Jerusalem

Jerusalem

Hebrew יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim)
Arabic commonly القـُدْس (Al-Quds);
officially in Israel أورشليم القدس
(Urshalim-Al-Quds)
Name meaning Hebrew: "City of Peace",
Arabic: "The Holiness"
Government City
Standard Hebrew Yerushalayim or Yerushalaim
District Jerusalem
Population 724,000 (CBS end of 2006)
Jurisdiction 123,000 dunams (123 km²)
Mayor Uri Lupolianski

Jerusalem
  • Names
  • History
    • Timeline
  • Places
    • Walls
    • Gates
    • Buildings
  • Demographics
  • Mayors
  • Religions
  • Positions
  • Education
  • Transportation
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Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, Yerushaláyim or Yerushalaim; Arabic: القُدس, al-Quds ("the Holy"))[2] is Israel's largest city[3] and national capital, with a population of 724,000 (as of May 24, 2006[4]). An ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea, Jerusalem resides at elevations between 650 and 840 metres (approximately 2000-2500 feet) and on a total area of 123 km2 (47 mi2).[5] The city is situated southeast of Tel Aviv, south of Ramallah, southwest of Jericho, and north of Bethlehem.

Jerusalem has a large Jewish majority, but the city still represents a wide range of national, religious, and socioeconomic groups. Jerusalem is the holiest city in Judaism (and has been since approximately the 10th century BCE) and some denominations of Christianity (since the 5th century CE). Jewish religious law holds that prayers should be conducted facing the direction of the city and specifically in the direction of the Temple Mount.[6] Jerusalem is generally revered by Muslims as the location of al-Aqsa Mosque, generally regarded as the "third holiest site in Islam", and the original qibla (direction of prayer), prior to Mecca. Jerusalem appears in the Hebrew Bible 669 times, while "Zion" (which usually means Jerusalem, although sometimes the Land of Israel) appears 154 times.[7] Alternatively, the New Testament mentions "Jerusalem" 154 times and "Zion" seven times. No reference to the city is found in the Qur'an.

The section called the Old City (barely one square kilometer[8]) is surrounded by walls and consists of four quarters: the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City was named by the American television show Good Morning America and newspaper USA Today as one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" in 2006.[9] However, despite the diverse, heterogeneous presence, Jerusalem remains central to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The status of united Jerusalem as Israel's capital is not universally recognised by the international community and Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem is particularly controversial. East Jerusalem has been claimed by Palestinians as the desired capital for a future Palestinian state.

The current Israeli mayor of Jerusalem is Uri Lupolianski, the first Haredi Jew ever to hold this position.

Contents

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Name

A view of the Old City of Jerusalem taken from the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
A view of the Old City of Jerusalem taken from the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
Closeup
Closeup

Although the precise origin of the name remains uncertain, the Hebrew Yerushalayim may be understood as "Heritage of Peace" – a portmanteau of "heritage" (yerusha) and shalom ("peace").[10][11][12] Alternatively, the second part of the portmanteau may instead be Salem (Shalem literally "whole" or "in harmony") as the name in reference to the city of Jerusalem in the first book of the Torah, Genesis.[13] Similarly, the Amarna letters call the city the Akkadian Urušalim, a cognate of the Hebrew Ir Shalem ("city of Salem"). Some consider a connection between the name and Shalim - the deity personifying dusk known from Ugaritic myths and offering lists.[14] The ending -ayim or -im has the appearance of the Hebrew dual, leading some scholars to argue that Jerusalem represents the fact that the city lies on two hills. However, the treatment of the ending as a suffix makes the rest of the name incomprehensible in Hebrew.

