Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital

Jerusalem is the historical capital of Israel. Israel won Jerusalem from defensive wars, the Western half during the 1948 war, when Israel tried to drive the Arab invaders out and survive as a free and democratic Jewish state. Israel sought peace with its Arab neighbors. Here’s what the Israeli Declaration of Independence [read by Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion when he proclaimed the Independence of the State of Israel] says:

WE APPEAL – in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months – to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.

WE EXTEND our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.

Yet one day later, Arab armies invaded Israel. Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League, made the aim of the Arab invasion quite clear. He said that the Arab invasion of Israel  “will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.”

To the world’s surprise, Israel defended itself from the Arab invaders. It was from this war, where Israel was defending herself, that she captured west Jerusalem. Egypt captured Gaza. Jordan captured east Jerusalem. Under Jordanian rule, Jews were barred from entering east Jerusalem. Jewish holy sites were desecrated. The Christians were persecuted.

Israel remained the victim of Arab attempts to eliminate Israel, which included [and includes] terrorism on Israeli men, women, children, mothers, fathers and babies.

In 1967, the Egyptian-led coalition prepared an invasion to eliminate Israel by sending troops near Israel’s borders. Arab leaders and media bragged about how Israel would be destroyed once and for all by the Arab invasion. In fact, the bragging extended to political cartoons, where one of them was of Jewish skulls and damaged buildings. Israel thought that it could keep Jordan out of the war. Israeli-then Prime Minister Levi Eshkol sent this message to King Hussein: