It really is a shame that after a minimum of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, human beings have yet not evolved to the point where we have lost all of our emotional ties with our tribal past; at least this is the case with Jews and Muslims. Until that day comes, should it ever come, the human race will suffer the consequences of our deeply held religious beliefs; the most dangerous of all our emotions, and Jerusalem will remain a city divided… TGO
Refer to story below. Source: Associated Press
Mayor says Jerusalem can’t be split
JERUSALEM (AP) — Jerusalem’s mayor presides over a city divided between Arab and Jew, religious and secular, rich and poor, and claimed as a capital by both Israelis and Palestinians.
But Nir Barkat, who is running for reelection, says Jerusalem is thriving. And with peace negotiators discussing its potential future partition, Barkat insists Jerusalem must remain united. Drawing on the city’s ancient history, Barkat says Jerusalem has always been at its best when it allowed all who came to worship to feel a sense of belonging.
The city’s 800,000 residents are split almost evenly among secular and modern Orthodox residents, ultra-Orthodox Jews and Muslim Palestinians. The Arab population lives almost entirely in east Jerusalem, the sector captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians as their capital. East Jerusalem also is home to key Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites.