A Midrashic interpretation comes from Genesis Rabba, which explains that Abraham came to "Shalem" after rescuing Lot.[15] Upon arrival, he asked the king and high priest Melchizedek to bless him, and Melchizedek did so in the name of God (indicating that he, like Abraham, was a monotheist). According to exegetes, God immortalizes this encounter between Melchizedek and Abraham by renaming the city in honor of them: the name Yeru (derived from Yireh, the name Abraham gives to Mount Moriah after unbinding Isaac, and explained in Genesis as meaning that God will be revealed there) is placed in front of Shalem. The plural ending implies that the city's holiness and sacredness extends to the set of all believers in the one god in the Abrahamic religions.[15]

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History

Reconstruction of the First Temple
Reconstruction of the First Temple

Archaeological findings indicate the existence of development within present-day Jerusalem as far back as the 4th millennium BCE,[16] but the earliest written records of the city come in the Execration Texts (c. 19th century BCE) and the Amarna letters (c. 14th century BCE).[17][18] According to Biblical accounts, the Jebusites, a Canaanite tribe, inhabited the area around the present-day city (under the name Jebus) until the late 11th century BCE. At that point (c. 1006-1000 BCE), the Israelites, led by King David, captured the city, expanded it southward, established it as the Kingdom of Israel, and renamed it to its present-day name of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).[19][20][21] It thus became the capital of the Jewish kingdoms of Israel, Judah and Judea in the First Temple and Second Temple periods.

Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (W. Kaulbach)
Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (W. Kaulbach)

In about 960 BCE, Solomon built the First Jewish Temple. For about four centuries after the ten tribes split off to form the northern Kingdom of Israel, Jerusalem served as the capital of the southern Kingdom of Judah.

After 70 years of captivity, the Jews were allowed by Cyrus II of Persia to return to Judah and rebuild the city and the Temple. It continued to be the capital of Judah and center of Jewish worship for another four centuries under the Hasmonean Kingdom.

Capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade, 1099 (a medieval manuscript)
Capture of Jerusalem during the First Crusade, 1099 (a medieval manuscript)

By 19 BCE, the Temple Mount was elevated and the Second Temple was expanded under Herod the Great, a Jewish client king under Roman rule. In 6 CE, the city and Iudaea Province came under direct Roman rule. The Great Jewish Revolt resulted in the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The city served as the national capital again for almost 3 years during the Bar Kokhba's revolt against Rome; it was sacked in 135 CE. For almost two millennia thereafter, Jerusalem did not serve as the national capital of any independent state, until the renewed independence of Israel in 1948.

The city remained under Roman and Byzantine rule, until it was taken by the advancing Muslim forces in 638. The rights of the non-Muslims under Islam were governed by the Pact of Umar, and Christians and Jews living in the city were granted autonomy in exchange for a required poll tax. Whereas the Byzantine Christian authorities had not tolerated the presence of Jews within the walls of the city, the Muslim rulers allowed the re-establishment of a Jewish community.[22] After the treaty of Capitulation signed with the Byzantines, Umar ordered the Patriarch Sophronius to guide him and those who accompanied him to the sanctuary of King David, where he later decided to build a mosque on top of the Rock. The mosque became known as Masjid Umar.

The oldest printed prospect of Jerusalem (Hartmann Schedel, Nürnberg 1493)
The oldest printed prospect of Jerusalem (Hartmann Schedel, Nürnberg 1493)

In 1099, the city was conquered by the First Crusaders, who slaughtered most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. A series of conquests followed: in 1187 the city was taken from the Crusaders by Saladin. From 1228 to 1244, it was given by Saladin's descendant al-Kamil to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.

Jerusalem fell again to the Ayyubids of Egypt in 1244. The Ayyubids were replaced in 1260 by the Mamelukes, and in 1517, Jerusalem and its environs fell to the Ottoman Turks.

In 1917, the British Army led by General Allenby captured the city. Under the League of Nations Mandate, Britain was entrusted with establishing a Jewish National Home in Palestine. This period saw the construction of new garden suburbs in the western part of the city and establishment of institutions of learning such as the Hebrew University, founded in 1925.

As the British Mandate of Palestine was expiring, the 1947 UN Partition Plan (Part III) recommended that "The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations." However, this plan was never implemented and at the end of the 1948-49 war, Jerusalem found itself divided between Israel and Jordan (then known as Transjordan).

The 1949 cease-fire line between Israel and Jordan, which was part of the Green Line, cut through the center of the city from 1949 until 1967, during which time west Jerusalem was part of Israel and East Jerusalem was part of Jordan. From 1950 to 1967, the capital declared by Israel was comprised of western Jerusalem. Ever since Israel captured eastern Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel has administered and asserted sovereignty over the entire city.

Israel's 1980 Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel declared Jerusalem to be the 'eternal, undivided' capital of Israel, while East Jerusalem is being claimed as the intended capital of a future Palestinian state. The status of the city and of its holy places is disputed.

