3000 Years of JUDAISM and Jerusalem

8/9/2019 3000 Years of JUDAISM and Jerusalem

1/4

3000 Years of Judaism & JerusalemFirst Temple Period

Once Jerusalem was a small, isolated, mountain city that was under Egyptian control. Thenthe Jebusites took over the city and called it Jebus. The Jebusites were a quiet, independent

people that did not mix with other people living in Canaan, including the Israelites that

controlled much of the land around the city of Jebus. Jebus, inhabited by a couple of

thousand people, was well protected by deep valleys on three sides, a fortress on the fourth

side, and a strong wall all around. Thus, the Jebusites were greatly surprised when a small

force of Israelite soldiers, led by David, entered the city through underground water tunnels

and conquered it.

c. 1000 BCE David conquers Jerusalemc. 967 BCE Solomon's begins his reignc. 963 BCE Solomon builds Temple927 BCE Kingdom splits, Northern tribes succeed722 BCE Northern Kingdom (Israel) falls586 BCE Southern Kingdom (Judah) falls

Immense change took place in Jerusalem during the 400 years following David's conquest of

the city. Soon after the conquest, David brought the Ark of the Covenant, which held the

Tablets of the Law, from the village of Kiryat Ye'arim to Jerusalem. David made the city the

Israelite's national capital. Thus, David made the city both a religious and political center of

his kingdom.

Massive construction followed. Most notably, Solomon built the Temple. After Solomon's

death, the northern Israelite tribes wanted to set up their own state. While Jerusalem then

became the capital of a smaller nation, it still continued to grow. A regular procession of

kings - some good and some bad - reigned over the city. The city's population grew

to approximately 30,000 people. When the Assyrians threatened the city, fortifications and

water systems were added. However, none of this helped once the Babylonians arrived. The

Babylonians destroyed the city and the first Temple.

Second Temple Period

After their conquest, the Babylonians left Jerusalem in piles of rubble and led thousands and

thousands of Judeans back to Babylonia. In Babylonia, the Jews, with the help of leaders

and prophets, acquired a strengthened faith and national determination. A few thousand

Jews, after about 50 years in exile, came back to Jerusalem, began to clear the debris and

rebuild the Temple.

c. 536 BCE Jews return to Judea from Babylonian exile


2/4

c. 515 BCE Second Temple is builtc. 444 BCE Nehemiah rebuilds walls of Jerusalem332 BCE Alexander the Great conquers Jerusalem320 BCE Ptolemies conquer Jerusalem200 BCE Seleucids conquer Jerusalemc. 164 BCE Judah Maccabee retakes Jerusalem and cleanses the Temple

c. 63 BCE Romans gain control of Jerusalemc. 33 CE Jesus is crucified in Jerusalem70 CE Romans conquer Jerusalem and destroy the Second Temple132-35 CE Bar Kochba revolt

During this 600 year period (530 BCE-130 CE), different empires took control of Jerusalem:

Persians, Macedonian Greeks (Alexander the Great), Egyptian Greeks, Syrian Greeks,

Hasmoneans (nature Judeans) and Romans.

Under the Romans, Herod came into power; he ruled from 37-4 BCE. While Herod was

considered a cruel ruler, he was a brilliant builder. Herod built palaces, fortresses and

monuments, but his crowning achievement was the reconstruction of the Temple. Herod's

building campaign and Roman technology made Jerusalem a beautiful city. The rabbis of the

period wrote, "Ten measures of beauty descended on the world; nine of them were allotted

to Jerusalem."

Despite the city's beauty, relations between the city's Jewish residents and the Roman

troops deteriorated over time. In Herod's time, the population of Jerusalem grew to 60,000

people. The city's Jews were greatly disturbed by much religious insensitivity, such as the

Roman edict to decorate the city with statues of the Roman emperor. Over time, Jewish

discontent led to revolt which eventually led to a bloodbath. The Romans destroyed the city,

including the Second Temple, and banished the Jews.

One City, Many Conquerors (135-1860)

After their conquest of Jerusalem (which they renamed Aelia Capitolina), the Romans erased

all traces of the Jews who used to live there. Then they rebuilt the city as a pagan city, full

of statues of Roman emperors and gods.

