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Jerusalem |
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The capital of Israel |
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Located in the Judean Hills, is the capital of Israel, the seat of government and the historical, spiritual and national center of the Jewish people since King David made it the capital of his kingdom
over 3,000 years ago.
Until 1860 Jerusalem was a walled city made up of four
quarters - Jewish, Muslim, Armenian and Christian.
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The
"Western Wall" of
the Temple Mount
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At that time, the Jews, who by then comprised the majority of its population, began to establish new neighborhoods outside the walls, forming the
hub of modern Jerusalem. During four decades of British
occupation (1918-48 ce), the city slowly changed from a small provincial town of the Ottoman Empire
(1518-1918 ce) into a flourishing metropolis, with many new residential neighborhoods, each reflecting the character of the particular group living there. |
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Following the Arab onslaught against the newly established State of Israel, the city was divided
(1949 ce) under Israeli and Jordanian rule, and for the next 19 years concrete walls and barbed wire sealed off one part from the other. As a result of the assault on Jerusalem in the 1967
ce Six-Day War, the city was reunified. Today Israel's largest city with
over 600,000 people. Most of the
narrow streets of the Old City are lined with shops where merchants sell foodstuffs and
traditional handicrafts; homes are clustered around courtyards surrounded by high walls. |
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The outer wall of the
Old City, with David's Tower
in the distance.
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Jerusalem is a city of contrasts.
The Old City is over two thousand years old, and the streets are very narrow and winding.
The new city is like any other modern new city, with wide boulevards and highways.
Jews, Moslems and Christians of
all denominations hold Jerusalem to be a Holy City, and a site for major religious
pilgrimages.
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According to the TORAH, all Jews
are required to go to Jerusalem each year on the three major festivals. Can you name the
three festivals?
Would you like to
see some of the countryside around Jerusalem?
Here are a few pictures
contributed by
Vered Regev.
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