Jerusalem Today: What Future for the Peace Process?

• Author: Kreutz, Andrej
• Position: Review

Ghada Karmi, Editor. Jerusalem Today: What Future for the Peace Process? Reading, U.K.: Ithaca Press, 1996. 191 pp. Hardcover, no price indicated.

Jerusalem, the Holy City of the three great monotheistic religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam, has often been called the "City of Peace" in religious writings and prayers. In fact there is probably another spot on earth which during the known centuries of human history has been so contentious and virtually soaked with the blood of those who fought for its domination. In Jerusalem, religion has always been strictly interwoven with politics, and even the Christians there, despite all their deeply spiritual doctrine, just like King Solomon before them, wanted to build "a house for the name of the Lord and a house for his [their] Kingdom." After several thousand years of struggle and the dramatic events of the last century, Jerusalem was included into the "final status issues" in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, the most controversial and substantial ones, regarding which both parties are, in practice, still unable to find any common language and vision.

The book under review is based on a selection of papers which were first presented in June 1995 at a conference held in London, England on "the current status of Jerusalem and the future of the peace process," and it intends to provide "a comprehensive view of Jerusalem from all its major aspects" (p. xvii). The book begins with Edward Said's keynote essay, which, like his other writings, is eloquent and insightful. The rest of the book is divided into four parts, discussing the legal status of Jerusalem, its present ownership, changing character and historical and legal significance. Although the authors' opinions are often different, nevertheless they are all in agreement on two basic issues: (1) the preservation of the unique and pluralistic character of the city, and (2) the defense of the Palestinian rights to live there and to enjoy an equal political and socio-economic status with the present Jewish majority.

The papers included discuss a variety of topics and problems regarding the Holy City, its past and present. However, all the issues concerning Jerusalem are so strictly interrelated that it is not possible to discuss them separately, and only a more general holistic approach can provide any chance of an informative and potentially effective presentation. For instance, in Rodman Bundy's view, legal rules alone will not "provide...