o Saladin allows Jews to resettle
§ Saladin proclaimed as “the New Cyrus” (cf. Isaiah 45)
§ Ashkelon Jews given the Maghribi Quarter
o Judah Halevi (Toledan physician), fleeing Spain, tries to make aliyah (d. 1141? CE)
§ Jews must return to “land of their fathers” and “risk their lives for Zion” so that the Shekhinah could return to Jerusalem and the Redemption would begin
§ Jerusalem is the “gate of heaven” wherein Jews need to stake their rightful claim
o Maimonides, Jewish philosopher
§ Jerusalem is the “center of the jewish people”
§ Jewish Kingdom and jewish law had to be based on the temple
§ Held in high regard in Egypt
§ Haram must be treated as if the temple still stood
§ The divine presence (Shekhinah) could not be banished from the temple mount
We also saw a change in demographics over time, with the population of Jews growing steadily as the population of Arabs/Muslims soon was overtaken by the Jews. With this in mind, we moved into Moderm 20th Century Jerusalem. With this time period came the rise of European nationalism, and the rise of Anti-Semitic feelings. We see pogroms developing in Russia, Catholicism, Hitler, etc. Thus, at this time period, the British started to conquer. They conquered Egypt in 1882, at the end of WWI General Allenby captures Palestine (1917), and settled the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916). This agreement split up the Ottoman Empire amongst the French and the British.
We see, however, with the Balfour Declaration that Britain secretly supports the existence of a Jewish Zionist state in Palestine. With this later comes the British Mandate (1918), where Britain promises to protect all holy places for all the faiths. In the future we also see the rise of Churchill's White Paper and the Peel Commission. Here are notes for both of those:
· Churchill’s “White Paper” (1922)
o Also called the British White Paper of 1922
o Clarified how Britain viewed the Balfour Declaration of 1917
o Issued June 3, 1922 after an investigation of the Arab Riots of 1920-21
o Britain at first did not support a jewish National Home, but a continuation of a community in Palestine
o In July 1922, Britain partitioned area to west of the Jordan for a Jewish Settlement
o Area east of Jordan (76%) was renamed Transjordan and given to Abdullah I
· Peel Commission (1937)
o Suggested in response to violence between arabs and jews prior to WWII
§ Factions among jews
· Hagganah (revisionist Zionist Liberation army)
· Irgun (radical group, terrorist tactics)
· Lehi (freedom fighters for Israel)
§ Similar factions among arabs
o An early “two state” solution
§ Partition of Palestine
· Jewish state in galilee, upper Jordan valley, and coastal plain
· Arab state in central hills, west bank, and Negev
· Jerusalem an “international city” (corpus separatum)
§ Approved by UN, August 1947
· United nations general assembly resolution 181 (II) future government of Palestine
· Accepted by Zionists, rejected by arabs
· Fighting breaks out in Jerusalem
With all the influence of the British, we see that Palestine was ready to rebel. This reached a breaking point in 1948 with the War of Independence (Arab-Israeli War). With this the British decides to leave, and the UN established the Green Line splitting the region for the people inhabiting it. Israel and Jordan are the major winners in all this. With this influence we see the rise of Jordanian Jerusalem. Here are notes for that:
· Jordanian Jerusalem
o Jordan Arrives May 16, 1948
§ Occupation by both Israel and Jordan considered illegal by the UN
§ The “catastrophe” (al-Niqba) referred both to the establishment of the Israeli state and the assertion of Jordanian control of the west bank
o King Abdullah assassinated in front of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, April 1951 by Arab radical
o King Hussein declares Jerusalem “the second capital of the state of Jordan” in 1953
o Jordanians develop tourism
§ One hotel in 1948, 70 by 1967
§ 85% of economy of west bank
We continually see a switching of rule for this city. When will it end?
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