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Jerusalem is a city in the , on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the . It is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is considered to the three major Abrahamic religions—, and . Both and claim Jerusalem as their ; Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, while Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim is widely recognised internationally.

Throughout its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. According to Eric H. Cline's tally in Jerusalem Besieged. The part of Jerusalem called the City of David shows first signs of settlement in the 4th millennium BCE, in the shape of encampments of nomadic shepherds. During the period (14th century BCE) Jerusalem was named as Urusalim on tablets, probably meaning "City of " after a Canaanite deity. During the period, significant construction activity in Jerusalem began in the 10th century BCE (Iron Age II), and by the 9th century BCE the city had developed into the religious and administrative centre of the Kingdom of Judah.

(2025). 9781628373455, SBL Press. .
In 1538 the city walls were rebuilt for a last time around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent of the . Today those walls define the Old City, which since the 19th century has been divided into four quarters—the , Christian, Jewish and Muslim quarters.
(1984). 9780312441876, Yad Izhak Ben Zvi & St. Martin's Press. .
The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Since 1860 Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries. In 2022 Jerusalem had a population of about 971,800, of which almost 60% were Jews and almost 40% were Palestinians. In 2020 the population was 951,100, of which Jews comprised 570,100 (59.9%), Muslims 353,800 (37.2%), Christians 16,300 (1.7%) and 10,800 unclassified (1.1%).

According to the , King conquered the city from the and established it as the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel, and his son King commissioned the building of the First Temple. Modern scholars argue that Israelites branched out of the peoples and culture through the development of a distinct —and later —religion centred on El/.Tubb (1998), pp. 13–14.Mark Smith in "The Early History of God: Yahweh and Other Deities of Ancient Israel" states "Despite the long regnant model that the Canaanites and Israelites were people of fundamentally different culture, archaeological data now casts doubt on this view. The material culture of the region exhibits numerous common points between Israelites and Canaanites in the Iron I period (c. 1200–1000 BCE). The record would suggest that the Israelite culture largely overlapped with and derived from Canaanite culture... In short, Israelite culture was largely Canaanite in nature. Given the information available, one cannot maintain a radical cultural separation between Canaanites and Israelites for the Iron I period." (pp. 6–7). Smith, Mark (2002) "The Early History of God: Yahweh and Other Deities of Ancient Israel" (Eerdman's) These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, assumed central symbolic importance for the Jewish people.Since the 10th century BCE:

  • "Israel was first forged into a unified nation from Jerusalem some 3,000 years ago, when seized the crown and united the from this city... For a thousand years Jerusalem was the seat of Jewish sovereignty, the household site of kings, the location of its legislative councils and courts. In exile, the Jewish nation came to be identified with the city that had been the site of its ancient capital. Jews, wherever they were, prayed for its restoration." Roger Friedland, Richard D. Hecht. To Rule Jerusalem, University of California Press, 2000, p. 8.
  • "The centrality of Jerusalem to Judaism is so strong that even secular Jews express their devotion and attachment to the city, and cannot conceive of a modern State of Israel without it.... For Jews Jerusalem is sacred simply because it exists... Though Jerusalem's sacred character goes back three millennia...". Leslie J. Hoppe. The Holy City: Jerusalem in the theology of the Old Testament, Liturgical Press, 2000, p. 6.
  • "Ever since King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel 3,000 years ago, the city has played a central role in Jewish existence." Mitchell Geoffrey Bard, The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Middle East Conflict, Alpha Books, 2002, p. 330.
  • "Jerusalem became the center of the Jewish people some 3,000 years ago" Moshe Maoz, Sari Nusseibeh, Jerusalem: Points of Friction—and Beyond, Brill Academic Publishers, 2000, p. 1. The of holy city () was probably attached to Jerusalem in times.Reinoud Oosting, Brill 2012 pp. 117–18. Isaiah 48:2; 51:1; Nehemiah 11:1, 18; cf. Joel 4:17: Daniel 5:24. The Isaiah section where they occur belong to deutero-Isaiah.Shalom M. Paul, The 'holiness' ( qodesh) arises from the temple in its midst, the root q-d-š referring to a sanctuary. The concept is attested in Mesopotamian literature, and the epithet may serve to distinguish Babylon, the city of exiles, from the city of the Temple, to where they are enjoined to return. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the ,Isaiah 52:1 πόλις ἡ ἁγία. which Christians adopted as the ,Joseph T. Lienhard, The Bible, the Church, and Authority: The Canon of the Christian Bible in History and Theology, Liturgical Press, 1995 pp. 65–66: 'The Septuagint is a Jewish translation and was also used in the synagogue. But at the end of the first century C.E. many Jews ceased to use the Septuagint because the early Christians had adopted it as their own translation, and it began to be considered a Christian translation.' was reinforced by the account of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection there. Meanwhile, in , Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after and .Third-holiest city in Islam:
  • (2025). 9780195157130, Oxford University Press. .
  • (2025). 9780231120388, Columbia University Press.
  • (2025). 9780814650813, Michael Glazier Books.
    Middle East peace plans by Willard A. Beling: "The Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam after Mecca and Medina". The city was the first for , and in Islamic tradition, made his Night Journey there in 621, ascending to heaven where he spoke to God, per the .
    (2025). 9780521525756, Cambridge University Press.
    As a result, despite having an area of only , the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance, among them the with its , Dome of the Rock and , and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

At present, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Under the 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine, Jerusalem was to be "established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime" administered by the United Nations. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, was among the areas incorporated into Israel, while , including the Old City, was occupied and annexed by . Israel occupied East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 and subsequently annexed it into the city's municipality, together with additional surrounding territory. One of Israel's Basic Laws, the 1980 , refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the (Israel's parliament), the and , and the Supreme Court. The international community rejects the annexation as illegal and regards East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.

Etymology and names
Etymology
The name "Jerusalem" is variously etymologised to mean "foundation (Semitic yry' 'to found, to lay a cornerstone') of the pagan god ";Meir Ben-Dov, Historical Atlas of Jerusalem, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002, p. 23.
(2025). 9781585953653, Twenty-Third Publications.
the god Shalem was thus the original of the Bronze Age city.G. Johannes Bottereck, Helmer Ringgren, Heinz-Josef Fabry, (eds.) Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, tr. David E. Green, vol. XV, pp. 48–49 William B. Eeerdmanns Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan/Cambridge UK 2006, pp. 45–46

Shalim or Shalem was the name of the god of dusk in the Canaanite religion, whose name is based on the same root from which the Hebrew word for "peace" is derived ( Shalom in , cognate with Arabic Salam).

(1996). 9780006375319, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. .
Ringgren, H., Die Religionen des Alten Orients (Göttingen, 1979), 212. The name thus offered itself to etymologisations such as "The City of Peace",
(2025). 9781410217257, Reprinted from 1898 edition by University Press of the Pacific.
"Abode of Peace",
(2025). 9789004153882, Koninklijke Brill NV. .
"Dwelling of Peace" ("founded in safety"),Marten H. Wouldstra, The Book of Joshua, William B. Eerdmanns Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan (1981) 1995, p. 169 n.2 or "Vision of Peace" in some Christian authors.

The ending -ayim indicates the dual, thus leading to the suggestion that the name Yerushalayim refers to the fact that the city initially sat on two hills.

(1977). 9780405102981, Arno Press.
(2025). 9780790529356, Hodder and Stoughton. .
(see )

Ancient Egyptian sources
The of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE), which refer to a city called rwšꜣlmm or , variously transcribed as Rušalimum, or Urušalimum,Sethe, Kurt (1926) "Die Ächtung feindlicher Fürsten, Völker und Dinge auf altägyptischen Tongefäßscherben des Mittleren Reiches nach den Originalen im Berliner Museum herausgegeben und erklärt" in Abhandlungen der Preußischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1926 issue, philosophisch-historische Klasse, number 5, page 53 may indicate Jerusalem.
(2025). 9780802824004, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. .
G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren (eds.) Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, (tr. David E. Green) William B. Eerdmann, Grand Rapids Michigan, Cambridge, UK 1990, Vol. VI, p. 348 Alternatively, the of (1330s BCE), which reference an Úrušalim, may be the earliest mention of the city.
(2003). 9781589830660, Society of Biblical Literature. .

