90 Years On - San Remo Conference 1920

90 Years On - San Remo Conference 1920

Castello Devachan stands on a hillside at the end of Corso degli Inglesi, overlooking the Italian

Riviera town of San Remo. The villa itself has a chequered history, including use as the local

Gestapo HQ during the Second World War, but its claim to fame dates from April 1920 when it

was used by the newly-formed League of Nations to house a conference to decide the future of

the Middle East in the aftermath of the First World War. Here lie the beginnings of the reborn

State of Israel, and the Agreements made at that conference are still valid today and vital to a

proper understanding of Israel's right to its land, including territory currently occupied by  

Palestinian Arabs.

To celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the San Remo Agreement, the European Coalition for Israel

held a commemorative event over the weekend of 24th/25th April this year. This took place on

the same dates, and in the same place, as the original conference ninety years earlier. We

came together to declare that the original agreement still stands to day, and to hear legal

argument from international scholars concerning Israel's current occupation of 'Palestine'. This

article is a summary of the information shared at the commemoration.

Before we examine the Agreement made in 1920, let us back-track a few years. In November

1917 Britain issued what has come to be known as the Balfour Declaration, stating that “His

Majesty's Government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the

Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it

being clearly understood that nothing should be done which may prejudice the civil and religious

rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed

by Jews in any other country.” At the time, the province of Palestine was still part of the Turkish

Ottoman Empire, with which Britain and her allies were at war.

The League of Nations

Within weeks of this Declaration being published, Britain had liberated Palestine from Turkish

rule, and was therefore in a position to implement its policy. Watching from the other side of the

Atlantic, US President Woodrow Wilson issued what has become known as the Fourteen

Points. Included as part of point 12 was the statement that the “Turkish portion of the present

Ottoman Empire should be assured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are

now under Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and an absolutely

unmolested opportunity of autonomous development”. These fourteen points became generally

accepted by other nations following the end of the War, and formed the basis for the League of

Nations, which was established by the Treaty of Versailles.

We come now to the San Remo Conference, held at Villa Devachan from 19th to 26th April 1920.

This was an international meeting of the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council, attended by

the four Principal Allied Powers of World War I who were represented by the Prime Ministers of

Britain (David Lloyd George), France (Alexandre Millerand) and Italy (Francesco Nitti) and by

Japan's Ambassador Keishiro Matsui. The USA were also present, with observer status.

This Conference got to work on deciding the future of the Middle East following the collapse of

the Ottoman Empire. In accordance with Woodrow Wilson's fourteen points, the victorious allies

were not going to acquire new colonies in the area, but were going to establish new sovereign

states there over a period of time. The parties recognised that not all the areas of the Middle

East were yet ready for full independence, so they agreed to set up Mandates for each territory,

with one of the Allied Powers being put in charge of implementing each Mandate.

Initially there were four Mandates agreed, for Lebanon, Syria, Mesopotamia (Iraq) and

Palestine. In the first three Mandates, it was recognised that the indigenous people were able

to govern themselves, with the Mandatory Power assisting in setting up the institutions of

government where necessary.

The Mandate for Palestine

That was not true of Palestine, as this was to become a homeland for the Jewish people and

the vast majority of them were not yet living in the Land. The Mandate for Palestine was thus

completely different from the others, and set out how the Land was to be settled by Jews in

preparation for when they could form a viable nation there.

There are a number of points which must be noted concerning this Mandate:

1. For the first time in history, Palestine became a legal entity. Hitherto it had been just a

geographical area.

2. All prior agreements before the San Remo conference were terminated. This includes

both the Sykes-Picot agreement and the Faisal-Weizmann agreement.

3. The Balfour Declaration was recognised and incorporated into international law.

4. Sovereignty over Palestine was vested in the Jewish people.

5. The Jewish people became the national beneficiary, based on self-determination, even

though most of the Jews had not yet returned to their Land, because of their historical

connection to it.

6. Transfer of the title on Palestine cannot be revoked, either by the League of Nations or

the United Nations as its successor, unless the people of Palestine want to give up their

title.

7. The Mandate for Palestine was to be given to Britain as the Mandatory Power.

8. The San Remo Agreement was included in the Treaty of Sèvres and confirmed by the

Council of the League of Nations on 24th July 1922.

