Nine Problems

            Suad Amiry, in her article, "Researching Jerusalem," reflected on the following quote: "When God created the world, he created ten portions of beauty.  He gave nine to Jerusalem and one to the rest of the world."  She felt she should add: "When God created the world, he created nine problems.  He gave nine to Jerusalem and one to the rest of the world." 

The conflict in Jerusalem is seemingly unsolvable leaving many questions unanswered.  Why is Jerusalem so beset with problems?   To answer this question, people have looked to different sources.  Suad Amiry offhandedly says the problems come from God.  Biblically, in the Christian New Testament, it was prophesied that Jerusalem would be encircled by enemies and crushed because [they] "did not recognize the time of God's coming." (Luke 19:41-44)  Historically, Jerusalem's troubles can be seen through struggles for specific territory and land, engendered by economic, political, or religious reasons.  Politically, problems rooted in years of religious and territorial disagreements have led to inaction and hostility. 

Who is at fault for Jerusalem's problems?  As a child, raised in the United States, during the era of strong national support to Israel, and raised in a Christian home, I have long viewed Jerusalem as an Israeli city and have seen the Israeli people as victims.  No conflict is one-sided, though, and therefore all people who have lived through the problems in Jerusalem could be considered victims. 

Many call for peace, peace, but is peace a logical option?  Considering all of the problems, as cited by those who were working on the Living Jerusalem Project, which was not calling for total peace, just cooperation, it seems hard to believe that peace could be fulfilled.  According to another prophesy of Jesus: "Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled."  (Luke 21:24).  This is not to suggest that peace proposals should be stopped or that efforts to understand all sides of the conflict are not worthwhile.  In the contrary, classes like Living Jerusalem offer an invaluable opportunity to learn and try to understand about this conflict from multiple views, which is so integral to today's political, cultural, and religious realms.