Hebrew Bible and Jewish sources
The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua. According to a , the name is a combination of two names united by God, Yireh ("the abiding place", the name given by to the place where he planned to sacrifice his son) and Shalem ("Place of Peace", the name given by high priest ).Ginzberg, Louis (1909). The Legends of the Jews Volume I: The Akedah (Translated by Henrietta Szold) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society.

Oldest written mention of Jerusalem
One of the earliest extra-biblical writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE Writing, Literacy, and Textual Transmission: The Production of Literary by Jessica N. Whisenant p. 323 King Manasseh and Child Sacrifice: Biblical Distortions of Historical Realities by Francesca Stavrakopoulou p. 98 and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states: "I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem", Oral World and Written Word: Ancient Israelite Literature by Susan Niditch p. 48 The Mountain of the Lord by Benyamin Mazar p. 60 Blessing and Curse in Syro-Palestinian Inscriptions by T. G Crawford p. 137 or as other scholars suggest: "Yahweh is the God of the whole earth. The mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem". Discovering the World of the Bible by LaMar C. Berrett p. 178 An earlier example of the name appears in a papyrus from the 7th century BCE.Ahituv, S., Klein, E. and Ganor, A. 2016. To Jerusalem: A Seventh Century BCE Shipping Certificate. In: Stiebel, G.D., Uziel, J., Citryn-Silverman, K., Re’em, A. and Gadot, Y., eds. New Studies in the Archaeology of Jerusalem and Its Region 10: 239–251 (In Hebrew) In extra-biblical inscriptions, the earliest known example of the -ayim ending was discovered on a column about 3 km west of ancient Jerusalem, dated to the first century BCE.

Jebus, Zion, City of David
An ancient settlement of Jerusalem, founded as early as the on the hill above the , was, according to the Bible, named .: יְב֔וּס הִ֖יא יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם: "Jebus, it is Jerusalem", p. 113 Called the "Fortress of Zion" ( metsudat Zion), it was renamed as the "City of David",. Cited in
(2025). 9781589832770, Society of Biblical Literature. .
and was known by this name in antiquity.
(2025). 9780521016834, Cambridge University Press.
(2025). 9789659029914, Shoham Academic Research and Publication.
Another name, "", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole, and afterwards to represent the whole biblical Land of Israel.

Greek, Roman and Byzantine names
In Greek and Latin the city's name was transliterated Hierosolyma/Hierosoluma (Greek: Ἱεροσόλυμα; in Greek hieròs, ἱερός, means holy), and was the term used by Matthew and Mark in their instead of the Hebrew term.

Up until the 2010s the consensus among was that following Alexander the Great's conquest, Hierosoluma was set to be incorporated into the larger temple cities of the , and to be as Hierapolis. However, modern historians dispute this as a proper Ancient Greek translation for the would be similar to Hierolophos.

The city was renamed for part of the period of its history.

Salem
The Apocryphon of Genesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 22:13) equates Jerusalem with the earlier "Salem" (שלם), said to be the kingdom of in Genesis 14. Other early Hebrew sources,For example:
  • Book of Jubilees 30:1.
  • the version of (as Συχὲμ )
  • and possibly the Masoretic text of ( see KJV and the margin translation of the Revised Version). early Christian renderings of the verse E.g., the and versions. J.A. Emerton, "The site of Salem: the City of Melchizedek ()," pp. 45–72 of Studies in the Pentateuch ed. by J.A. Emerton, vol. 41 of Supplements to Vetus Testamentum (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1990) ("Emerton"), p. 45. See also where "Salim" or "Sylem" (Συχὲμ) is said to be near Ænon, thought to be in the valley of , one of two mountains in the vicinity of Nablus. and ,, and . Emerton, p. 45. however, put Salem in Northern Israel near (Sichem), now , a city of some importance in early sacred Hebrew writing. (where Abram built an altar), . Emerton, p. 63. Possibly the redactor of the Apocryphon of Genesis wanted to dissociate Melchizedek from the area of Shechem, which at the time was in possession of the .Paul Winter, "Note on Salem—Jerusalem", Novum Testamentum, vol. 2, pp. 151–152 (1957). However that may be, later Rabbinic sources also equate Salem with Jerusalem, mainly to link Melchizedek to later Temple traditions.

Arabic names
Originally titled Bayt al-Maqdis, today, Jerusalem is most commonly known in as القُدس, transliterated as al-Quds and meaning "the holy" or "the holy sanctuary", cognate with . The name is possibly a shortened form of مدينة القُدس Madīnat al-Quds "city of the holy sanctuary" after the Hebrew nickname with the same meaning, Ir ha-Qodesh (עיר הקדש). The ق (Q) is pronounced either with a voiceless uvular plosive (/q/), as in , or with a (ʔ) as in .
(2025). 9789657397305, Minerva. .
Official Israeli government policy mandates that أُورُشَلِيمَ, transliterated as Ūrušalīm, which is the name frequently used in Christian translations of the Bible into Arabic, be used as the Arabic language name for the city in conjunction with القُدس, giving أُورُشَلِيمَ-القُدس, Ūrušalīm-al-Quds. Palestinian Arab families who hail from this city are often called " Qudsi" (قُدسي) or " Maqdasi" (مقدسي), while Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemites may use these terms as a .

History
Jerusalem is one of the world's oldest cities, with a history spanning over 5,000 years. Its origins trace back to around 3000 BCE, with the first settlement near the . The city is first mentioned in Egyptian around 2000 BCE as "Rusalimum." By the 17th century BCE Jerusalem had developed into a fortified city under rule, with massive walls protecting its water system. During the Late Bronze Age Jerusalem became a vassal of , as documented in the .

The city's importance grew during the Israelite period, which began around 1000 BCE when King captured Jerusalem and made it the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel. David's son King built the , establishing the city as a major religious centre. Following the kingdom's split Jerusalem became the capital of the Kingdom of Judah until it was captured by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE. The destroyed the First Temple, leading to the of the Jewish population. After the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return and rebuild the city and its temple, marking the start of the Second Temple period. Jerusalem fell under rule after the conquests of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, leading to increasing cultural and political influence from . The revolt in 164 BCE briefly restored Jewish sovereignty, with Jerusalem as the capital of an independent state.

In 63 BCE Jerusalem was captured by and brought under the rule of the . The city was embellished by Herod the Great, who expanded the Second Temple, making it one of the largest sanctuaries in the . Tensions between the Jews and the eventually escalated into the First Jewish Revolt, resulting in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem and the in 70 CE. A few decades later, the city was rebuilt as the Roman colony , dedicated to Jupiter, provoking the Bar Kokhba Revolt (132–136 CE). After the revolt's suppression, Jews were banned from the city. During the period, Jerusalem gained prominence as a centre of pilgrimage, especially after Constantine the Great supported the construction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In 638 CE, Jerusalem was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate, and under early rule, the Dome of the Rock and were built, solidifying its religious importance in Islam.

During the Jerusalem changed hands multiple times, being captured by the Crusaders in 1099 and recaptured by in 1187. It remained under control through the and periods, until it became part of the in 1517. In the modern period Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Israel captured during the in 1967, uniting the city under Israeli control. The status of Jerusalem remains a highly contentious issue, with both Israelis and Palestinians claiming it as their capital. Historiographically, the city's history is often interpreted through the lens of competing national narratives. scholars emphasise the ancient Jewish connection to the city, while narratives highlight the city's broader historical and multicultural significance. Both perspectives influence contemporary discussions of Jerusalem's status and future.

Political status
From 1923 until 1948 Jerusalem served as the administrative capital of Mandatory Palestine.Jerusalem as administrative capital of the British Mandate:

  • (1995). 9780914171751, Ronin Publishing.
  • (2025). 9780814329092, Wayne State University Press. .
    is a professor in the Department of Geography at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
  • (1996). 9780231106405, Columbia University Press.

From 1949 until 1967 West Jerusalem served as Israel's capital, but was not recognised as such internationally because UN General Assembly Resolution 194 envisaged Jerusalem as an international city. As a result of the Six-Day War in 1967, the whole of Jerusalem came under Israeli control. On 27 June 1967, the government of extended Israeli law and jurisdiction to East Jerusalem, but agreed that administration of the Temple Mount compound would be maintained by the Jordanian waqf, under the Jordanian Ministry of Religious Endowments.

