20 Friday, May 25, 1919
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Reunited Jerusalem Transformed
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(Continued from Page 1) we were able to look for-
tion and depression, the ward with confidence to
wide new boulevards are the outcome of the pro-
lined with flowers, posed referendum.
everywhere there are parks Today the outcome
and children's playgrounds. would be more decisive
There are now some 350,000 still.
But the future of
Jerusalemites, and their
number is constantly grow- Jerusalem will not be de-
ing. About three-quarters of cided by the democratic vote
them are Jews, most of the of its citizens — even the
rest Arabs (in the main most democratic of democ-
Moslem Arabs). Many Arab racies, led by the U.S.,
quarters have been refur- would not agree to this.
bished too, and the Arab Everyone knows that
children also have playg- Jerusalem is not mentioned
rounds near their schools even once in the Koran —
and that it occurs some 700
and homes.
Jerusalem today is a times in the Old Testament.
capital city worthy of Is- Everyone knows, too, that it
rael, one of the most is to Jerusalem that Jews,
beautiful cities, and per- wherever they are, turn in
haps the most moving, in prayer, while all Moslems
the world. Twelve years turn to Mecca.
If proof were needed that
is not a long time in the
life of any city, and but a it was not religion that
fleeting moment in counted but politics, surely
Jerusalem's own 3,000 it is here — as in many other
years since King David examples as well. The King
established himself there of Saudi Arabia complains,
and King Solomon, his as his father did before
son, built the Temple. But him, that he cannot come
these 12 short years have to pray at El Aasa as long as
been enough to . convert it is under Israeli rule; but,
Jerusalem from the like his father again, he
backwater it had been forgets to add that he never
since its partition in 1948, came to El Aasa even once
worth scarcely a one-day during the 19 years of Jor-
excursion for the average danian (that is, Moslem)
tourist, into the magnifi- domination.
So the future of
cent city it has now be-
Jerusalem will have to be
come.
The political future, how- decided along political
ever, is still uncertain. For lines. What these could or
the Jews of course, there is should be, it is too realy to
no uncertainty: Jerusalem say, especially as long as
has always been their capi- peace, even with Egypt,
tal, even while they lan- still seems precarious,
guished in exile, as it is and the fate of the West
their capital today and will Bank and of Gaza is still
remain their capital
forever. But this is a strictly
Jewish viewpoint, contested (Continued from Page 1)
violently by the Arabs and
by Moslems as a whole, and Jerusalem in his prayers
not accepted officially by as was the Jewish cus-
tom. However, in 623 CE,
anyone else.
There is no country that finding that it brought no
has formally recognized Jewish converts, he bade
Jerusalem as Israel's capi- them turn to Mecca. Visit-
tal, and there probably will ing Jerusalem, although
not be as long as the Arab- not a "hajj" - a pilgrimage
Israel conflict continues. — it is a "ziara" - a brief
Even Egypt's President sojourn. In Arabic,
Sadat, though he visited Jerusalem is al-Kuds —
Jerusalem and prayed at the Sanctuary, because
the El Aasa Mosque in the here is the great mosque
formerly Jordan-occupied of Omar (Dome of the
Old City, has been unable to Rock) and its twin mos-
accept the sovereignty over que, Aqsa. Moslem tradi-
the entire city which Israel tion relates that the holy
claims and has exercised for rock (al-Sakhra) is lo-
cated exactly beneath Al-
the past 12 years.
If the world does not rec- lah's throne, and closely
ognize Jerusalem as Israel's connects Jerusalem with
capital, it is for political the day of judgment
reasons rather than reli- when the angel of death
gious: to do so would be to — Israfil — sill blow the
infuriate and antagonize ram's horn three times
every Moslem country, and while standing on the
especially the Arabs, and rock.
of
beauty
The
this is something no state,
Jerusalem
is
undeniable.
however powerful, is ready
to do in the light of the eco- In Gemara Kidushin,
nomic and political realities chapter 2, it is said: "Ten
measures of the beauty
of our day.
The UN Trusteeship of came to the world; nine
1947 states that the resi- were • taken by
dents of Jerusalem were Jerusalem, and one by
to be free "to express by the rest of the world."
It has been said that the
means of a referendum
their wishes as to possi- land of Israel is at the
ble modifications of the center of the world, and
regime of the city."Since Jerusalem is at the center
the population of of Israel. It holds a cen-
Jerusalem in 1947 con- trality to the religion not
sisted of 100,000 Jews only of Jews, but also of
and 65,000 Arabs (of Moslems and Christians.
When the border divid-
whom only slightly more
than half were Moslems), ing East and West
so far from settled. There
are some who think that
Israel could well afford to
give up sovereignty over
El-Aksa and the Dome of
the Rocka nd the
esplanade on which they
stand. There could
scarcely be any Jewish
religious objection to
this, since Jews are for-
bidden by religious law
to set foot there — for fear
of trespassing on the si
of the Holy of Holies.
Israel, even now, leave
the administration of these
shrines wholly in the hands
of the Moslem clergy, hav-
ing no desire either to inter-
fere or to carry responsibil-
ity for them. -
If the King of Saudi
Arabia were offered sover-
eignty over this enclave, in
the same way as the Pope
enjoys sovereignty over
Vatican City, could he
really refuse? It could have
been King Hussein of Jor-
dan, but he seems to have
withdrawn from any active
part in a political settle-
ment.
Israel would lose nothing
material by giving up her
sovereignty over what is the
only genuine Moslem holy
place in Jerusalem, a sover-
eignty which even now she
hardly exercises except in
theory. She could offer this
in exchange for recognition
of her sovereignty over the
rest of the city in which
Moslems have but secular
concerns.
This would be a highly ra-
tional and an eminently
political solution.
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Jerusalem was abolished
— at midday on June 29,
1967, three weeks after
the Israel Defense Forces
had taken the Old City —
for the first time in two
decades the citizens had
free access to every part
of both sectors.
The eagerness with
which both Jewish and
Arab citizens took ad-
vantage of the reunifica-
tion went beyond all ex-
pectations:As soon as the
barriers came down, the
two-way stream of
human traffic began. The
Arab Jerusalemites and
the Jewish Jerusalemites
immediately began
exploring the new, re-
visiting the old and find
ing common interes
and a common language.
Almost without excep-
tion, the Jews who made
their way to the Old City
hastened first to the West-
ern Wall. For the first time
in 19 years, they were able
to gaze upon it, approach it,
touch its rough-hewn
stones, say a silent prayer.
For the first time in 19
years, free access was also
available to the holy places
of all faiths — the giving of
that guarantee was one of
the first steps to be taken by
the government even before
the fighting was over.
If every man were
straightforward in his opin-
ions, there would be no con-
versation.
(-)