Jerusalem: Idea and Reality

Jerusalem, the holy city of three faiths, has been the focus of competing historical, religious, and political narratives from Biblical chronicles to today’s headlines. With an aura that transcends the boundaries of time and place, the city itself embodies different levels of reality – indeed, different realities altogether – for both observers and inhabitants. There is the real Jerusalem, a place of ancient streets and monuments, temples and coffee-houses, religious discourse and political argument. But there is also the imaginary and utopian city that exists in the minds of believers, political strategists, and artists. The study of this multifaceted city poses complex questions that range over several fields of inquiry.

The multidisciplinary studies in Jerusalem offer insights into this complexity. Chapters by leading scholars examine the significant issues that relate to the perception, representation, and status of the city at the historical, religious, social, artistic, and political levels. Together they provide an essential resource for anyone interested in the paradoxes that Jerusalem offers.

Tamar Mayer is a Professor of Geography at Middlebury College and the editor of Women and the Israeli Occupation: the politics of change (Routledge, 1994) and Gender Ironies of Nationalism: sexing the nation (Routledge, 2000). Her research interests focus on the interplay among nationalism, gender, and sexuality, particularly in the Middle East, and on the relationships among nationalism, landscape, and memory
Suleiman Ali Mourad is Assistant Professor of Religion at Smith College, USA. His research focuses on early Islamic history and religious thought, including the sanctity of Jerusalem. He is the author of Early Islam between Myth and History: al-Hasan al-Basri (d. 110H/728CE) and the Formation of His Legacy in Classical Islamic Scholarship (Brill, 2005).

1. Introduction Tamar Mayer and Suleiman Mourad 2. One City, One Faith, One God: Notes on Jerusalem’s Religious Complexity Frank E. Peters 3. Jerusalem in Jewish History, Tradition, and Memory Lee Levine 4. Early Christian Jerusalem: The City of the Cross O. Larry Yarborough 5. The Temple Mount in Jewish and Early Christian Traditions: A New Look Yaron Eliav 6. The Symbolism of Jerusalem in Early Islam Suleiman Mourad 7. The Holy Fool Still Speaks: Religious Radicalism and mental pathology in the Case of the Jerusalem Syndrome Alexander Van Der Haven 8. Sacred Space and Mythic Time in the Early Printed Maps of Jerusalem Rehav Rubin 9. Seeing is Believing: Auguste Salzmann and the Photographic Representation of Jerusalem Emmie Donadio 10. Fayruz, the Rahbani Brothers, Jerusalem and the Leba-stinian Song Christopher Stone 11. Jerusalem in the Visual Propaganda of Post-Revolutionary Iran Christiane J. Gruber 12. Negotiating the City: A Perspective of a Jerusalemite Sari Nusseibeh 13. Palestinian Jerusalem: A Modern and Vibrant City Issam Nassar 14. Jerusalem in and out of Focus: The City in Zionist Ideology Tamar Mayer 15. Administering Jordanian Jerusalem: Constructing National Identity Kimberly Katz 16. The Palestinian Political Leadership in East Jerusalem after 1967 Elie Rekhess 17. Yerushalayim, al-Quds, and the Wizard of Oz: Facing the Problem of Jerusalem after Camp David II and the al-Aqsa Intifada Ian Lustick 18. Negotiating Jerusalem: Reflections of an Israeli Negotiator Gilead Sher