In 1988 the Israeli government ordered the closure of , home of the Arab Studies Society, but also the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization, for security reasons. The building reopened in 1992 as a Palestinian guesthouse.

(2025). 9780814747544, New York University Press.
The stated that the final status of Jerusalem would be determined by negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. The accords banned any official Palestinian presence in the city until a final peace agreement, but provided for the opening of a Palestinian trade office in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority regards East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

President has said that any agreement that did not include East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine would be unacceptable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has similarly stated that Jerusalem would remain the undivided capital of Israel. Due to its proximity to the city, especially the Temple Mount, , a Palestinian suburb of Jerusalem, has been proposed as the future capital of a Palestinian state by Israel. Israel has not incorporated Abu Dis within its security wall around Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority has built a possible future parliament building for the Palestinian Legislative Council in the town, and its Jerusalem Affairs Offices are all located in Abu Dis.Bard, Mitchell G. Will Israel Survive?

International status
While the international community regards East Jerusalem, including the entire Old City, as part of the occupied Palestinian territories, neither part, West or East Jerusalem, is recognised as part of the territory of Israel or the State of Palestine. The Controversial Sovereignty over the City of Jerusalem (22 June 2015, The National Catholic Reporter) "No U.S. president has ever officially acknowledged Israeli sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem (...) The refusal to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli territory is a near universal policy among Western nations." Jerusalem: Opposition to mooted Trump Israel announcement grows "Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally"Whither Jerusalem (Lapidot) page 17: "Israeli control in west Jerusalem since 1948 was illegal and most states have not recognized its sovereignty there"The states that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel" and the city serves as the seat of the government, home to the President's residence, government offices, supreme court, and . United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 (20 August 1980; 14–0, U.S. abstaining) declared the Jerusalem Law "null and void" and called on member states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from Jerusalem (see ). See Status of Jerusalem for more information. Under the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1947, Jerusalem was envisaged to become a corpus separatum administered by the United Nations. In the war of 1948 the western part of the city was occupied by forces of the nascent state of Israel, while the eastern part was occupied by Jordan. The international community largely considers the legal status of Jerusalem to derive from the partition plan, and correspondingly refuses to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the city."UN General Assembly Resolution 181 recommended the creation of an international zonea, or corpus separatum, in Jerusalem to be administered by the UN for a 10-year period, after which there would be referendum to determine its future. This approach applies equally to West and East Jerusalem and is not affected by the occupation of East jerusalem in 1967. To a large extent it is this approach that still guides the diplomatic behaviour of states and thus has greater force in international law" (Susan M. Akram, Michael Dumper, Michael Lynk, Iain Scobbie (eds.), International Law and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Rights-Based Approach to Middle East Peace, Routledge, 2010 p.119. )

Status under Israeli rule
Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel extended its jurisdiction and administration over East Jerusalem, establishing new municipal borders.

In 2010 Israel approved legislation giving Jerusalem the highest national priority status in Israel. The law prioritised construction throughout the city, and offered grants and tax benefits to residents to make housing, infrastructure, education, employment, business, tourism and cultural events more affordable. Communications Minister said that the bill sent "a clear, unequivocal political message that Jerusalem will not be divided", and that "all those within the Palestinian and international community who expect the current Israeli government to accept any demands regarding Israel's sovereignty over its capital are mistaken and misleading".

The status of the city, and especially its holy places, remains a core issue in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Israeli government has approved building plans in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City "Jewish Inroads in Muslim Quarter: Settlers' Project to Alter Skyline of Jerusalem's Old City" The Washington Post Foreign Service, 11 February 2007; p. A01 in order to expand the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem, while some Islamic leaders have made claims that Jews have no historical connection to Jerusalem, alleging that the 2,500-year-old Western Wall was constructed as part of a mosque. Palestinians regard Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine, and the city's borders have been the subject of bilateral talks. A team of experts assembled by the then Israeli Prime Minister in 2000 concluded that the city must be divided, since Israel had failed to achieve any of its national aims there.

(2025). 9781845193478, Sussex Academic Press.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in 2014 that "Jerusalem will never be divided". A poll conducted in June 2013 found that 74% of Israeli Jews reject the idea of a Palestinian capital in any portion of Jerusalem, though 72% of the public regarded it as a divided city. Poll: 72% of Jewish Israelis view J'lem as divided , Jerusalem Post 5 June 2013 A poll conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion and American Pechter Middle East Polls for the Council on Foreign Relations among East Jerusalem Arab residents in 2011 revealed that 39% of East Jerusalem Arab residents would prefer Israeli citizenship, while 31% opted for Palestinian citizenship. According to the poll 40% of Palestinian residents would prefer to leave their neighbourhoods if they would be placed under Palestinian rule.

Jerusalem as capital of Israel
On 5 December 1949 Israel's first prime minister, , proclaimed Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal" and "sacred" capital, and eight days later specified that only the war had "compelled" the Israeli leadership "to establish the seat of Government in Tel Aviv", while "for the State of Israel there has always been and always will be one capital only—Jerusalem the Eternal", and that after the war, efforts had been ongoing for creating the conditions for "the Knesset... returning to Jerusalem." This indeed took place, and since the beginning of 1950 all branches of the Israeli government—legislative, judicial and executive—have resided there, except for the Ministry of Defense, which is located at in . At the time of Ben Gurion's proclamations and the ensuing Knesset vote of 24 January 1950, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan, and thus the proclamation only applied to West Jerusalem.

In July 1980 Israel passed the as Basic Law. The law declared Jerusalem the "complete and united" capital of Israel. The Jerusalem Law was condemned by the international community, which did not recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 478 on 20 August 1980, which declared that the Jerusalem Law is "a violation of international law", is "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith". Member states were called upon to withdraw their diplomatic representation from Jerusalem.

Following the resolution, 22 of the 24 countries that previously had their embassy in (West) Jerusalem relocated them in Tel Aviv, where many embassies already resided prior to Resolution 478. and followed in 2006.Mosheh ʻAmirav, Jerusalem Syndrome: The Palestinian-Israeli Battle for the Holy City, Sussex University Press, 2009 p. 27: 'In the summer of 2006, these two countries also announced the adoption of a new policy whereby they would no longer recognize Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem, and transferred their embassies out of the city'. There are five embassies—United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua New Guinea and Kosovo—and two consulates located within the city limits of Jerusalem. Paraguay maintains an embassy in the Jerusalem District town of , in addition to Bolivia whose embassy is now . There are a number of consulates-general located in Jerusalem, which work primarily either with Israel, or the Palestinian authorities.

In 1995 the United States Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which required, subject to conditions, that its embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On 6 December 2017 the US president, , officially recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital and announced his intention to move the American embassy to Jerusalem, reversing decades of United States policy on the issue. The move was criticised by many nations. Arabs, Europe, U.N. reject Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital , Mark Heinrich, Reuters A resolution condemning the US decision was supported by all the 14 other members of the UN Security Council, but was vetoed by the US on 18 December 2017. US forced to veto UN resolution condemning Trump's decision on Jerusalem , The Daily Telegraph A subsequent resolution condemning the US decision was passed in the United Nations General Assembly. On 14 May 2018 the United States officially opened its embassy in Jerusalem, transforming its Tel Aviv location into a consulate. Due to the general lack of international recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, some non-Israeli media outlets use Tel Aviv as a for Israel. Times Online Style Guide—J "Jerusalem must not be used as a metonym or variant for Israel. It is not internationally recognised as the Israeli capital, and its status is one of the central controversies in the Middle East."

In April 2017 the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it viewed Western Jerusalem as Israel's capital in the context of UN-approved principles which include the status of East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. Foreign Ministry statement regarding Palestinian-Israeli settlement (6 April 2017) "We reaffirm our commitment to the UN-approved principles for a Palestinian-Israeli settlement, which include the status of East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. At the same time, we must state that in this context we view West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel." On 15 December 2018 the Australian government officially recognised West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but said their embassy in Tel Aviv would stay until a two-state resolution was settled. The decision was reversed in October 2022.