9. The Arabs gained equivalent rights in Lebanon, Syria and Mesopotamia.

10. The San Remo Agreement marks the end of the longest colonised period in history,

lasting around 1,800 years.

It is therefore very clear that the Jewish State draws its legal existence from the San Remo

Agreement of 1920, and not the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 (Resolution 181). All 51

nations of the League of Nations voted in favour of this Agreement.

Boundaries of the Land

The exact boundaries of the Land covered by the Mandate for Palestine were not defined at

San Remo, and neither were the boundaries for the other Mandate territories. A map agreed by

Emir Faizal and Chaim Weizmann prior to the conference had placed the eastern border along

roughly the same line as the border from Second Temple times, but Britain decided that it

should be the Jordan River instead.

Article 25 of the Mandate for Palestine gave the Mandatory Power permission to postpone or

withhold most of the terms of the Mandate in the area of land east of the Jordan river, if it did not

consider them to be applicable. Britain exercised that power in a memorandum to the League

of Nations on 16th September 1922, which the League subsequently approved. This brought

into being a new Mandate, for Trans-Jordan, also to be administered by Britain. It is interesting

to note that the League of Nations referred to this territory as "The Trans-Jordan Province of

Palestine" right up until the last meeting of the League on 18th April 1946. Trans-Jordan (now

known as Jordan) gained its independence from Britain in 1946 when it became a Hashemite

Kingdom.

Since then there have been no other modifications to the Mandate for Palestine, and thus the

provisions of the Mandate are still applicable to the whole of the land of Palestine west of the

Jordan river, including what is today referred to as the 'West Bank' and Gaza Strip.

The end of the Mandate

History demonstrates clearly that Britain failed miserably to carry out the sacred trust invested in

it by the League of Nations. After the Second World War, the League of Nations was

disbanded and a new organisation, the United Nations, set up. This new body inherited all the

agreements made by its predecessor, including the Mandate for Palestine. In 1947 Britain

decided to terminate her stewardship of the Mandate, and notified the United Nations

accordingly. It should be noted that the Mandate itself was not terminated, but only Britain's

stewardship of it. In a similar way, Britain's stewardship of the Mandate for Trans-Jordan had

been terminated the previous year by that country being granted independence.

The UN proposed a Partition Plan for Palestine, recommending the setting up of an Arab state,

a Jewish state and an international zone to include Jerusalem. This Resolution (181) was only

a recommendation to consider partition. It was not an injunction that must be obeyed. The

recommendation was accepted by the Jewish leadership but rejected by the Arabs, and had no

legal validity once rejected.

When the State of Israel was declared at the end of the British Mandate period, it became the

fulfilment of the Mandate for Palestine, which had been created in order to bring about this

outcome in due course. Although the manner by which the fulfilment came about left much to

be desired, the Jewish State of Israel was what was envisaged by the writers of the San Remo

Agreement nearly thirty years earlier. Effectively, this was recognised by the United Nations

when it accepted Israel into membership on 11th May 1949.

Israel's War of Independence

Immediately after Israel's Declaration of Independence, five surrounding Arab nations invaded

the new state. By the time that hostilities ceased, Israel had lost some of its territory to the

attackers - the Golan Heights to Syria, Judea and Samaria (including the eastern part of

Jerusalem) to Trans-Jordan, and the Gaza Strip to Egypt. It is universally accepted that it is

inadmissible to acquire territory by attacking another country, so the actions of the Arab nations

were in fact illegal under international law. Whereas Syria and Egypt only occupied their

captured territories, Trans-Jordan annexed Judea and Samaria and called it the West Bank, in

order to link the territory with the East Bank of the Jordan. This annexation was only recognised

by two countries in the world, Britain and Pakistan, and has no effect upon the illegality of Trans-

Jordan's acquisition of the Land.

The Six Day War

Israel's Six Day War of June 1967 resulted in the recapture of those territories it had lost in

1948. From Israel's perspective this was a defensive war, as Egypt, for example, had already

declared war by blocking the Straits of Hormuz in the Gulf of Aqaba. Similarly, shortly after the

war began, Jordan also declared war on Israel. There are therefore two excellent reasons why

Israel's recapturing of the territories it lost in 1948 was not illegal.

1. The territories belonged to Israel, as the fulfilment of the Mandate for Palestine, in the

first place, so they were only retaking what already belonged to them anyway.

2. Israel was not acquiring territory as an aggressor, but in a defensive war forced upon it by

the surrounding Arab nations.

