Jerusalem

In the headlong current of events and discussions precipitated by Anwar Sadat’s visit to Israel, the status of Jerusalem has received less public attention than some other elements of the Arab-Israeli dispute. And for an obvious reason: Jerusalem does not tangibly involve questions of life and death. For it does not concern the prime questions of military safety, or economic resources, or political existence.

To be sure, the diplomats and politicians and military strategists remind us that on such prime questions compromises are not only necessary but quite feasible. However, Jerusalem may yet prove to be the stumbling-block for Israelis and Arabs, and a source of folly for many Christians. And, again, there is an obvious reason. For Arabs, Jerusalem contains one of their most sacred religious shrines and was in their exclusive possession for over 1,200 years of the Christian era. For Jews, Jerusalem holds the revered remnant of the ancient Jewish Temple (the Wailing Wall), has a supreme cultural value, and was in their possession for a little over a thousand years.