Government precinct and national institutions
The (national precinct) project is intended to house most government agencies and national cultural institutions. They are located in the Kiryat HaMemshala (government complex) in the neighbourhood. Some government buildings are located in Kiryat Menachem Begin. The city is home to the Knesset, the Supreme Court, the Bank of Israel, the National Headquarters of the Israel Police, the official residences of the president and the prime minister, the Cabinet, and all ministries except for the Ministry of Defense (which is located in central Tel Aviv's district) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (which is located in , in the wider Tel Aviv metropolitan area, near ).

Israeli settlements
Since its capture in 1967, the Israeli government has built 12 Israeli settlements in , with a population amounting to 220,000 Israeli Jewish settlers as of 2019. The international community consider Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law.

Jerusalem as capital of Palestine
The Palestinian National Authority views East Jerusalem as occupied territory according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 242. The Palestinian Authority claims Jerusalem, including the , as the capital of the State of Palestine,In the Palestine Liberation Organization's Palestinian Declaration of Independence of 1988, Jerusalem is stated to be the capital of the State of Palestine. In 1997, the Palestinian Legislative Council passed the Palestinian Basic Law (ratified by Chairman in 2002), designating the city as such. Article 3: "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine."
See 2003 Amended Basic Law . Retrieved 2 June 2013; Arafat Signs Law Making Jerusalem Palestinian Capital , People's Daily, published 6 October 2002; Arafat names Jerusalem as capital , BBC News, published 6 October 2002. The PLO claims that West Jerusalem is also subject to permanent status negotiations. However, it has stated that it would be willing to consider alternative solutions, such as making Jerusalem an .

The PLO's position is that East Jerusalem, as defined by the pre-1967 municipal boundaries, shall be the capital of Palestine and the capital of Israel, with each state enjoying full sovereignty over its respective part of the city and with its own municipality. A joint development council would be responsible for coordinated development. in East Jerusalem served as the headquarters of the in the 1980s and 1990s. It was closed by Israel in 2001, two days after the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing.

Some states, such as Russia Medvedev reaffirms Soviet recognition of Palestine (Ynet News, 18 January 2011) "Russian president says Moscow has not changed its position since 1988 when it 'recognized independent Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem'" and China, China supports Palestinian UN bid (Xinhua, 8 September 2011) "China recognizes Palestine as a country with east Jerusalem as its capital and possessing full sovereignty and independence, in accordance with borders agreed upon in 1967, according to Jiang" recognise the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 58/292 affirmed that the Palestinian people have the right to sovereignty over East Jerusalem.

Palestinian offices and institutions
Government offices are located outside the Israeli municipal limits include the Palestinian Security Services, Force 17, the Preventative Security Service and the Ministry of Interior. There is a Palestinian Authority regional office and an electoral office located in the neighbourhood.

Municipal administration
The Jerusalem is a body of 31 elected members headed by the mayor, who serves a five-year term and appoints eight deputies. The former mayor of Jerusalem, , was elected in 2003. In the November 2008 city elections, was elected. In November 2018 was elected mayor.

Apart from the mayor and his deputies, City Council members receive no salaries and work on a voluntary basis. The longest-serving Jerusalem mayor is , who spent 28 years—six consecutive terms—in office. Most of the meetings of the Jerusalem City Council are private, but each month, it holds a session that is open to the public. Within the city council, religious political parties form an especially powerful faction, accounting for the majority of its seats.

The headquarters of the Jerusalem Municipality and the mayor's office are at ( Kikar Safra) on . The municipal complex, comprising two modern buildings and ten renovated historic buildings surrounding a large plaza, opened in 1993 when it moved from the old town hall building built by the Mandate authorities. The city falls under the Jerusalem District, with Jerusalem as the district's capital. 37% of the population is Palestinian, but in 2014 not more than 10% of tax revenues were allocated for them. In East Jerusalem, 52% of the land was excluded from development, 35% designated for Jewish settlements, and 13% for Palestinian use, almost all of which was already built upon., 'Rage in Jerusalem,' London Review of Books Vol. 36 No. 23 4 December 2014, pp. 19–21.

In the Oslo I Accord, certain parts of few neighbourhoods were allotted to the Palestinian Authority. Parts of , Wadi al-Hummus, Umm Leisun and , altogether came under , which is completely controlled by the Palestinian Authority. and are mostly in , where both Palestine and Israel has control. Ar Ram Town Profile , ARIJ, 2012, pp. 18-19 Other parts of , and Arab al-Jahalin also falls under Area B. Beit Hanina Town Profile , ARIJ, 2013, p. 16 'Arab al Jahalin Locality Profile , ARIJ, p. 17

Geography
Jerusalem is situated on the southern spur of a in the Judaean Mountains, which include the Mount of Olives (East) and (North East). The elevation of the Old City is approximately .
(1998). 9780792352945, Springer. .
The whole of Jerusalem is surrounded by valleys and dry ( ). The , , and Valleys intersect in an area just south of the Old City of Jerusalem. The runs to the east of the Old City and separates the Mount of Olives from the city proper. Along the southern side of old Jerusalem is the , a steep ravine associated in biblical with the concept of or .
(1996). 9780310212683, Zondervan.

The commenced in the northwest near the , ran south-southeasterly through the centre of the Old City down to the Pool of Siloam, and divided the lower part into two hills, the Temple Mount to the east, and the rest of the city to the west, the lower and the upper cities described by . Today, this valley is hidden by debris that has accumulated over the centuries. In biblical times Jerusalem was surrounded by forests of almond, olive and pine trees. These were destroyed by centuries of warfare and neglect. Farmers in the Jerusalem region built stone terraces along the slopes to hold back the soil, a feature still very much in evidence in the Jerusalem landscape.

Water supply has always been a major problem in Jerusalem, as attested to by the intricate network of ancient aqueducts, tunnels, pools and cisterns found in the city.

Jerusalem is

(2025). 9780754623519, Ashgate Publishing.
east of and the Mediterranean Sea. On the opposite side of the city, approximately away, is the , the lowest body of water on Earth. Neighbouring cities and towns include and to the south, and Ma'ale Adumim to the east, to the west, and Ramallah and Giv'at Ze'ev to the north. (Image located here Archived copy at the Library of Congress (31 July 2008).) (See map 9 for Jerusalem))

, at the western side of the city near the , serves as the national cemetery of Israel.

File:Jeruselum 1918 Hurley SLNSW FL520655.jpg|Aerial view of Jerusalem, 1918 File:Jerusalem, Israel.JPG|Astronauts' view of Jerusalem File:Israel-2013-Aerial-Mount of Olives.jpg|Sunset aerial photograph of the Mount of Olives

Climate
The city is characterised by a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa), with hot, dry summers, and mild, wet winters. Snow flurries usually occur once or twice a winter, although the city experiences heavy every three to four years, on average, with short-lived accumulation.

January is the coldest month of the year, with an average temperature of ; July and August are the hottest months, with an average temperature of , and the summer months are usually rainless. The average annual precipitation is around , with rain occurring almost entirely between October and May. Snowfall is rare, and large snowfalls are even more rare. Jerusalem received over of snow on 13 December 2013, which nearly paralysed the city. A day in Jerusalem has on average, 9.3 sunshine hours. With summers averaging similar temperatures as the coastline, the maritime influence from the Mediterranean Sea is strong, in particular given that Jerusalem is located on a similar latitude as scorching hot deserts not far to its east.

The highest recorded temperature in Jerusalem was on 28 and 30 August 1881, and the lowest temperature recorded was on 25 January 1907.

Most of the air pollution in Jerusalem comes from vehicular traffic.

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Many main streets in Jerusalem were not built to accommodate such a large volume of traffic, leading to traffic congestion and more released into the air. Industrial pollution inside the city is sparse, but emissions from factories on the Israeli Mediterranean coast can travel eastward and settle over the city.

Demographics
Demographic history
Jerusalem's population size and composition have shifted many times over its 5,000-year history. Since the 19th century, the Old City of Jerusalem has been divided into Jewish, Muslim, Christian and . Matthew Teller writes that this convention may have originated in the 1841 British Royal Engineers map of Jerusalem,
(2025). 9781782839040, . .
or at least the Rev. George Williams' subsequent labelling of it.
(2025). 9781782839040, . .

Most population data before 1905 are based on estimates, often from foreign travellers or organisations, since previous census data usually covered wider areas such as the Jerusalem District.Usiel Oskar Schmelz, in Ottoman Palestine, 1800–1914: studies in economic and social history, Gad G. Gilbar, Brill Archive, 1990 These estimates suggest that since the end of the , Muslims formed the largest group in Jerusalem until the mid-nineteenth century.