After returning the Sinai to Egypt in the peace agreement of 26th March 1979, the territory under

Israeli control was almost identical to that which comprised the Mandate for Palestine.

Subsequently, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip on 12th September 2005, but did not pass

control to any other state. Thus, legally, the Gaza Strip remains part of Israel's territory, even

though not occupied by it at this point.

Illegally Occupied Territory?

It should be obvious from all this that the expression “illegally occupied territory” is totally

inapplicable to Israel's presence in, for example, Judea and Samaria (the 'West Bank'). A state

cannot 'illegally occupy' a territory that belongs to it in the first place!

I am sure that we are all well aware from the Bible that God has granted to the Jewish people

the whole of the land currently comprising the State of Israel, as well as Judea, Samaria and the

Gaza Strip. Israel's legal entitlement to these lands confirms the Word of God on the matter for

those of us who believe the Bible. For others, and particularly for those who would deny Israel's

right to the territories it recaptured in 1967, the legal case set out here is a challenge that needs

to be addressed.

Acknowledgments

I am indebted to Jacques Gauthier BA, LLB, PhD; Howard Grief, author of "The Legal

Foundation and Borders of Israel under International Law"; Salomon Benzimra P.Eng; and Eli

Hertz, President of Myths and Facts Inc, for material used in the preparation of this article.

Further information is available on www.mythsandfacts.org

Israel must be steadfast in protecting its people and their rights r11 - YJ Draiman

Israel must be steadfast in protecting its people and their rights r11. 

Many nations and people continue to question Israel’s control of its Ancestral, and internationally guaranteed liberated territory. (See: the Faisal Weitzman agreement of 1919)

It seems too convenient no one is mentioning the historical fact Arab countries had terrorized and expelled about a million Jewish families and their children from their countries.  Moreover, it seems forgotten the Arabs illegally confiscated all Jewish assets, businesses, homes and over 120,000 sq. km of Real estate property. (Hitler would have been proud). 

Like the American Indian “Trail Of Tears”, many of the Jews terrorized and forcefully ejected from Arab countries died due to hardship, famine and starvation during their effort to get to Israel. More importantly, it cannot be ignored many of the expelled Jewish families had lived in the Arab countries for over 2,500 years.  Longer in fact than the very Arabs who were expelling them.   Most of the expelled Jewish people, their children, and families were resettled in Greater Israel and today account for over half the population of Israel.

The Homes and Land the Arab countries confiscated from the Jewish people totaled approximately 120,440 sq. km., or 75,000 sq. miles; which is over 6 times the size of Israel. The value of the confiscated Jewish assets, land and homes today would be worth trillions of dollars. 

During the 2,600 plus years the Jewish people and their children lived in Arab countries they suffered Pogroms, Libel claims, beatings, beheadings, false imprisonment and extreme hardship as second class citizens. Jews had their businesses, homes, and houses of worship pillaged and burned.  Their wives and daughters were raped, Arabs sold them as slaves, and Jews were forced to either convert to Islam or be murdered. This trend of terrorizing Jews by the Muslims, goes all the way back to the Jews in the Jewish city of Medina (today Saudi Arabia) in 627 CE after the Muslim religion was first created by Muhammed and the city was taken over by the Muslims as their second holiest city.

The Arabs received over 5 million square miles of territory after WWI, which contained a tremendous resource of oil reserves. History proves Israel territory extended all the way up to Iraq, which would make the land and all those oil reserves belonging to the Jewish people.  Yet, Arab nations are no longer satisfied with the gift of land and oil to which they never had legal claim. Now, Arab nation are demanding more land and more compensation.

Furthermore, the Arab countries are not satisfied with having once terrorized and chased away the million Jewish families and their children.  Now, the Arab countries want to chase the Jews away from their own ancestral and historical land. (You have murdered them and now you expect to inherit their assets).

Israel must respond with extreme force to any and all violent demonstration and terror. Israel's population is entitled to, and must have peace and tranquility without intimidation by anyone, at any cost.

The Jewish people have suffered enough in the Diaspora for over the past 2,400 years. It is time for the Jewish people to live as free people in their own land without terror and violence.