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Status of Jerusalem

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Religious significance

Jerusalem plays an important role in three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as in a number of smaller religious groups. A large number of places have religious significance for these religions, among which the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock for Muslims. Currently, there are 1204 synagogues, 158 churches and 73 mosques in Jerusalem.[23] There are also 70 mikvahs and 72 monasteries.

The great rabbis and scholars of the Mishna and Talmud instituted the policy that synagogues all over the world should be constructed in such a way that all prayers would be recited while facing Jerusalem, as that was where the ancient temple stood and that location was the only permissible place for the sacrificial offerings. Thus synagogues in Europe face south, synagogues in North America face east, synagogues in countries to the south of Israel, such as Yemen or South Africa, face north, and synagogues in countries to the east of Israel, such as India or Thailand, face west. Even when a Jew prays privately, he faces Jerusalem, as mandated by Jewish law in the Shulchan Aruch. In Jerusalem itself, he should face the direction of the Western Wall in the Old City, and when he is standing at the Western Wall, he turns slightly to the left to face the location of the Holy of Holies.

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Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

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Portal:Israel

Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as its capital in 1950 and all the branches of Israeli government (Presidential, Legislative, Judicial and Administrative) are seated in Jerusalem. In 1950, given that the city was divided between Israel and Jordan, this proclamation related only to western Jerusalem. Immediately after the Six Day War in 1967, Israeli legislation incorporated East Jerusalem into Israel, annexing it to the municipality of Jerusalem, and making it a de facto part of its capital. Israel enshrined the status of united Jerusalem, west and east, as its undivided capital, in Israel's 1980 Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel. The non-binding United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 declared that this law was 'null and void and must be rescinded forthwith' and advised member states to withdraw their diplomatic representation from the city as a punitive measure, which most of the few countries with embassies in Jerusalem did, relocating their embassies to Tel Aviv.

Most United Nations member states already located their embassies in Tel Aviv prior to Resolution 478. Currently, only one UN member state – El Salvador – has its embassy located within the city limits of Jerusalem, although the embassies of Bolivia and Paraguay are in Mevaseret Zion, a suburb of Jerusalem. However, in August 2006, El Salvador stated the intention to relocate its embassy to Tel Aviv.[24]

Jerusalem is home to a number of key Israeli government buildings, including the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court and the houses of the President and Prime Minister. With the exception of the house of the premier, these buildings can be toured.

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Palestinian claims

The Palestinian National Authority asserts that the capital of a future Palestinian state will be situated in East Jerusalem. According to the Oslo Agreements the final status of Jerusalem should be determined by peaceful negotiation. The most notable official Palestinian presence in the city is the Orient House.

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Physical geography

Jerusalem is situated in 31°46′45″N, 35°13′25″E, upon the southern spur of a plateau the eastern side of which slopes from 2,460 ft. above sea-level north of the Temple Mount to 2,130 ft. at the southeastern extremity. The western hill is about 2,500 ft. high and slopes southeast from the Judean plateau.

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Topography

Jerusalem is surrounded upon all sides by valleys, of which those on the north are less pronounced than those on the other three sides. The principal two valleys start northwest of the present city. The first runs eastward with a slight southerly bend (the present Wadi al-Joz), then, deflecting directly south, the Kidron (Hebrew) Valley or Wadi Sitti Maryam (Arabic), divides the Mount of Olives from the city. The second runs directly south on the western side of the city, turns eastward at its southeastern extremity, then runs directly east, and joins the first valley near Bir Ayyub ("Job's Well"). This valley is called the Valley of Hinnom or Ge-Hinnom in Hebrew, and Wadi al-Rababi in Arabic.

A view from Mount Scopus
A view from Mount Scopus

A third valley, commencing in the northwest where the Damascus Gate is now, ran south-southeasterly down to the Pool of Siloam, and divided the lower part into two hills (the lower and the upper cities of Josephus). This is probably the later Tyropoeon ("Cheese-makers'") valley. A fourth valley led from the western hill (near the present Jaffa Gate) over to the Temple area: it is represented in modern Jerusalem by David Street. A fifth cut the eastern hill into a northern and a southern part. Later Jerusalem was thus built upon four spurs. Today, neighboring towns are Bethlehem and Beit Jala at the southern city border, Abu Dis and Ma'ale Adummim to the East, Mevaseret Zion to the West, Giv'at Ze'ev to the North.