Between 1838 and 1876 a number of estimates exist which conflict as to whether Jews or Muslims were the largest group during this period, and between 1882 and 1922 estimates conflict as to exactly when Jews became an absolute majority of the population.

Current demographics
+Approximate 2021 population for East/West Jerusalem (UN-recognised 1967 border)
60.6%
1.4%
39%
Some sub-quarters straddle the Green Line and in those cases the sub-quarter is assigned to the sector (East or West) into which most of the area falls. Source: Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, 2021. Totals do not sum exactly due to the presentation of some ethnoreligious groups as percentages of totals.

In December 2007 Jerusalem had a population of 747,600—63.7% were Jewish, 33.1% Muslim, and 2% Christian.

According to a study published in 2000, the percentage of Jews in the city's population had been decreasing; this was attributed to a higher Muslim , and Jewish residents leaving. The study also found that about nine percent of the Old City's 32,488 people were Jews. Of the Jewish population, 200,000 live in East Jerusalem settlements which are considered illegal under international law.

In 2005, 2,850 new immigrants settled in Jerusalem, mostly from the United States, France and the former . In terms of the local population, the number of outgoing residents exceeds the number of incoming residents. In 2005, 16,000 left Jerusalem and only 10,000 moved in. Nevertheless, the population of Jerusalem continues to rise due to the high birth rate, especially in the and communities. Consequently, the total fertility rate in Jerusalem (4.02) is higher than in Tel Aviv (1.98) and well above the national average of 2.90. The average size of Jerusalem's 180,000 households is 3.8 people.

In 2005 the total population grew by 13,000 (1.8%)—similar to the Israeli national average, but the religious and ethnic composition is shifting. While 31% of the Jewish population is made up of children below the age fifteen, the figure for the Arab population is 42%.

In 1967 Jews accounted for 74% of the population, while the figure for 2006 is down by 9%. Possible factors are the high cost of housing, fewer job opportunities and the increasingly religious character of the city, although proportionally, young are leaving in higher numbers. The percentage of secular Jews, or those who 'wear their faith lightly' is dropping, with some 20,000 leaving the city over the past seven years (2012). They now number 31% of the population, the same percentage as the rising Haredi population.

In 2010, 61% of all Jewish children in Jerusalem studied in Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) schools. This correlates with the high number of children in Haredi families.

While some secular Jews leave Jerusalem for its relative lack of development and religious and political tensions, Jerusalem-born Palestinians cannot leave Jerusalem, or they lose their right to live in the city. Palestinians with a "Jerusalem resident status" are entitled to the subsidised healthcare and social security benefits Israel provides to its citizens, and have the right to vote in municipal elections, but not to be voted in municipal elections, or to vote in national elections. Arabs in Jerusalem can send their children to Israeli-run schools, although not every neighbourhood has one, and universities. Israeli doctors and highly regarded hospitals such as Hadassah Medical Centre are available to residents.

Demographics and the Jewish-Arab population divide play a major role in the dispute over Jerusalem. In 1998, the Jerusalem Development Authority expanded city limits to the west to include more areas heavily populated with Jews.

Within the past few years, there has been a steady increase in the Jewish birthrate and a steady decrease in the Arab birthrate. In May 2012 it was reported that the Jewish birthrate had overtaken the Arab birthrate. The city's birthrate stands about 4.2 children per Jewish family and 3.9 children per Arab family. In addition, increasing numbers of Jewish immigrants chose to settle in Jerusalem. In the last few years, thousands of Palestinians have moved to previously fully Jewish neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem, built after the 1967 Six-Day War. In 2007, 1,300 Palestinians lived in the previously exclusively Jewish neighbourhood of Pisgat Ze'ev and constituted 3% of the population in Neve Ya'akov. In the French Hill neighbourhood Palestinians today constitute one-sixth of the overall population., a predominantly Arab neighbourhood on the road to ]]At the end of 2008 the population of East Jerusalem was 456,300, comprising 60% of Jerusalem's residents. Of these 195,500 (43%) were Jews, (comprising 40% of the Jewish population of Jerusalem as a whole), and 260,800 (57%) were Muslim (comprising 98% of the Muslim population of Jerusalem). In 2008 the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics reported the number of Palestinians living in East Jerusalem was 208,000 according to a recently completed census.

Jerusalem's Jewish population is overwhelmingly religious. Only 18% of Jewish residents are secular. In addition, comprise 35% of the city's adult Jewish population. In a phenomenon seen rarely around the world, the percentage of Jewish women who work, 81%, exceeds the percentage of Jewish men who work, 70%.

Jerusalem had a population of 804,400 in 2011, of which Jews comprised 499,400 (62.1%), Muslims 281,100 (34.9%), Christians 14,700 (1.8%), and 9,000 (1.1%) were not classified by religion.

Jerusalem had a population of 882,700 in 2016, of which Jews comprised 536,600 (60.8%), Muslims 319,800 (36.2%), Christians 15,800 (1.8%), and 10,300 unclassified (1.2%).

Jerusalem had a population of 951,100 in 2020, of which comprised 570,100 (59.9%), 353.800 (37.2%), 16.300 (1.7%), and 10,800 unclassified (1.1%).

According to , approvals for building in Israeli settlements in expanded by 60% under Donald Trump's first US presidency. Since 1991, Palestinians, who make up the majority of the residents in East Jerusalem, have only received 30% of the building permits. in the ]]

Urban planning issues
Critics of efforts to promote a Jewish majority in Jerusalem say that government planning policies are motivated by demographic considerations and seek to limit Arab construction while promoting Jewish construction.Allison Hodgkins, "The Judaization of Jerusalem—Israeli Policies Since 1967"; PASSIA publication No. 101, December 1996, (English, p. 88) According to a report, the number of recorded building violations between 1996 and 2000 was four and half times higher in Jewish neighbourhoods but four times fewer demolition orders were issued in West Jerusalem than in East Jerusalem; Arabs in Jerusalem were less likely to receive construction permits than Jews, and "the authorities are much more likely to take action against Palestinian violators" than Jewish violators of the permit process. In recent years, private Jewish foundations have received permission from the government to develop projects on disputed lands, such as the City of David archaeological site in the 60% Arab neighbourhood of (adjacent to the Old City), and the Museum of Tolerance on Mamilla Cemetery (adjacent to Zion Square). "Movement and Access Restrictions in the West Bank: Uncertainty and Inefficiency" ; World Bank Technical Team, 9 May 2007Esther Zandberg. "The architectural conspiracy of silence" ; Haaretz, 24 February 2007

Religious significance
Jerusalem has been sacred to Judaism for roughly 3000 years, to Christianity for around 2000 years, and to Islam for approximately 1400 years. The 2000 Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem lists 1204 synagogues, 158 churches, and 73 mosques within the city.
(2025). 9780521866620, Cambridge University Press. .
Despite efforts to maintain peaceful religious coexistence, some sites, such as the Temple Mount, have been a continuous source of friction and controversy. The is the holiest spot in and the third holiest site in Islam. Jews venerate it as the site of the two former Temples and believe that Muhammad was transported from the Great Mosque of Mecca to this location during the Night Journey.

Judaism
Jerusalem has been the holiest city in Judaism and the ancestral and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people since King David proclaimed it his capital in the 10th century BCE. Without counting its other names, Jerusalem appears in the 669 times. The first section, the (Pentateuch), only mentions , but in later parts of the Bible, the city is mentioned explicitly. The Temple Mount, which was the site of Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple, is the holiest site in Judaism and the place Jews turn towards during prayer.
(2025). 9780881257984, KTAV Publishing House, Inc.. .
(2025). 9780815629122, Syracuse University Press. .
The Western Wall, a remnant of the wall surrounding the Second Temple, is the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray. Synagogues around the world are traditionally built with the Holy Ark facing Jerusalem, and Arks within Jerusalem face the Holy of Holies. As prescribed in the and codified in the , daily prayers are recited while facing towards Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. Many Jews have "" plaques hung on a wall of their homes to indicate the direction of prayer.The Jewish injunction to pray toward Jerusalem comes in the section of (94:1)—"When one rises to pray anywhere in the Diaspora, he should face towards the Land of Israel, directing himself also toward Jerusalem, the Temple, and the Holy of Holies." The is a remnant of the and the holiest place where Jews are permitted to pray.