It is long overdue and about time to consider and realize that the only realistic solution for a peaceful coexistence in Israel is a population transfer of the Arab-Palestinians.  It is time to transfer said “Arab-Palestinians” to the territories the Arab nations confiscated from the Jewish people.  Also considered to receive said “Arab-Palestinians” should be Jordan which originally was Jewish territory and illegally given 78% of the 120,000 sq. km. Jewish territory to the Arabs as a new state. 

It is time, nay, past time to settle this dispute once and for all. Instead of utilizing all the financial aid and resources for conflict and terror, the financial aid and resources must be used for relocation, housing and new industry.  In so doing, the “Arab-Palestinians” will realize a boost in their standard of living and be able to finally stabilize their lives, thus benefiting the host countries as well. Many Arab leaders have suggested these solutions for many years. 

YJ Draiman

32 Powerful Quotes from Israel’s Greatest Leaders -YJ Draiman

32 Powerful Quotes from Israel’s Greatest Leaders

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1

The Truth About the Middle East

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2

Golda Meir on War

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3

Get used to it.

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4

He sure was right....

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5

Israel vs. the rest of the Middle East

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6

Thanks guys, but you can keep your two-state solution...

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7

Israel - where even atheist believe in God.

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8

Odd isn't it?

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9

When the world accuses the Jewish People of occupying Judea you know someone is very confused...

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10

A true leader of peace.

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11

Israel's message is peace!

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12

This is why we are called Jews...

Israel in My Heart

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13

There are no Arab 'moderates'.

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14

Why is it that "proportional response" only applies to Israel?

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15

Our mission is clear.

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16

A tragic reality.

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17

Our connection to this land is undeniable.

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18

Despite what CNN tries to convince us..

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19

No one can take it away from us.

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20

Be a Mentsch.

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21

"Strategic Patience" does not work in this region.

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22

Real feminism.

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23

Extraordinary circumstances call for Extraordinary measures.

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24

Real Military leadership.

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25

Do you really believe that this is a good idea?

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26

The only language terrorists understand.

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27

Every rock tells another story of Jewish History.

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28

We stand together for freedom.

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29

Don't underestimate Israel's will to survive.

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30

Thank God for Facebook.

Israel in my Heart

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31

Everyone has interests. (Ours is survival, theirs is oil.)

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32

If this administration leaves us no choice, we will do what we have to.

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Jerusalem with 3,000 years of history behind it, Jerusalem is now thrust to the center of the Arab-Israeli conflict

