Trump's move to shift the US embassy to Jerusalem has created flutters in diplomatic circles. But why and how Israel took over East Jerusalem seems to be a forgotten chapter
Jerusalem is in news again. The Trump Administration has decided to shift the US embassy in Israel there from its current location at 71, HaYarkon Street, Tel Aviv. Trump is merely implementing the Jerusalem Embassy Act, 1995, adopted during the presidency of Bill Clinton. The original Bill was passed by an overwhelming majority in the US Senate (93-5) and House of Representatives (374-47) in 1995. The last date for relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem was May 31, 1999. But the date was allowed to lapse in view of Clinton’s futile pursuit for peace in the Middle East. Its denouement in the form of tripartite talks at Camp David, Maryland (July 11-25, 2000) turned out to be damp squib. Shortly before demitting office, Clinton told Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on December 23, 2000, that Jerusalem should serve as joint capital of Israel and Palestinian state. He refrained from elaborating on the fate of Temple Mount/Haram-al-Sharif.
Trump’s move has created flutters in diplomatic circles, besides stroking disturbance amongst street Arabs. The international community has still not reconciled to Israel’s annexure of East Jerusalem, captured from Jordan during the Six Day War in June, 1967. They feel, the move clouds the future of the proposed Palestine state, which also claims Jerusalem to be its capital. Meanwhile, the Palestine state is wrecked by irreconcilable differences between Hamas, which rules Gaza and Fatah, which predominates in West Bank. Jerusalem lies at the edge of the West Bank (of river Jordan). The West Bank, which is under Israeli occupation, has significant presence of Jewish settlers amidst Arab majority.
This diplomatic development coincides with the centenary of conquest of Jerusalem by the British forces under General Edmund HH Allenby (1861-1936). The Egyptian Expeditionary Force of the British Army under Allenby took Jerusalem on December 9, 1917. Allen, by himself, entered the city on foot on December 11 from Jaffa Gate. It was for the first time a Christian Army entered Jerusalem in 730 years after the crusaders had been dislodged by Saladin Al Ayubi in 1187 AD. Jerusalem had been the capital of Crusader kingdom between 1096 and 1187AD. The British revived the political importance of the holy city as the capital of mandated Palestine territory for the first time in seven centuries.
Meanwhile, Tel Aviv had been founded in 1909 by the Jewish immigrants from Europe. located on the Mediterranean coastline, it is a 20th century city. Its founders were mostly progressive minded. They wanted to keep themselves off from Jerusalem although it was their holy city and capital of ancient Israel. Jerusalem was city fractured along religious-ethnic lines. It was seen as a dangerous den of conservatism and religious tensions. But many Jews settled down in Jerusalem amidst Muslims. Until November 1921, when the first disturbances took place, their existence was mostly trouble free.
Muslim presence in Jerusalem is the legacy of Arab conquest of Jerusalem by Caliph Omar in February, 638AD. But with time, they comprised the dominant element in the city. The fragmented nature of Jerusalem was recognised in the UN Resolution 181 adopted on November 29, 1947. The UN Resolution, which partitioned Palestine under British mandate, between Jews and the Arabs envisaged an international status for Jerusalem. It read, “The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations”. The Arabs and Jews living in the city could choose to become citizens to Israel or Arab Palestine. The Resolution passed in the UN by 33 votes in favour, 13 against and 10 abstentions was accepted by Israel but rejected by the Arab states.
Meanwhile, life for one lakh Jews in Jerusalem had already become precarious. The Arab acted on a plan to isolate them from Jews elsewhere in Palestine by cutting off road transport. The declaration of Israeli Independence on May 14, 1948, by David Ben-Gurion came at Tel Aviv. It did not refer to any frontier or the status of Jerusalem. But the very next day, Arab nations attacked Israel with their combined might. The aim was to ‘wipe out Israel from the face of the globe’. In the battles that followed, Jerusalem witnessed house-to-house, hand-to-hand fighting between May 19 and 28.
Jerusalem, as a result of the war, got split into western part controlled by Israel and eastern part (extending to north and south as well), including old city by Jordan. There was forcible exchange of population between two sections. In 1950, Israel moved its capital to West Jerusalem. East Jerusalem, though Arab dominated, had holy sites of Judaism like Dome of Rock, including the Wailing Wall. These were closed to the Jews after Jordan captured the eastern part of the Holy City.
East Jerusalem was not at all an important city, politically or religiously, under the Jordanian sway (1948-1967). In fact, no important Arab leader visited the Al Aqsa mosque. But immediately after Israel could wrest it in June, 1967 it became a rallying point for the Arab world.
During the Six Day War in June, 1967, Israel was able to wrest back East Jerusalem in addition to the whole of West Bank (of river Jordan). After the 1967 War, the Arabs were voluntarily leaving for Jordan (across river Jordan). It would have solved Israel’s demographic problem. But ironically, the hero of that war, Moshe Dayan, pleaded them to stay put. The joke goes it takes a Jewish brain to come up with such a brilliant solution!
In 1980, the Jerusalem law was passed in the Israeli Knesset. It said that Jerusalem complete, and united, is the capital of Israel. It also said that all holy sites should be protected from desecration and violation of freedom of access of the members of different religious communities. The law was originally introduced as a private members Bill by Guelah Cohen, who is still alive at the age of 91.
Historically, Jerusalem is Jewish much before Christian and Islamic elements entered into it. The Old Testament mentions Jerusalem 669 times and Zion (which usually means Jerusalem but sometimes the land of Israel) 154 times. The New Testament mentions Jerusalem 146 times and Zion seven times. The Quran does not mention it even once. But one cannot wish away the demographic reality also.
(The writer is a political commentator)