Christianity
Jerusalem is generally considered the cradle of Christianity.
(2025). 9781107036567, Cambridge University Press.
Christianity reveres Jerusalem for its history, and also for its significance in the life of Jesus. According to the , Jesus was brought to Jerusalem soon after his birthFrom the King James Version of the Bible: "And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Jesus to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;" (Luke 2:22) and later in his life cleansed the Second Temple.From the King James Version of the Bible: "And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;" (Mark 11:15) The , believed to be the site of Jesus' , is located on in the same building that houses the Tomb of King David.
(2025). 9780415230001, Routledge. .
(1999). 9780809123193, Paulist Press.
Another prominent Christian site in Jerusalem is , the site of the . The Gospel of John describes it as being located outside Jerusalem,From the King James Version of the Bible: "This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin." (John 19:20) but recent archaeological evidence suggests Golgotha is a short distance from the Old City walls, within the present-day confines of the city. The land occupied by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is considered one of the top candidates for Golgotha and thus has been a Christian pilgrimage site for the past 2000 years.
(2025). 9780898708219, Ignatius Press.
(2000). 9781885211569, Travelers' Tales. .
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is generally considered the most important church in .
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It contains the two holiest sites in : the site where was crucified, and Jesus's empty tomb, where he is believed by Christians to have been buried and resurrected.

Islam
Jerusalem is the third-holiest city in . Islamic tradition holds that for approximately a year, before it was permanently switched to the in , the (direction of ) for Muslims was Jerusalem.
(2025). 9780275987589, Praeger Security International.
The city's lasting place in Islam, however, is primarily due to 's Night Journey (). Muslims believe that Muhammad was miraculously transported one night from the Great Mosque of Mecca to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, whereupon he ascended to to meet previous prophets of Islam.
(2025). 9780691114606, Princeton University Press.
(from an English translation of , Volume IX, Book 93, Number 608) The first verse in the Qur'an's notes the destination of Muhammad's journey as al-masjid al-aqṣā ("the farthest place of prayer").From Abdullah Yusuf Ali's English translation of the Qur'an: "Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things)." (:1) In the earliest days of Islam, this was understood as a reference to a site in the heavens, however, Post-Rashidun Islamic scholars understood it as relating to Jerusalem, and particularly to the site of the former Jewish Temple.
(2008). 9780791477885, SUNY Press. .
The , a collection of the sayings of Muhammad, mentions that the location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is in Jerusalem. The , originally named after the wider compound it sits within,
(2025). 9781317545941, Taylor & Francis. .
was built on the Temple Mount under the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid several decades after Muhammad's death to commemorate the place from which Muslims believe he had ascended to Heaven.

Economy
Historically, Jerusalem's economy was supported almost exclusively by religious pilgrims, as it was far from the major ports of and .
(1996). 9780231106405, Columbia University Press.
Jerusalem's religious and cultural landmarks today remain the top draw for foreign visitors, with the majority of tourists visiting the Western Wall and the Old City. In 2010, Jerusalem was named the top leisure travel city in Africa and the Middle East by Travel + Leisure magazine. In 2013, 75% of the 3.5 million tourists to Israel visited Jerusalem.

Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the national government has remained a major player in Jerusalem's economy. The government, centred in Jerusalem, generates a large number of jobs, and offers subsidies and incentives for new business initiatives and start-ups. Although Tel Aviv remains Israel's financial centre, a growing number of companies are moving to Jerusalem, providing 12,000 jobs in 2006. Northern Jerusalem's industrial park and the Jerusalem Technology Park in south Jerusalem are home to large Research and Development centres of international tech companies, among them Intel, , Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, , , Johnson & Johnson, and more. In April 2015 Time magazine picked Jerusalem as one of the five emerging tech hubs in the world, proclaiming that "The city has become a flourishing centre for biomed, cleantech, Internet/mobile startups, accelerators, investors and supporting service providers." 5 Emerging Tech Hubs From Around The World Time, 28 April 2015 Higher than average percentages are employed in education (17.9% vs. 12.7%); health and welfare (12.6% vs. 10.7%); community and social services (6.4% vs. 4.7%); hotels and restaurants (6.1% vs. 4.7%); and public administration (8.2% vs. 4.7%). During the British Mandate, a law was passed requiring all buildings to be constructed of in order to preserve the unique historic and aesthetic character of the city. Complementing this building code, which is still in force, is the discouragement of in Jerusalem; only about 2.2% of Jerusalem's land is zoned for "industry and infrastructure". By comparison, the percentage of land in Tel Aviv zoned for industry and infrastructure is twice as high, and in Haifa, seven times as high. Only 8.5% of the Jerusalem District work force is employed in the manufacturing sector, which is half the national average (15.8%).

Although many statistics indicate economic growth in the city, since 1967, East Jerusalem has lagged behind the development of West Jerusalem. Nevertheless, the percentage of households with employed persons is higher for Arab households (76.1%) than for Jewish households (66.8%). The unemployment rate in Jerusalem (8.3%) is slightly better than the national average (9.0%), although the civilian accounted for less than half of all persons fifteen years or older—lower in comparison to that of Tel Aviv (58.0%) and (52.4%). Poverty remains a problem in the city as 37% of the families in Jerusalem lived in 2011 below the poverty line. According to a report by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), 78% of Arabs in Jerusalem lived in poverty in 2012, up from 64% in 2006. While the ACRI attributes the increase to the lack of employment opportunities, infrastructure and a worsening educational system, the activist group blames the legal status of Palestinians in Jerusalem.

The increasing number of educated Palestinians in Jerusalem has brought about positive economic changes. Through reforms and initiatives in sectors like technology, tourism, trade, and infrastructure, they have helped drive economic growth, create jobs, and improve living conditions in the city. Various joint summits between Israeli and Palestinian entrepreneurs have been held in the city. Palestine Investment Fund have proposed various projects in Jerusalem. Palestinian industrialist sought to make heavy investments in the city. PA controlled industrial areas are located outskirts of Jerusalem, primarily in , and , engaging in manufacture of tires, food products and concretes. Bir Nabala: A Devastating Blow to the Economy Ma'an Development Center and Bir Nabala Village Council Chairman Haj Tawfik Nabeli. February 2007.

High-tech industry is emerged among Palestinian society of Jerusalem. In 2023 Israel opened a technology park in East Jerusalem, known as EasTech. Local Palestinian engineers are employed in the complex by multinational companies, some of which includes AT&T, Natural Intelligence, , Unity and . Station J, an innovation hub is located in Sheikh Jarrah, which is yet another tech hub for Palestinians in the city. Hani Alami, a Jerusalem-based Palestinian entrepreneur has set up a start-+up accelerator. As a part of Israeli–Palestinian economic peace efforts, interaction between Israeli and Palestinian business community, also contributes in growth of Palestinian IT sector in the city.

Urban structure
High-rise construction
Jerusalem has traditionally had a low-rise skyline. About 18 tall buildings were built at different times in the downtown area when there was no clear policy over the matter. One of them, Holyland Tower 1, Jerusalem's tallest building, is a by international standards, rising 32 stories. Holyland Tower 2, which has been approved for construction, will reach the same height. A new master plan for the city will see many high-rise buildings, including skyscrapers, built in certain, designated areas of downtown Jerusalem. Under the plan, towers will line and King George Street. One of the proposed towers along King George Street, the Migdal Merkaz HaYekum, is planned as a 65-story building, which would make it one of the tallest buildings in Israel. At the entrance to the city, near the Jerusalem Chords Bridge and the Central Bus Station, twelve towers rising between 24 and 33 stories will be built, as part of a complex that will also include an open square and an underground train station serving a new express line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and will be connected by bridges and tunnels. Eleven of the skyscrapers will be either office or apartment buildings, and one will be a 2,000-room hotel. The complex is expected to attract many businesses from Tel Aviv, and become the city's main business hub. In addition, a complex for the city's courts and the prosecutor's office will be built, as well as new buildings for Central Zionist Archives and Israel State Archives. The skyscrapers built throughout the city are expected to contain public space, shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, and it has been speculated that this may lead to a revitalization of downtown Jerusalem. In August 2015, the city council approved construction of a 344-foot pyramid-shaped skyscraper designed by and Yigal Levi, in place of a rejected previous design by Libeskind; it was set to break ground by 2019.