by Rabbi Ken Spiro With 3,000 years of history behind it, Jerusalem is now thrust to the center of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Here's a thorough review of spiritual, historical and political claims -- from both sides. The Jews of Israel are currently locked into a conflict with their Palestinian Arab neighbors. While the media bombards us with constant reports of violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, there is no doubt that the epicenter of the conflict lies in Jerusalem and more specifically on the Temple Mount in the Old City. Yasser Arafat constantly repeats that there can be no peace without Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine and total Moslem sovereignty over the Temple Mount. Indeed, the last Camp David Summit floundered over Arafat's uncompromising position on the issue of controlling the site. Israeli leaders, on the other hand, say that Jerusalem will remain under Israeli sovereignty, even as Barak offered significant autonomy over the Temple Mount and Palestinian Authority control over Arab sections of Jerusalem. What historical or religious claim do both sides make? Is either party's claim for Jerusalem stronger, or is it merely a case of "might makes right?" The purpose of this article is not to prove or disprove anyone's claim to Jerusalem, but rather to help clear up some of the fog clouding this controversy and enable us to better understand both the Jewish and Moslem connection to this holy site. THE JEWISH SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO JERUSALEM To understand the Jewish connection to Jerusalem we must begin with the Jewish Bible. From the Jewish perspective, the area of special holiness is Mount Moriah, today known as the Temple Mount. This area is located beneath the platform on which the Moslem Shrine, the Dome Of the Rock, now stands. In the Jewish Bible, Jerusalem has many names: Salem (Shalem), Moriah, Jebuse (Yevuse), Jerusalem (Yerushalayim), and Zion (Tziyon). The most common term for the city,Yerushalayim, is mentioned 349 times in the Jewish Bible, whileTziyon is mentioned an additional 108 times. The earliest mention of the site is Genesis 4:18, when Abraham interacts with Malchizedek, King of Shalem. According to Jewish tradition the story of the Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19) also takes place in the "land of Moriah" on the site of the present-day Temple Mount. Abraham chooses the site specifically because he sensed how God's presence is strongly connected to this site. In the Kabbalah, the Jewish metaphysical tradition, the rock of Mount Moriah is known as the "Even Shtiyah" -- the Drinking Stone. This is the spiritual center of the universe, the place from where the world is spiritually "watered." Later patriarchal stories in Genesis are also connected with the site: When Isaac goes out into the fields to pray prior to meeting Rebecca for the first time (Genesis 24:63-67), he is standing on Mount Moriah. Jacob's dream of the ladder to heaven with the angels ascending and descending (Genesis 27:10-22) takes place on this site. We see from here that for thousands of years, the Jewish people have always associated Mount Moriah as the place where God's presence can be felt more intensely than any other place on earth. That is why, for the Jewish people, the Temple Mount is the single holiest place. This connection is still very much alive and well in contemporary Jewish practice: When religious Jews pray three times a day, they always turn toward Jerusalem. (Someone praying in Jerusalem faces the direction of the Temple Mount.) Jerusalem is mentioned numerous times in Jewish daily prayers and in the "Grace After Meals." Jews close the Passover Seder with the words "Next Year in Jerusalem." These same words are invoked to conclude the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur. The Jewish national day of mourning, Tisha B'Av, commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples. During a Jewish wedding ceremony, the groom breaks a glass as a sign of mourning to commemorate the destruction of the two Temples which stood on Mount Moriah. The breaking of the glass is accompanied by the recitation of part of Psalm 137: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest Joy." Religious Jews often keep a small section of one wall in their house unplastered and unpainted, as a sign of mourning for the destruction of the Temple. THE JEWISH HISTORICAL CONNECTION TO JERUSALEM The early history of Jerusalem is also rooted in the Bible. In addition to the events already mentioned, the Book of Joshua (ch. 10)describes how Adoni-Tzedek, the Canaanite king of Jerusalem, wages war against the Jews. During the approximately 400-year period from the entrance of the Jewish people into the land, through the period of the Judges, Jerusalem remained a non-Jewish city. It was not until the reign of King David (ca. 1,000 BCE) that Jerusalem was captured from the Canaanites (2-Samuel 5) and converted into the political/spiritual capital of the Jewish people. (Archaeologists agree that the original Canaanite city and the City of David was located in what is now the Arab village of Silwan, a few meters south of the "modern" walls of the Old City.) David purchased the peak of Mount Moriah (2-Samuel 24:18-25) as the site for the future Temple and gathered the necessary building supplies. The Book of 1-Kings (ch. 6-8) describes in great detail how David's son, King Solomon, built and dedicated the Temple: "And it came to pass after the 408th year after the Children of Israel left Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel... that he began to build the house of the Lord" (1-Kings 6:1). Solomon's Temple is also known as the first Beit HaMikdash(the First Temple). While all archaeologists agree that it stood on Mount Moriah, probably on the site of the present Gold Dome