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Climate

February 2003 in Jerusalem
February 2003 in Jerusalem

Jerusalem is situated at a relatively high altitude and experiences the wide diurnal temperature variations common in such locales. Winters are mild and rather wet, with the coldest month averaging about 9 °C. Summers in Jerusalem are dry, and the daytime temperatures are often hot; the warmest month averages about 26 °C. The average annual precipitation is about 600 mm (24 inches), and snowfalls sometimes occur.

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Environment

There is almost no industrial pollution in Jerusalem. Most pollutants are the product of heavy bus and personal vehicle traffic, especially along the arterial roads, and a by-product from heavy building. With this exception, air pollution is low.

The building code in Jerusalem prescribes that all buildings should be covered with native Jerusalem stone.[25] Although this increases building costs somewhat, it gives the city a very distinct look in comparison with other cities. Since the 1950s only a small number of buildings have been constructed in Jerusalem which do not conform to this code.

With the exception of the central plateau, many neighborhoods are divided by deep valleys, which are the natural green areas of the city. To the west of the city is the larger Jerusalem Forest. Especially in open spaces near major roads, large parks were developed. To the east and the southeast of the Old City, where little grows without constant irrigation, promenades with parks were developed, which allow walkers to enjoy the view of the Old City, the Judean Desert, the irrigated vegetation, and - depending on location and weather conditions - the Dead Sea and Jordanian mountains.

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People and culture

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Demography

When it first appears in historical records, Jerusalem was inhabited by a Canaanite tribe. The Bible specifies them as the Jebusites, and says they ruled it until its conquest by King David. After taking control of the city from the Canaanites, Jews formed the majority of the population for 1,200 years, until Jerusalem's destruction by Rome in the second century. Subsequent demographic changes are uncertain, although the city's population probably attained a Muslim majority by the time of the Crusades. An official 16th century survey confirms that the city was largely Muslim. By 1844, Jews were once again the largest single ethnic group in the city and formed a majority by the late 19th century.[26]

As of May 24, 2006, Jerusalem's population is 724,000 (about 10% of the total population of Israel), of which 65.0% were Jews (approx. one-quarter of whom live in East Jerusalem), 32.0% Muslim (almost all of whom live in East Jerusalem) and 2% Christian. 35% of the city's population were children under age of 15. In 2005, the city had 18,600 newborns.[4]

It should be noted that these official Israeli statistics refer to the expanded Israel municipality of Jerusalem. This includes not only the area of the pre-1967 Israeli and Jordanian municipalities, but also outlying Palestinian villages and neighbourhoods to the north-east of the city which were not part of the Jordanian municipality of East Jerusalem prior to 1967. A reasonable assumption is that all or part of these may not remain part of Jerusalem when its final status is established, but rather be returned to the West Bank as part of the Palestinian state. Some of these villages and neighbourhoods have already been returned to the West Bank de facto by way of the Israeli West Bank barrier, although formally, their legal status has not been reverted.

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Culture

Jerusalem houses many museums. The Israel Museum is one of the most famous. It includes a large collection of art and archaeological artifacts. In the "Shrine of the Book", it exhibits the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Rockefeller Museum is the city's specific museum for archeology. The Ticho House exhibits art collections in an historical building. The Tower of David Museum is the main municipal museum; it includes models of the city and changing exhibits. Yad Vashem is the national Holocaust museum and monument. The Islamic Museum in the Old City and Islamic Art Museum near the President's house both have collections of Islamic art, holy scripts and artifacts.

The city has two professional orchestras, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra-IBA and the Israel Camerata Jerusalem. In walking distance from the old city (southwest) is a cluster of cultural institutions. Theaters include the Khan Theater, Jerar Bachar, Beit Shmuel, Beit Agron and Jerusalem's Theatre. The Jerusalem Cinematheque is the venue in Jerusalem to watch non-commercial movies. It houses annually an international film festival and a Jewish film festival. In the Sultan Pool open air concerts are held, by Israeli artists and guests from abroad. The Jerusalem Music Center in Mishkenot Sha’ananim hosts chamber music concerts and workshops.