New projects in Jerusalem
In 2021 announced and launched "Lana", a massive mix-used project in , which is located in the neighbourhood of . The project is in a partnership between Massar International and the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem. It features 400 residential apartments along with a vibrant commercial centre that hosts well-known global brands, cinemas, restaurants, cafés and offices. The project also includes modern educational facilities, such as a school and a , catering to the needs of residents. In addition to its focus on residential and commercial aspects, the Lana project emphasises the improvement of infrastructure within the project and its surroundings. This involves the construction of three to four floors of underground parking to accommodate the residents' vehicles conveniently. Furthermore, there is a comprehensive plan to expand the road network surrounding the project, ensuring smooth transportation and accessibility for both residents and visitors. It is situated just 15 minutes away from the historic Old City of Jerusalem.

Transportation
Public transport
Jerusalem is served by highly developed communication infrastructures, making it a leading logistics hub for Israel.

The Jerusalem Central Bus Station, located on , is the busiest bus station in Israel. It is served by Egged Bus Cooperative, which is the second-largest bus company in the world, The Dan serves the -Jerusalem route along with Egged, and Superbus serves the routes between Jerusalem, Modi'in Illit and Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut. The companies operate from Jerusalem Central Bus Station. Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem and routes between Jerusalem and locations in the are served by the East Jerusalem Central Bus Station, a transportation hub located near the Old City's .

Railway
The Jerusalem Light Rail initiated service in August 2011. According to plans, the first rail line will be capable of transporting an estimated 200,000 people daily, and has 23 stops. The route is from Pisgat Ze'ev in the north via the Old City and city centre to Mt. Herzl in the south. A high-speed rail line connecting Tel Aviv to Jerusalem became partially operational in 2018 and was completed in 2019. Its terminus is at the new underground station ( deep) serving the International Convention Centre and the Central Bus Station, and is planned to be extended eventually to Malha station. operated train services to Malha train station from Tel Aviv via , but this service was discontinued in 2020.

Begin Expressway is one of Jerusalem's major north–south thoroughfares; it runs on the western side of the city, merging in the north with Route 443, which continues toward Tel Aviv. Route 60 runs through the centre of the city near the Green Line between East and West Jerusalem. Construction is progressing on parts of a around the city, fostering faster connection between the suburbs. The eastern half of the project was conceptualised decades ago, but reaction to the proposed highway is still mixed.

Airport
In the past, Jerusalem was also served by the local , locally known as Atarot Airport. It was the first airport built in the British Mandate of Palestine. Palestinians considered the Atarot Airport as a "symbol of Palestinian sovereignty". The airport falls beyond Green Line. After the 1948 war it came under control of Jordan. Following the Six Day War of 1967, the airport came under control of Israel. With increase of violence in the , Atarot Airport ceased operation in 2000. Today Jerusalem is served by Ben Gurion Airport, some northwest of the Jerusalem, on the route to Tel Aviv. The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem railway runs non-stop from Jerusalem–Yitzhak Navon railway station to the airport and began operation in 2018.

The Australian businessman proposed a masterplan of Jerusalem, which also includes the development of an airport for Jerusalem in the , near . The airport is sought to be a joint Israeli-Palestinian airport. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh have also appealed to Israeli authorities to redevelop the airport. In 2021, the Israeli government planned to redevelop Atarot Airport as a joint Israeli–Palestinian airport. The new Atarot Airport will include two separate Israeli and Palestinian terminals.

Education
Universities
Jerusalem is home to several prestigious universities offering courses in , and English. Founded in 1925, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has been ranked among the top 100 schools in the world. The Board of Governors has included such prominent Jewish intellectuals as and . The university has produced several laureates; recent winners associated with Hebrew University include , , and . One of the university's major assets is the Jewish National and University Library, which houses over five million books. The library opened in 1892, over three decades before the university was established, and is one of the world's largest repositories of books on Jewish subjects. Today it is both the central library of the university and the national library of Israel. The Hebrew University operates three campuses in Jerusalem, on Mount Scopus, on and a medical campus at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital. The Academy of the Hebrew Language are located in the Hebrew university in Givat Ram and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities located near the . in neighbourhood|left]] The Jerusalem College of Technology, founded in 1969, combines training in engineering and other high-tech industries with a Jewish studies programme. It is one of many schools in Jerusalem, from elementary school and up, that combine secular and religious studies. Numerous religious educational institutions and , including some of the most prestigious yeshivas, among them the , , Midrash Shmuel and Mir, are based in the city, with the Mir Yeshiva claiming to be the largest. There were nearly 8,000 twelfth-grade students in Hebrew-language schools during the 2003–2004 school year. However, due to the large portion of students in frameworks, only fifty-five percent of twelfth graders took exams ( ) and only thirty-seven percent were eligible to graduate. Unlike public schools, many Haredi schools do not prepare students to take standardised tests. To attract more university students to Jerusalem, the city has begun to offer a special package of financial incentives and housing subsidies to students who rent apartments in downtown Jerusalem. Al-Quds University was established in 1984 to serve as a flagship university for the Arab and Palestinian peoples. It describes itself as the "only Arab university in Jerusalem". of Annandale-on-Hudson, New York and Al-Quds University agreed to open a joint college in a building originally built to house the Palestinian Legislative Council and 's office. The college gives Master of Arts in Teaching degrees. "Bard College and Al-Quds University to Open Joint Campus" . The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 2008, by Matthew Kalman Al-Quds University resides southeast of the city proper on a campus. Other campuses of AQU are located within city limits of Jerusalem. A campus of university in , which is one of the oldest faculties, is known as Hind Al Husseini College for Arts. It was named after , a Palestinian activists known for rescuing orphaned survivors of Deir Yassin massacre and giving them shelter in a palace of her grandfather, which was converted into an orphanage and later a college, which is a part today's Al Quds University. A joint campus of AQU and Bard College is located in . Bayt Mal Al Qods Acharif Agency, a Moroccan organisation, is constructing a new campus in the same neighbourhood.

Other institutions of higher learning in Jerusalem are the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, whose buildings are located on the campuses of the Hebrew University.

Arab schools
, a bilingual Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem]]Israel's public schools for Arabs in Jerusalem and other parts of the country have been criticised for offering a lower quality education than those catering to Israeli Jewish students. While many schools in the heavily Arab East Jerusalem are filled to capacity and there have been complaints of overcrowding, the Jerusalem Municipality is building over a dozen new schools in the city's Arab neighbourhoods. Schools in and opened in 2008. In March 2007 the Israeli government approved a five-year plan to build 8,000 new classrooms in the city, 40 percent in the Arab sector and 28 percent in the Haredi sector. A budget of 4.6 billion shekels was allocated for this project. In 2008, Jewish British philanthropists donated $3 million for the construction of schools for Arabs in East Jerusalem. Arab high school students take the matriculation exams, so that much of their curriculum parallels that of other Israeli high schools and includes certain Jewish subjects.

Culture
Although Jerusalem is known primarily for its religious significance, the city is also home to many artistic and cultural venues. The attracts nearly one million visitors a year, approximately one-third of them tourists. The museum complex comprises several buildings featuring special exhibits and extensive collections of Judaica, archaeological findings, and Israeli and European art. The Dead Sea scrolls, discovered in the mid-20th century in the near the Dead Sea, are housed in the Museum's Shrine of the Book. The Youth Wing, which mounts changing exhibits and runs an extensive art education programme, is visited by 100,000 children a year. The museum has a large outdoor sculpture garden and includes the Holyland Model of Jerusalem, a scale-model of the city during the late Second Temple period. The in downtown Jerusalem houses the paintings of and the Judaica collections of her husband, an ophthalmologist who opened Jerusalem's first eye clinic in this building in 1912.

