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Sacred Space and Social Divide

Emmanuel Koshy

In Jerusalem: A City and Its Future, editors Marshall Breger and Ora Ahimeir examine the establishment of Jewish-Zionist settlements and the groups that opposed it: Arab nationalists and anti-Zionists. Breger and Ahimeir analyze the text from a historical point of view. The authors state, “Furthermore, economic distress and the growing dependence of haredim on government welfare allocations have led many younger haredi families to move to the new haredi cities being built across the so-called Green Line, in the territories conquered in 1967” (253). In other words, economic pressures have pushed haredi families to support laws that negatively impact Palestinians, which creates a further divide among the people. The establishment of Jewish-Zionist settlements in Palestine was opposed by both Arab nationalists and anti-Zionist haredi circles; however, haredi anti-Zionism became a minority position as the Zionist movement grew and the status of the Jewish Diaspora in Europe declined. Neturei Karta, a group that developed in the 1930s, came to be viewed as irrelevant by public opinion after the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel. The Six-Day War and Menachem Begin’s election victory brought fundamental changes to the structure of political power within haredi society, and the haredim became increasingly nationalist in outlook. Although the haredim and Muslim religious leaders may cooperate on mutual problems once an agreement with the Palestinians is reached, mutual animosity continues to grow, and the haredim still harbor ethnic-religious fears of Gentiles.

The second text, “The Temple Mount/al-Aqsa in Zionist and Palestinian National Consciousness” by Hillel Cohen, discusses the Temple Mount and the friction the site creates as a place of importance to many cultures. Cohen likewise analyzes the information from a historical point of view and presents it in sociological terms. He states, “Zionist leaders were aware of the danger and therefore did not demand control of the holiest sites” (15). This can be interpreted to mean that because the Temple Mount is an area of interest to many, staking a claim to the site would provoke outrage and create unnecessary conflict for all parties involved. The Temple Mount/al-Aqsa Mosque serves as a significant national and religious center for both Israelis and Palestinians, yet the two peoples’ attitudes toward the site have diverged greatly. The Zionist movement attempted to create secular holy places, such as the Jezreel Valley and the Hebrew University, in order to distance itself from messianic beliefs, while Palestinians have emphasized their attachment to the holy site in Jerusalem since the Mandate period. The resurgence of messianic beliefs in Israeli society has highlighted the religious aspect of the conflict and underscored the importance of holy sites in Israeli-Palestinian relations. However, the attitudes of the Palestinian and Israeli sides are not equal. Zionism has provided an alternative ethos to the Temple, and the Jewish people have undergone a process of secularization, albeit a limited one. As a result, the level of Israeli unity around asserting Jewish rights on the Temple Mount appears to be higher than the level of unity on the Palestinian side. For Palestinians, al-Aqsa represents a singular point of self-respect and religious destiny that strengthens their commitment to the site, regardless of their religious affiliation or level of belief. Nevertheless, there are groups on both sides that remain unwavering in their commitment to the site and that strive to shape the holy compound and the land surrounding it.

The issue raised in both texts is the divide created by the effects of a religious ethno-state government. The effects of a religious ethno-state government. The different cultures and traditions that inhabit the small area that is Al-Quds (Jerusalem) feels the heavy weight of the governments hand, although the Palestinian plight is inarguably worst than any. Both texts evaluate the tensions that accompany these cultures and their effects on the region’s laws and its people.

Works Cited

  • Breger, Marshall J., and Ora Ahimeir, editors. Jerusalem: A City and Its Future. Syracuse University Press, 2002.

  • Cohen, Hillel. “The Temple Mount/al-Aqsa in Zionist and Palestinian National Consciousness: A Comparative View.” Israel Studies Review, vol. 32, no. 1, 2017, pp. 1–19.