967) 108 sq km/42 sq mi, including areas of the West Bank; population of the city (1997 est) 621,100; district (1997 est) 701,700. In 1950 the western New City was proclaimed as the Israeli capital, and, having captured from Jordan the eastern Old City in 1967, Israel affirmed in 1980 that the united city was the country's capital; the United Nations does not recognize East Jerusalem as part of Israel, and regards Tel Aviv-Yafo as the capital. In order to maintain the historical and religious character of the city, heavy industry has been discouraged and about two-thirds of the working population are employed in the service industry, including government and public services. There are many small-scale industries, including diamond cutting, furniture, plastics, clothing, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Science-based industry has become increasingly important, mainly in the newer outskirts of the city, while the tourist industry, though damaged by the ongoing violence and political tension, has experienced a boom, with much hotel building to accommodate visitors, especially at times of religious festivals.

Jerusalem has had an influence on world religion out of all proportion to its size or position. Although it stands roughly at the meeting point of Europe, Asia, and Africa, in the past it was extremely isolated from the flow of world traffic. David's choice of it, after its capture from the Jebusites, as a capital for his kingdom about 1000 BC, was made with the express aim of its being neutral territory between his northern and southern subjects. Jerusalem is spoken of as early as Genesis xiv. Later it appears in one of the Amarna Tablets (1350 BC) as Ursalim, a vassal of Egypt.

Written history in Jerusalem begins with David and the building activities of Solomon. After the division of the kingdoms, it remained the capital of Judaea, and Hezekiah improved the fortifications and water supply. In 587 BC it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, but Jews returning from exile in Babylon in 445 BC restored the city under Nehemiah. Herod the Great, who came to power in 37 BC, greatly embellished Jerusalem, but the place was razed to the ground by the Romans in AD 70, renamed Aelia Capitolina, and remained pagan until the Muslim conquest in AD 636. In Muslim times many mosques were built, and the city gained great sanctity. Muslim rule lasted for nearly 500 years until the Crusaders took Jerusalem in 1099, making it the capital of their ‘Kingdom of Jerusalem’.

The Crusaders, driven out by the Saracens after 100 years, lost all hold of the Holy Land in the 11th century, and Jerusalem passed out of Saracen rule into that of the Turks in 1517. It was Sultan Suleiman who built the existing ramparts. Turkish control was ended by British forces in 1917.

The old part of Jerusalem is called by the Muslims al-Quds (‘the Sanctuary’). It was only in the second quarter of the 19th century that Jerusalem began to spread outside the medieval walls, with a Jewish residential quarter named Yemin Moshe, provided by Sir Moses Montefiore. Other Jewish quarters, inhabited by European and Oriental Jews, followed. Under the British Mandate efforts were made to improve roads, housing, water supply and sanitation, and the provision of up-to-date buildings for public services, banks, the university, synagogues, and numerous hotels followed. During the Israeli–Arab war following the end of the Mandate, Jerusalem was bitterly contested between the Arab Legion and the Jewish Haganah, and Jewish forces and civilians within it were twice under siege. For four weeks after the declaration of the state, the city remained cut off. Jewish forces lost the Old City, which remained closed to Jews. So also were the Hebrew University and the hospital on Mount Scopus, which from 1948 to 1967 formed an island of Israeli territory within Jordan. In the 1948 war between Israel and the Arab states the city was divided between Israel and Jordan. Israeli forces in the June War of 1967 captured the Jordanian half of the city.

Demolition of Arab houses adjacent to the Wailing Wall and subsequent construction of accommodation reserved for Israelis has fundamentally transformed the landscape of Jerusalem. Expansion of the municipal boundaries, construction of settlements, and restrictions on Palestinian residents have changed the demographic balance in Jerusalem with the result that Arabs are probably in a minority. The announcement in 1997 of plans to complete the encirclement of Arab east Jerusalem by construction of a settlement at Har Homa led to disruption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and censure from the international community. The Palestinian Authority has proposed that Jerusalem be the capital both of Israel and a Palestinian state. Israel has deferred discussion of the final status of Jerusalem with the result that the timetable envisaged in the Oslo Accords has not been followed. Restrictions on Palestinian entry to Jerusalem have disrupted the Palestinian economy and the prospects for a negotiated solution to the seemingly intractable problem of Jerusalem. After holding talks with Pope John Paul II, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Palestinian leader Yassir Arafat signed an accord with the Roman Catholic Church that warned Israel that unilateral decisions on the status of Jerusalem were unacceptable on both moral and legal grounds.

The colours are derived from the state coat of arms of 1364. The Scandinavian cross is taken from the Danish flag. Effective date: 22 June 1906. >>