I wonder if the name Jerusalem is a religious or political thought in your mind. Certainly, it is a city of religious significance, but today, politics overshadows almost all forms of religion there. Of course, some choose to bring religion to the fore, specifically, Judaism and Islam, and one is bound to question the position of Christianity in all of this.
In this discussion, I wish to focus on the political aspect of Jerusalem. What is Jerusalem — is it Jewish, Islamic, Christian, or all the above? In my view it is all the above, in which case, for either one of the two present antagonists to decide its future without consultation with the others is doomed to failure.
Therefore, what is the answer?
In my opinion, there is only one answer, and I have never seen it mentioned before ... division. At least, I have not seen it mentioned in the following way.
Now, before you look for the Comment button, please continue.
Presently, the Israelis declare, without any consultation, that Jerusalem will always be the capital of Israel. At the same time, the Palestinians say that it should be the capital of Palestine (There shall be a Palestinian State). It seems that the Christians will have no say in the matter. Therefore, the situation may be described as a solid stalemate.
The answer can be seen by using the Vatican City as a model — a city state within a state. It works perfectly.
Jerusalem must become a city state, bordered by Israel and Palestine, but governed by neither of them. The city could be controlled (governed) by a representative group of all three religions within the population and, citizenship and security (for example) for residents could be equally state controlled within the city. There may be a request for U.N. Peacekeepers initially because, as a religious city, citizens will not be permitted to carry arms ... amongst other things.
Finally, the capital of Israel would be Tel-Aviv and the capital of Palestine could be Ramallah, regardless of the agreed borders of the two countries. The latter requires a separate discussion.
I wonder what you think of this idea?
I wonder what you think of this idea?
You are venturing onto very thin ice considering the fixed positions the two main antagonists support. Christians, mainly in the USA, want the whole thing to blow up as the forerunner of the return of Jesus and the rapture. Religion is the cause of the problem. If logic applied your idea would be an excellent solution. Logic and religion are not handmaidens I'm afraid.
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