324 Constantine becomes emperor in Byzantium614 Persians conquer Jerusalem638 Muslims conquer Jerusalem1099 Crusaders conquer Jerusalem1167 Saladin conquers Jerusalem1260 Mamelukes conquer Jerusalem1517 Ottomans conquer Jerusalem


3/4

1838 Britain opens consulate in Jerusalem

During this 1700 year period, Jews never regained control over Jerusalem, but they were

continuously present as a minority. In the midst of grand mosques for the Muslims and

churches for the Christians, small synagogues existed for the city's Jews.

An Expanding City (1860-1948)

Jerusalem underwent a period of improvement as the Ottomon's rebuilt the city's walls,

reinstated the markets, and refurbished the mosques. At some point, however, the Ottomon

empire lost interest in Jerusalem, and then anarchy, poverty, disease and crime overtook

the city.Partly due to the city's deteriorating conditions, Jerusalem residents began to build homes

outside the walls of the city in the mid-19th century. Also at this time, for the first time in1,800 years, Jew became the dominant group in their ancient capital, making up more than

half of the city's 18,000 residents.

The growth of the Jewish population and their migration outside the city's walls was

supported by Jewish philanthropists from abroad, such as Sir Moses Montefiore. Montefiore,

a highly successful British merchant, rebuilt the Hurvah syngagoue, established a printing

press, a soup kitchen, housing for the poor, a girl's school, the city's first Jewish hospital,

and the first Jewish neighborhood outside the city's walls called Mishkenot Sha'ananim (the

Tranquil Abode).

1860 Mishkenot Sha'ananim built1917 Balfour Declaration1917 Ottomon rule in Jerusalem ends. British rule begins.1936-39 Arab Revolt in Palestine1939 British issue the White Paper1946 Irgun bombs the King David hotel1947 United Nations votes on the partition of Palestine1948 State of Israel gains independence

Building outside the city's walls continued at feverish pace. The Germans, Russians, French

and British built churches, hospitals, consulates, orphanages, schools, hotels, and more. In

less than a hundred years (1860-1948), the population of Jerusalem grew almost tenfold,

from 18,000 to over 160,000 (including 100,000 Jews).

Once the Turks left Palestine at the end of World War I, the British took over. The

burgeonling Arab and Jewish nationalist movements challenged the British rule, which

consequently only lasted for thirty years.


4/4

Capital of the Jewish State (1948-today)

The UN vote to partition Palestine into a Jewish State and an Arab State and the end of

British rule led to joyful celebrations for the Jews. The celebrations were very short-lived,

however, because almost immediately the fledgling country was at war on all fronts. Inadditions to the attacks from local Arabs, now five armies of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq

and Transjordan invaded the new State.While Israel was victorious against great odds, some 6,000 Jews (about 1% of the total

Jewish population) died in the War of Independence. At the end of the war, the ceasefire

lines drawn became the borders for Israel during the first decades of her existence. A

ceasefire line, running north to south, divided Jerusalem so that the western part of the city

was under Israeli rule and the eastern part, including the Old City, were under Jordanian

control.

1948 State of Israel is founded1948-49 War of Independence1949-52 Waves of immigration1967 Six Day War and Reunification of Jerusalem1973 Yom Kippur War1977 Sadat visits Jerusalem1982 Lebanon War1987 First Intifada1989-1992 Mass immigration from the Soviet Union and Ethiopia

1991 Gulf War1994 Peace with Jordan2000-2004 Second Intifada

During the 1967 Six Day War, Israel gained control of all of Jerusalem, giving Jews access

to their holy sites such as the Western Wall of the Temple. Throughout the rest of the 20th

century and into the 21st century, the city and country continued to suffer from the tension

of having two people, Jews and Arabs, both claiming their right to the land.

The UN has suggested making Jerusalem an international city, but both Arabs and Jews

have rejected this idea.

While many peace initiatives have been pursued, peace will only come once ideas andattitudes are changed. Until there is a psychological, emotional change among the people,

tension will continue to reign in Jerusalem.

Documents

3000 Years of JUDAISM and Jerusalem