of the Rock, its exact location is unknown. Four hundred and ten years after its completion, it was utterly destroyed by the Babylonians when they besieged Jerusalem and no trace of it remains. After the Babylonian destruction, most of the Jewish population of Israel was forcibly exiled from the land. This forced exile on the road to Babylon is mentioned in the famous verse from Psalm 137: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion." Fifty years later, after Babylon was captured by Persia, the Jews were allowed to return to Jerusalem. Under the leadership of Zerubavel and Nechemiah, the Jews rebuilt both the Temple and walls around the city (Nechemia 4-6). During both the First and Second Temple periods, the Temple was the central focus of the Jewish world both in Israel and the diaspora. Its upkeep was paid for by all Jews worldwide. The Kohanim (priests) and Levites served in the Temple, and three times a year -- during the holidays of Passover, Sukkot and Shavuot -- all Jews were commanded to come to Jerusalem and visit the Temple. This rebuilt temple is known as the Second Temple (Bayit Sheni). It stood for 420 years on the same site as the First Temple, on Mount Moriah. The Second Temple was remodeled several times, but reached its most magnificent form during the reign of King Herod the Great (37-4 BCE). The great Jewish historian, Josephus, who lived during the end of the Second Temple period, gives detailed descriptions of both Herod's construction and the layout of the Temple compound (see "Antiquities" ch. 15 and "Jewish Wars" ch. 5). The Second Temple period ended with the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. It is possible that the Jews tried to rebuild the Temple at later periods, but they were never successful, and for over 600 years the site of the Temple Mount lay in ruins. The only remains are the massive retaining walls that encompass Mount Moriah, built by Herod to support the platform on which the Temple stood. THE MODERN JEWISH CONNECTION TO JERUSALEM Although the Temple hasn't stood for almost 2,000 years, Jerusalem continues to be the focus of the Jewish world. The Temple may not be there, but Jews believe that the intrinsic holiness of the site always remains. Jewish tradition also maintains that in the End of Days, during the Messianic Era, a third and final Temple will be built on Mount Moriah. It is often erroneously stated that the holiest site in the world to Jews is the Western Wall. This is incorrect. The holiest spot for Jews is Mount Moriah itself, behind the Wall. The Western Wall is merely a small section of Herod's massive retaining wall and has significance only as it relates to the Temple Mount itself. So why do Jews pray at the Wall? Since the destruction of the Temple, the Sages decreed that due to the sanctity of the site, Jews (and non-Jews) should not go up on the actual Temple Mount. Therefore, the Western Wall became the site of prayer for Jews wishing to get as close as possible to their holiest site, the Temple Mount. It earned the moniker "Wailing Wall" because Jews coming to this site would shed tears over the loss of the Holy Temple. THE MOSLEM SPIRITUAL CONNECTION TO JERUSALEM The Islamic connection to Jerusalem began much later in history, during the 7th century CE. The central personality of Islam, Mohammed, was born and raised in the area of present-day Saudi Arabia and founded Islam in the early 7th century. (The first year of the Moslem calendar, or the Hajira, corresponds to the year 622 CE of the Christian calendar.) Scholars agree that Mohammed was influenced by Judaism (and Christianity). This influence was significant enough that Mohammed's original plan for the direction of prayer (Qibla) was also Jerusalem. Mohammed later changed the direction of prayer to Mecca in Saudi Arabia -- a place that was converted from a pagan pilgrimage site to the "eternal city," and the center of the Moslem religion. (Moslems also placed Mecca as the spot where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac's brother Ishmael.) After founding Islam and leading his Islamic armies to victory over his pagan rivals, Mohammed died. Although Mohammed never made it to Jerusalem with his conquering armies, his successor, the Caliph Omar, captured Jerusalem from the Byzantines in 638. When Omar first visited the ruined Temple mount, he deliberately prayed south of the ruins of the Temple, toward Mecca, so that no one should think he was praying in the same direction as the Jews. The holiest book of Islam is the Koran, which according to Moslem tradition contains the teachings of Mohammed. Unlike the Jewish Bible which contains hundreds of references to Jerusalem, the word "Jerusalem" appears nowhere in the Koran. So what is the Islamic spiritual connection to the site? To answer that question we must understand more of early Islamic history. THE MOSLEM HISTORICAL CONNECTION TO JERUSALEM By the time the Omar arrived in Jerusalem in 638, the Islamic direction of prayer was toward Mecca, and the two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina were already well-established. Islam, which like Christianity has many of its spiritual roots in Judaism recognized the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, and one early Islamic name for the Temple Mount was Bayt al-Maqewdis -- literally "Holy Temple." The name used today, al-Quds, is based on the Hebrew word for "holy." Moslems have also used the term Sahyun or Sihyun, the Arabic form of "Zion." Historians suggest several reasons for the construction of Moslem holy sites on the Temple Mount. The establishment of the Umayyid Islamic Dynasty in 658 corresponds to a period of instability in the Islamic world, characterized by power struggles and assassinations. One of the Five Pillars (commandments) of Islam is Hajj -- pilgrimage to the holiest Islamic city, Mecca. In the late 7th