Adjacent to the Hebrew University’s Givat Ram campus are the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens. The Givat Ram campus is also the home to the Jewish National and University Library, itself home to the Albert Einstein archives and the Eran Laor Cartographic Collection. The Synagogue of the Hadassah Medical Center is home to the Marc Chagall stained glass windows depicting the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Another theater, the Palestinian National Theatre is located next to Orient House.

The main cultural event of the year is the Israel Festival, with international and local street performances and repertory and alternative musicians and theater groups.

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Economy

Heavy industry is discouraged in Jerusalem, leaving Jerusalem's economy as mainly service-based. While Tel Aviv remains Israel's financial capital, almost half of Jerusalem's residents work in government, public service, or tourism, although there has been an increasing number of high-technology start-ups in the city, as well. This increase is especially noticed in the hi-tech park known as Har Hotzvim. Large, international companies such as Intel, ECI and Teva share space with smaller companies and startups.

The civilian labor force of Jerusalem was 183,000 (48.1%) out of 384,000 persons ages 15+. This is low in comparison to Tel Aviv and Haifa, 58.0% and 52.4% respectively. This reflects a higher percentage of one income households, especially among the Arab and Haredi populations. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, the average wage for a Jerusalem worker was NIS 5,568 in 2000. In Tel Aviv the income was 17.8% higher and in Haifa 14.1% higher. Income in Jerusalem was on average lower both for wage-earners and self-employed people.[4]

The population of Jerusalem is poorer in comparison to Israeli national figures. This is also often attributed to large Arab and Haredi population segments. In 1995 25% of the city population and 37% of its children lived below poverty level, as compared to 17% of all Israelis and 23% of Israeli children.[4]

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Tourism

Coffee shop in Jerusalem's centre
Coffee shop in Jerusalem's centre
Nightlife in Jerusalem centre
Nightlife in Jerusalem centre

Jerusalem is home to many attractions. Some of these include:

See also .

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Transportation

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Roads

Begin Boulevard is western Jerusalem's inner city expressway. It runs south to north from Manahat (Malha) to Ramot, where it merges into the Modi'in-Tel Aviv highway (Highway 443). Other major north-south arteries include: the Talpiot-Atarot route (Route 60), which traverses the city center and roughly separates East and West Jerusalem; and Herzl Boulevard, which begins at the northern entrance of the city and continues south via Mount Herzl and the Yad VaShem Holocaust memorial. It then merges into additional routes that lead to the southwestern quarters. The Golomb-Herzog-Ben-Zvi route also links the southern quarters with the city center.

Running east through the city center, Jaffa Road connects the Jaffa Gate of the Old City as well as East Jerusalem with the northwestern city entrance and Highway 1. Yigal Yadin Boulevard serves as a northern bypass of the city center, and links Ma'ale Adummim and the northeastern neighborhoods to Begin Boulevard near Ramot.

A future ring-road would include Yadin and Begin boulevards as the respective north and west sectors.[27]

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Buses

Jerusalem Central Bus Station is Jerusalem's intercity bus station. It is served mainly by Egged buses and by a single joint Egged - Dan bus line, while Superbus and Margalit, serving Modi'in, have their stops close by. City buses in the Jewish and Israeli areas are run by Egged, which runs close to 100 bus lines throughout the city and its suburbs.

In cooperation with City Tour and the Jerusalem Municipality, Egged operates Bus 99 a special double decked open-air bus line that passes through all central tourist attractions in Jerusalem. Using the same daily ticket the passengers can get off the bus at any of 27 bus stops any time during operation of the route. The full tour lasts for about two hours. Recorded explanations, broadcast through the bus are available in eight different languages.[28]

Palestinian-run buses serve the city's Arab neighborhoods as well as Palestinian towns in the West Bank and Israeli Arab towns. This system is based out of the East Jerusalem Central Bus Station on Sultan Suleiman Street, though buses also leave from outside the Damascus Gate of the Old City.

The Egged and Palestinian city bus networks are almost completely separated. There are only a handful of bus stops that both companies serve. Arab residents of Jerusalem do use Egged buses frequently, but Jewish residents rarely use the Palestinian buses, in part because while Arabs do regularly visit the Israeli center of town, Jews do not frequently come to the Arab parts of the city.[citation needed]

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Railway

Israel Railways operates train service to Southern Jerusalem with 2 stops: Jerusalem Malha near the Malha Mall and the Biblical Zoo. Very few trains stop at the latter stop. The line was out of use for seven years because of deteriorating conditions and was restored on April 9 2005. Jerusalem Malha is a new station which replaces the historical Khan Station at Remez Square near the Old City. The train ride from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem takes about 80 minutes.

The existing rail line serving Jerusalem began operating in 1892. A brand new high-speed electrified rail link is currently under construction, which will run from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem via Ben Gurion Airport and terminate at a new underground station - Binyanei HaUmah, located between the Jerusalem Central Bus Station and the International Convention Centre. It is anticipated that the new rail link will open in 2011, with an expected transit time from Tel Aviv of less than 30 minutes.

Wall painting on Jaffa Road of the future light rail network in Jerusalem
Wall painting on Jaffa Road of the future light rail network in Jerusalem

The Jerusalem Light Rail network is being planned and has already been partially constructed. The first line is at the height of its construction and is slated to begin operating from Pisgat Ze'ev in the northeast through, French Hill and Jaffa Street to the Central Bus Station and the southwestern neighborhoods around 2008.[29] Unusually, for a city with a population of over 700,000, Jerusalem never had a previous first generation tramway network, although, before the war, one was proposed but was cancelled for political reasons.

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Airports

Atarot Airport is Jerusalem's airport, but was closed to civilian traffic in 2000 due to security concerns arising from the Al-Aqsa Intifada,[30] and was later placed under IDF control during 2001.[31] Ben Gurion International Airport, 40 km northwest of the city, serves as the primary international air transport hub for both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

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Sports

Teddy Stadium
Teddy Stadium

The most popular sport in Jerusalem is football (soccer). The city has two major teams, the yellow Beitar Jerusalem FC and the red Hapoel Jerusalem FC. Beitar plays in the Premier League, is a four-time Israeli champion (1986, 1993, 1997 and 1998), and has won the national cup 5 times. Hapoel currently plays in the Leumit or second league and has won one national cup, in 1973. In basketball, however, Hapoel Jerusalem has the upperhand. In a league dominated by Maccabi Tel Aviv it never won a championship, yet twice won the Israeli Cup, in 1996 and 1997. In 2004 it won the European ULEB Cup.

A marathon is held in the streets of Jerusalem every year and the popular Jerusalem hike starts west of the city and ends in its streets. The municipality, universities, schools, clubs and businesses operate over a thousand sport facilities throughout the city. The largest sports facility is the Teddy Kollek Stadium in Malha, a football stadium with 21,000 seats. Major basketball games are held at the Strauss Arena.