Next to the Israel Museum is the Bible Lands Museum, near The National Campus for the Archaeology of Israel, which includes the Israel Antiquities Authority offices. A World Bible Centre is planned to be built adjacent to at a site called the "Bible Hill". A planned World Kabbalah Centre is to be located on the nearby promenade, overlooking the Old City. The Rockefeller Museum, located in East Jerusalem, was the first archaeological museum in the Middle East. It was built in 1938 during the British Mandate. In 2006, a was opened, a hiking trail that goes to many cultural sites and in and around Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo has ranked consistently as Israel's top tourist attraction for Israelis. The national cemetery of Israel is located at the city's western edge, near the on . The western extension of Mount Herzl is the Mount of Remembrance, where the main Holocaust museum of Israel is located. , Israel's national memorial to the victims of the , houses the world's largest library of Holocaust-related information. It houses an estimated 100,000 books and articles. The complex contains a state-of-the-art museum that explores the genocide of the Jews through exhibits that focus on the personal stories of individuals and families killed in the Holocaust. An art gallery featuring the work of artists who perished is also present. Further, Yad Vashem commemorates the 1.5 million Jewish children murdered by the , and honours the Righteous among the Nations.

The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, established in the 1940s, has appeared around the world. The International Convention Centre ( Binyanei HaUma) near the entrance to city houses the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. The Jerusalem Cinemateque, the Gerard Behar Centre (formerly Beit Ha'Am) in downtown Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Music Centre in , and the Targ Music Centre in also present the arts. The , featuring indoor and outdoor performances by local and international singers, concerts, plays, and street theatre has been held annually since 1961, and Jerusalem has been the major organiser of this event. The Jerusalem Theatre in the neighbourhood hosts over 150 concerts a year, as well as theatre and dance companies and performing artists from overseas. The Khan Theatre, located in a caravanserai opposite the old Jerusalem train station, is the city's only theatre. The station itself has become a venue for cultural events in recent years as the site of Shav'ua Hasefer (an annual week-long book fair) and outdoor music performances. The Jerusalem Film Festival is held annually, screening Israeli and international films. In 1974 the Jerusalem Cinematheque was founded. In 1981 it was moved to a new building on Hebron Road near the Valley of Hinnom and the Old City.

Jerusalem was declared the Capital of Arab Culture in 2009. Jerusalem is home to the Palestinian National Theatre, which engages in cultural preservation as well as innovation, working to rekindle Palestinian interest in the arts. The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music sponsors the Palestine Youth Orchestra which toured Arab states of the Persian Gulf and other Middle East countries in 2009.Joel Epstein, "Teaching in Palestine", The Strad June 2009, p. 42. The on the Temple Mount, established in 1923, houses many Islamic artefacts, from tiny kohl flasks and rare manuscripts to giant marble columns. Al-Hoash, established in 2004, is a gallery for the preservation of Palestinian art. While Israel approves and financially supports some Arab cultural activities, Arab Capital of Culture events were banned because they were sponsored by the Palestine National Authority. In 2009 a four-day culture festival was held in the Beit 'Anan suburb of Jerusalem, attended by more than 15,000 people

Palestinian cinema is based in the city. Jerusalem has been location for "Jerusalem Arab Film Festival", for exhibiting Palestinian films. The city is home to numerous artists, singers, actors, actresses and filmmakers. Established in 1991, Riwaq have been working on various projects to restore cultural and historical sites across . Difficulties to operate in the annexed areas of Palestinian Jerusalem, it have successfully worked across those neighbourhoods, rural and suburban area and Jerusalem Mountains ( Jibal al-Quds), where the Palestinian government has control. So far, the organisation have restored a number of sites across the neighbourhoods of Kafr 'Aqab, , Jaba and . Those restored structures serves as local community centres, cultural sites and headquarters of several NGOs and cultural groups. Yabous Cultural Center is the largest cultural centre in the city, opened by Palestinian groups in 1997. Edward Said National Conservatory of Music have a branch in Jerusalem.

Hadassah Medical Center and the Hebrew University have unveiled a "Tree of Peace" statue at the Al Quds University School of Dental Medicine. The Museum on the Seam, which explores issues of coexistence through art, is situated on the road dividing eastern and western Jerusalem. The Abraham Fund and the Jerusalem Intercultural Centre (JICC) promote joint Jewish-Palestinian cultural projects. The Jerusalem Centre for Middle Eastern Music and Dance is open to Arabs and Jews and offers workshops on Jewish-Arab dialogue through the arts. The Jewish-Arab Youth Orchestra performs both European classical and Middle Eastern music. In 2008 the Tolerance Monument, an outdoor sculpture by Czesław Dźwigaj, was erected on a hill between Jewish and Arab as a symbol of Jerusalem's quest for peace.

Media
The headquarters of the Israel Broadcasting Authority and its successor Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation are located in Jerusalem, as well as television and radio studios for Channel 12, Channel 13, and part of the radio studios of . The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel are also headquartered in Jerusalem. Local newspapers include the Israeli Kol Ha'ir and the Palestinian Jerusalem Times. , an international Christian television network, is also based in the city. PYALARA, an organisation based in Jerusalem, transformed Jaba into a digital hub, which is the Middle East's first digital village and is also home to the first Media Interactive Learning Center in the Middle East.

Sports
The two most popular sports are football (soccer) and basketball.
(2025). 9780313320910, Greenwood Press.
Beitar Jerusalem Football Club is one of the most well known in Israel. Fans include political figures who often attend its games. Jerusalem's other major football team, and one of Beitar's top rivals, is Hapoel Jerusalem F.C. Whereas Beitar has been Israel State Cup champion seven times, Hapoel has won the Cup only once. Beitar has won the top league six times, while Hapoel has never succeeded. Beitar plays in the more prestigious Ligat HaAl, while Hapoel is in the second division . Since its opening in 1992, has been Jerusalem's primary football stadium, with a capacity of 31,733

The most popular Palestinian football club is Jabal Al Mukaber (since 1976) which plays in West Bank Premier League. The club hails from Mount Scopus at Jerusalem, part of the Asian Football Confederation, and plays at the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium at , across the West Bank Barrier. Football and the wall: The divided soccer community of Jerusalem , by James Montague, 17 September 2010

In basketball Hapoel Jerusalem is one of the top teams in the top division. The club has won Israel's championship in 2015, the State Cup four times, and the ULEB Cup in 2004. (The listing of championship wins are located at the bottom after the completion of the Flash intro.)

The Jerusalem Marathon, established in 2011, is an international marathon race held annually in Jerusalem in the month of March. The full 42-kilometre race begins at the Knesset, passes through Mount Scopus and the Old City's Armenian Quarter, and concludes at Sacher Park. In 2012, the Jerusalem Marathon drew 15,000 runners, including 1,500 from fifty countries outside Israel.

A popular non-competitive sports event is the , held annually during the festival.

Twin towns—sister cities
Jerusalem is with:

See also
  • Greater Jerusalem
  • List of people from Jerusalem
  • List of places in Jerusalem
  • List of songs about Jerusalem

Notes
Bibliography
  • (1978). Jerusalem: Illustrated History Atlas. New York: Macmillan Publishing.
  • (1993). 9780791412954, State University of New York Press. .

Further reading
  • Cheshin, Amir S.; Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed (1999). Separate and Unequal: the Inside Story of Israeli Rule in East Jerusalem. Harvard University Press. .
  • Cline, Eric (2004). Jerusalem Besieged: From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. .
  • Collins, Larry, and La Pierre, Dominique (1988). O Jerusalem!. New York: Simon & Schuster .
  • The Holy Cities: Jerusalem produced by Danae Film Production, distributed by HDH Communications; 2006
  • Gold, Dore (2007). The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, The West, and the Future of the Holy City. International Publishing Company J-M, Ltd. .
  • Hosler, John D. (2022). Jerusalem Falls: Seven Centuries of War and Peace. London and New Haven: Yale University Press. .
  • Klein, Konstantin M.; Wienand, Johannes, eds. (2022). City of Caesar, City of God: Constantinople and Jerusalem in Late Antiquity. De Gruyter, Berlin 2022, . .
  • Köchler, Hans (1981). The Legal Aspects of the Palestine Problem with Special Regard to the Question of Jerusalem Vienna: Braumüller .
  • Montefiore, Simon Sebag (2011). , London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, .
  • " Keys to Jerusalem: A Brief Overview" (, The Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center, Amman, Jordan, 2010.
  • Wasserstein, Bernard (2002). Divided Jerusalem: The Struggle for the Holy City New Haven and London: Yale University Press. .
  • Young, Robb A. (2012). Hezekiah in History and Tradition Brill Global Oriental Hotei Publishing, Netherlands.

External links

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