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The Case for a United Jerusalem

(Atlantic Monthly) Nathan Diament - Some insist that the only way to resolve competing claims over the holy city of Jerusalem is to divide it. But modern-day Jerusalem is an interwoven checkerboard of Jewish and Palestinian enclaves. Recent polling indicates that a plurality of Palestinians residing in eastern sections of Jerusalem would move to Israeli Jerusalem if given the opportunity, should the city be re-divided. Israel has proven over the past four decades that its authority over all of Jerusalem can ensure protection of and access to holy sites. When Arabs last controlled the Old City, from 1948 to 1967, Jews were barred from access to Judaism's holiest site, ignoring the fact that the Old City of Jerusalem has been the national capital of the Jewish people for the past 3000 years. The international community would never expect the Islamic world to cede sovereignty over Mecca; the Jewish people ought to be accorded no less respect with regard to the Old City of Jerusalem. The international community must take off the table the option of dividing Jerusalem, in the same way that they have ended the debate over a "right of return" to Israel for Palestinian refugees. The writer is Director of the Institute for Public Affairs of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.
2012-01-20 00:00:00
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