Jerusalem: City of Heaven, City of Blood, City of Ashes

This is the fifth of fifteen articles in CDLS’ Spotlight On… series, exploring culture and society around the world.

Day 1: Cyprus

Day 2: North Korea

Day 3: India

Day 4: Venezuela

I’m not particularly sure why my articles this week seem to have a religious focus. I didn’t intend for them to turn out this way but they did. This isn’t an attack on organized religion or anything. You would know if I decided to go on a crusade against religion. I’m not exactly known for my subtlety. I’m also throwing this under my Spotlight On… series even though it’s very different from my usual stuff. It’s tenuously related, which is good enough for me.

I have found that Israel is one of the most difficult things to talk about. Any criticism could be taken and misconstrued as Antisemitism (not that a lot of it isn’t thinly-disguised Antisemitism). Accusations of Antisemitism are extremely hard to live down. So obviously I decided to take a look at Israel.

(Just in case anything goes wrong, the following views are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect those of Colin)

Now to put my foot in my mouth.

Jewish history is one of the most event-filled and inter-connected sections of history. It’s an incredibly fascinating read and I encourage more people to read up a bit on it. There is a lot you can take away from it. Jerusalem itself is an ancient city with great historical and religious significance and importance to Christianity, Judaism and Islam. To Christendom, it was the home of Jesus Christ and the birthplace of Christianity. To the Jewish people, it was their ancestral home and the centerpiece to their history and culture. Islam itself can draw some of its roots to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and whose occupation of the self-same region stretches back centuries. It’s the epicenter of the Abrahamic religions and because of this, home of perhaps the longest running cultural conflict in history.

A city known and revered for its deep spiritual significance, it’s just as well known for being home to some of the bloodiest wars and acts of violence perpetrated by man. Christendom (or more specifically the Catholic Church) launched 8 different crusades over a period of 200 years in order to “liberate” it from the “Muslim infidels”.  Saladin, one of the most feared and renowned Muslim commanders, personally lead his armies to Jerusalem, to “reclaim” it from the Christian invaders. Partially because of the other two and other factors, the Jewish people have never really been able to hold onto their homeland for any significant length of time (which looks to have changed in the present day).

Millions of Muslims, Christians and Jews have died over a patch of land smaller than Florida, although it is a considerable economic powerhouse. There are thousands of Palestinians unable to enter or return to Jerusalem, regardless of it being the birthplace of many of them, because of the continued conflict between the Israeli people and the Palestinians. It’s one of the most contested regions in the world and there are no signs that there is any change on the horizon.

Jerusalem is a symbol. A symbol of Christianity, a symbol of Judaism and a symbol of Islam.

The city itself is built on and surrounded by the countless dead who gotten themselves sucked into the long standing three-way conflict between the religions. It’s not the richest city in the world; there are cities more economically prosperous. It’s not a particularly large city in terms of population; there are more than 100 cities with larger populations. Asides from some of their historical landmarks, like the aforementioned Dome of the Rock and the Wailing Wall, an argument could be made that there are cities with just as much if not more historical significance than it.

Simply put, Jerusalem is a symbol. A symbol of one religion’s dominance over the other two. The occupation and holding of the City of Heaven, is essentially a long-standing and bloody game of king of the hill between the Abrahamic sects.

Pope Urban II’s reasons for launching the First Crusade were no more valid than Saladin’s reasons for capturing Jerusalem in 1187 and no more valid than Israel’s current stance against Palestine. If the Catholic Church hadn’t become as impotent as it is now, I’m certain there would have been more Crusades.

You have to shake your head when you realize that this is a land contested by three religions/cultures whose differences really are cosmetic and who follow the Words of the same deity. The only difference is that they each focus on a different aspect and interpretation of the self-same deity. You would think that religions/cultures with such shared history would be able to coexist in a region with arguably equal significance to each other but no. The squabble over Israel and Jerusalem, which began long before Pope Urban II’s decision to turn it into a region of blood, is one that I feel will still be ongoing even after I pass on.

The last 800 years has been like watching three brothers fighting over the inheritance they each believe was left to them by their father. Regardless whether or not the inheritance is a teacup or a cask of jewels, they each will fight to the bitter end before thinking of relinquishing their claim or finding a way to share.

Sometimes you wonder if it would be better if the city itself were set fire to, so that there naught left of the City of Heaven to fight over. But then I return to reality and I realize that instead of spilling blood over the city, blood would be spilt over its ashes.