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Education

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Museums

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Sister cities

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Notes and references

  1. The website for Jerusalem is available in three languages – Hebrew, English, and Arabic.
  2. Jerusalem in other languages: Arabic Bibles use أورشليم Ûrshalîm; official Arabic in Israel: أورشليم القدس, Urshalim-al-Quds (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names)
  3. Largest city:
    • "...modern Jerusalem, Israel's largest city..." (Erlanger, Steven. Jerusalem, Now, The New York Times, April 16, 2006.)
    • "With a population of 701,512 in 2004, Jerusalem is Israel’s largest city. ("Israel (country)", Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2006, p. 3. Retrieved October 18, 2006.)
    • "Since 1975 unified Jerusalem has been the largest city in Israel." ("Jerusalem", Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2006. Retrieved October 18, 2006.)
    • "Jerusalem is Israel’s largest city." ("Jerusalem", Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2006, p. 1. Retrieved October 18, 2006.)
    • "Jerusalem, the capital, is its crowning glory. "Jerusalem is for prayer," says Nisso, our minivan driver, with a twinkle in his dark eyes as we speed away from Israel's largest city." (Lothar, Corrina. Israel's Embrace, The Washington Times, October 14, 2006.)
    • "Jerusalem is the largest city in the State of Israel. It has the largest population, the most Jews and the most non-Jews of all Israeli cities." (Klein, Menachem. Jerusalem: The Future of a Contested City, New York University Press, March 1, 2001, p. 18. ISBN 0-8147-4754-X)
    • "In 1967, Tel Aviv was the largest city in Israel. By 1987, more Jews lived in Jerusalem than the total population of Tel Aviv. Jerusalem had become Israel's premier city." (Friedland, Roger and Hecht, Richard. To Rule Jerusalem, University of California Press, Sep 19, 2000, p. 192. ISBN 0-520-22092-7)
    • "Israel's largest city, Jerusalem sprawls over 28 square miles." (Jeffers, H Paul. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jerusalem, Alpha Books, Mar 2, 2004, p.4. ISBN 1-59257-179-4)
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 (Hebrew) Central Bureau of Statistics 2006 ReportPDF
  5. "Because of the strict control on building, Jerusalem has a compact and uniform character. Its total area is about 123 sq km (about 47 sq mi)." ("Jerusalem", Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia, 2006, p. 1. Retrieved January 16, 2007.)
  6. Eliav, Yaron Z. (2005-11-07). God's Mountain: The Temple Mount in Time, Place, and Memory. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
  7. Peels, H G L (2001). “Personifications and Prophetic Voices of Zion”, The Vengeance of God: The Prophet as a Historical Person, Literary Character and Anonymous Artist. Brill Academic Publishers, 55. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
  8. Segal, Jerome M. (1997). Negotiating Jerusalem. The University of Maryland Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
  9. The 7 New Wonders. ABC News. Retrieved on 2007-01-10.
  10. Bethune, George Washington (1845). The Fruit of the Spirit. Mentz & Rovoudt, 93. Retrieved on 2007-01-11. “is the New Jerusalem, or "heritage of peace."”
  11. See also the Biblical commentator Nachmanides for explanation.
  12. Allen, Joseph Henry (1879). Hebrew Men and Times: From the Patriarchs to the Messiah. Roberts Brothers, 125. “name it Jerusalem, the "heritage of Peace."”
  13. From the King James Version of the Bible: "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God." (Genesis 14:18)
  14. Jerusalem, the Old City. al-Quds University. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
  15. 15.0 15.1 Landau, Yehezkel (1996). "Sharing Jerusalem: The Spiritual And Political Challenges". Service International De Documéntation Judéo-Chrétienne 29 (2-3). Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
  16. Timeline for the History of Jerusalem. Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
  17. Vaughn, Andrew G., Ann E. Killebrew (2003-08-01). “Jerusalem at the Time of the United Monarchy”, Jerusalem in Bible and Archaeology: the First Temple Period, 32-33. Retrieved on 2007-01-15.
  18. Shalem, Yisrael (1997-03-03). History of Jerusalem from Its Beginning to David. Jerusalem: Life Throughout the Ages in a Holy City. Bar-Ilan University Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
  19. Greenfeld, Howard (2005-03-29). A Promise Fulfilled: Theodor Herzl, Chaim Weizmann, David Ben-Gurion, and the Creation of the State of Israel. Greenwillow, 32. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
  20. Timeline. City of David. Ir David Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
  21. Much of the information regarding King David's conquest of Jerusalem comes from Biblical accounts, but modern-day historians have begun to give them credit due to a 1993 excavation (Pellegrino, Charles R. (1995-12-01). Return to Sodom & Gomorr, Second revised, Harper Paperbacks, 271. Retrieved on 2007-01-18. “[see footnote]”).
  22. Peter, 186
  23. Jerusalem website religious facilities
  24. "El Salvador will move embassy to Tel Aviv", The Jerusalem Post, 2006-08-25. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
  25. The British Mandate from "Jerusalem: Life Throughout the Ages in a Holy City". Online course material from the Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
  26. The Population of Palestine Prior to 1948. MidEastWeb.org (2005). Retrieved on October 4, 2006.
  27. Running rings around us by Nathan Burstein (Jerusalem Post, January 19, 2006)
  28. Bus Travel in Jerusalem
  29. Jerusalem Light Rail – Mass Transit System (PDF)
  30. An Intifada Casualty Named Atarot Larry Derfner, The Jewish Journal, 23 March 2001
  31. Jerusalem's Atarot Airport handed over to the IDF Zohar Blumenkrant, Ha'aretz, 27 July 2001
  32. See also the official website of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  33. See also the official website of Al-Quds University.
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