century, the Damascus-based Umayyid Caliphate lost control of Mecca. This need to diminish the importance of Mecca and create an alternative Moslem holy site closer to Damascus may well have pushed the Umayyid Caliph Abd al-Malik, in 688, to begin construction of the Dome of the Rock on the former site of the Jewish Temple. Another reason suggested by historians for a Moslem presence in Jerusalem is that the Caliph wished to compete with the impressive Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the traditional burial place of Jesus in Jerusalem. It is interesting to note that the present dimensions of the Dome of Rock are identical to those of the rotunda of the Holy Sepulcher. Yet given that Jerusalem isn't mentioned in the Koran, what is the uniquely Islamic connection to the site? The answer is found in the 17 Sura (chapter) of the Koran. This chapter recounts the story of a dream Mohammed has where he takes a midnight ride (al-Isra) on his flying horse al-Buraq, which had the face of a woman, the body of a horse and the tail of Peacock. The narrative of the Koran in Sura 17 describes it as follows: "Glory be to Him, who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque (in Mecca) to the further mosque (al-masjid al-Aqsa), the precincts of which we have blessed." The actual location of al-Aqsa (the "further mosque") in Mohammed's dream ride is never mentioned. Some early Moslems understood al-Aqsa metaphorically, or as a place in heaven. In the late 7th century, the Umayyids claimed that the actual site of al-Aqsa was in fact the Temple Mount. Later the site of al-Aqsa was restricted to the mosque area at the southern end of the Temple Mount (the site of the current Al Aqsa Mosque). The original mosque, probably located on the site where Omar first prayed when he arrived in Jerusalem in 638, was built by the Umayyid Caliph al-Walid in the early 8th century. It was destroyed by earthquakes several times and later rebuilt. The narrative of the Koran then describes how Mohammed, having arrived at al-Aqsa, then ascends to heaven (al-Mi'raj -- "the ascension") accompanied by the angel Gibril (Gabriel), where he then traveled around the heavens and spoke withAllah and other prophets. The Umayyids in Jerusalem claimed that the actual site of Mohammed's ascension to heaven was the exposed piece of bedrock at the top of Mount Moriah. Thus Caliph Abd-al-Malik's beautiful Dome of the Rock was built to commemorate the location of this important event. From 638 CE until 1917 (with the exception of the Crusader occupation from 1099 to 1187), Jerusalem was controlled by various Islamic dynasties based in Syria, Egypt and Turkey. While Jerusalem remained a city of pilgrimage, none of these Islamic dynasties made Jerusalem their capital. The only other people in the last 3,000 years to have Jerusalem as a capital are the Crusaders who founded the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099-1187. For most of this 1,300-year period, despite its status as the third holiest Islamic city, Jerusalem remained a backwater, run-down town under Islamic control. Exceptions were during both the Umayyid period (7th to mid-8th century) and the Mamluk period (mid-13th to early-16th century), when major Islamic building projects were carried out in the city. MODERN REALITIES IN JERUSALEM From 1918 through 1948, the Land of Israel was under the control of the British who conquered it from the Ottoman Turks in World War One. The State of Israel was established in 1948, when half of Jerusalem -- including the entire Old City and Temple Mount, was under the control of the Kingdom of Jordan. During the Six Day War in 1967, Israel captured the Old City and for the first time in over 2,000 years, the Temple Mount was back under Jewish control. It is worth noting that the inaugural PLO Covenant of 1964 does not mention Jerusalem. Only after the city fell back to Jewish control did the updated PLO Covenant of 1968 mention Jerusalem by name. One might have expected that the Israelis would immediately expel the Moslems and re-establish control of the single holiest Jewish site. But in an act of what can only be described as unprecedented tolerance, Israel handed over control of the site to the Wakf, the Moslem Religious Trust. Today, although Israel technically claims sovereignty over the site, the defacto reality since 1967 has been that the Moslems have control over the site, to the point where Jews are forbidden to pray on the Temple Mount (but permitted to visit). CONCLUSION Within the Hebrew word Jerusalem is contained the word for peace -- shalom. Jerusalem is often referred to as the City of Peace. It is ironic that this city sits at the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. There are no simple solutions to complex problems, especially when religious beliefs and national identities are at stake. But only through an objective understanding of the intricacies that surround the history of Jerusalem, can we hope to arrive at a just and lasting solution. SOURCES AND SUGGESTED READING: Bahat, Dan. The Illustrated Atlas of Jerusalem. New York: Simon & Shuster, 1990 Ben-Dov, Meir. In the Shadow of the Temple Mount - The Discovery of Ancient Jerusalem. New York: Harper and Rowe, 1982 Gil, Moshe. A History of Palestine, 634-1099. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Mazar, Benjamin. The Mountain of the Lord - Excavating in Jerusalem. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., 1975. Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome. The Holy Land - An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Tines to 1700. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Prawer, J, and Ben-Shammai, H. The History of Jerusalem - The Early Muslim Period 638-1099. New York: New York University Press, 1996. Shanks, Hershel. Jerusalem - An Archaeological Biography. New York: Random House, 1995.