This series focuses on a simple observation which inevitably jumps to the eyes of every visitor to Jerusalem: the city of Jerusalem is torn between its complex and controversial political status on the one hand and its role as a fully recognized holy city on the other hand.

​

It is argued that the "raison d'être" of the city of Jerusalem is its holiness. Was it not for its sanctity, would Jerusalem have evolved to become a city in the first place, let alone a city of such prestige?

​

Jerusalem is considered a Holy City for all 3 Abrahamic religions. According to holy books and traditions, some of the fundamental events for each of the three monotheistic religions have taken place in Jerusalem, involving the most prominent figures of the three religions. The holiest shrines for Judaism and Christianity are found in Jerusalem while for Sunni Islam, it is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. 12% of the 1 km2 superficies of the overcrowded Old City of Jerusalem is occupied by shrines and sanctuaries!

​

Yet, for a large chunk of its history, Jerusalem was no more than a backwater provincial town ruled by powerful yet far away empires. It was mostly neglected. Only from mid-19th century did Western powers start competing for a presence in the Holy Land, mainly through missionary activities and biblical archeology institutions. Meanwhile, Zionism gradually led to the creation of the State of Israel.

​

At the beginning, Zionism did not pay much attention to Jerusalem, rather the contrary. It is only as a result of the partition plans and during the struggle for independence that Jerusalem became ever so central in the Zionist narrative. It took months, after the declaration of the Jewish State before it was adopted as the capital city.

​

The international community largely considers that the legal status of Jerusalem derives from the partition plan adopted by the United Nations in 1947, ie a Corpus Separatum administered by the United Nations, hence it refuses to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the city.

​

Since the end of the war of independence in 1949 and partly as a reaction to the above, much efforts on the ground have been made by the Israeli authorities and by Jewish/Zionist institutions across the world to clearly and physically establish Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State.

​

Yet, after the independence war, a ceasefire was signed between Israel and Jordan, as a result of which the city was divided between the two countries until 1967. The historical Old City and its holy sites (including the Temple Mount and Western Wall) remained on the jordanian side! 

​

The future of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest and complex issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The final status of Jerusalem and its holy sites is not to be decided solely between Israelis and Palestinians: implications reach far beyond the framework of the conflict itself and the debate includes more than merely geopolitical issues. 

​

In this series I explore the depth of this duality which undoubtedly is one of the Jerusalem traits. I am focusing on the city itself, its edifices, its symbols, its sanctity, its contradictions, all very much a visual expression of this duality. I am also revisiting sites (religious or national) which have gradually become places of "pilgrimage"...