The Old City of Jerusalem
A New Interfaith Solution

The Year 2000 has ended in failure of the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians, proving that the Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are the ultimate issues. The Israelis cannot yield the Old City to the Palestinians, and the Palestinians cannot yield it to the Israelis - whereas the Old City, including the Temple Mount, cannot be divided.

Since the times of Abraham and the binding of Isaac, the Abrahamic peoples are bound to the blessed but tortured City of Jerusalem and this binding prevents an agreement or compromise among them. The city that could have become the spiritual center for all of humankind, remains divided and neglected, and the peoples of the Middle East are sinking in a morass of hatred and wars.

The Interfaith Solution: The Bible that designated this sacred Place also hints at the solution: the sacrificing of the natural, tribal-national, and desire for ownership over Jerusalem - offering and consecrating it for the One God. The Old City of Jerusalem should, once again, be declared as the City of God, a place dedicated to creating peace in our land and the whole world - and as such to be elevated out of the political negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The Old City within the Walls, with its Mosques (including those on the Temple Mount), Churches (including the Church of thee Holy Sepulchre) and Synagogues (including the Western Wall), should revert to its prophetic role, and become "A House of Prayer for all the Peoples" (Isaiah 56:7). Its academies should be utilized for the Teaching of Wholeness (literally "Yoru-Shalem").

The Political Arrangement: The Israelis and Palestinians would agree to hand over the city between the walls to a new entity, a supra-national and multi-religious body, to be composed of Lovers of Jerusalem from all over the world. This New Jerusalem entity would be charged with caring for the peace and welfare of the Old City of Jerusalem, and will operate in close partnership with the Old City residents and all the people of Jerusalem. This way, the main stumbling block will be removed from the political process.

The Assembly of the New Jerusalem: The New Jerusalem entity will be assembled through systematic, holy-holistic processes from among all of the different reference groups that have an affiliation with Jerusalem. These include at least the representatives of all the monotheistic religions - where the main divisions of every religion will be represented (Shiite-Sunni; different Christian denominations; orthodox conservative and reform Jews) - as well as members of any other religion that feels identified with Jerusalem and cares for its destiny. For symbolic and procedural reasons alike, it is best to assemble a representative body modeled on the dozen or its multiples. This will be a reminder of the Twelve Princes of Ishmael (Gen. 17:20: 25:16), the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Gen. 35:22) and the 12 apostles of Jesus and the Twelve Gates of the New Jerusalem (Matt. 10, Rev. 21:12-14).

Please send your responses and participation proposals to the Hayut Foundation, POB 8115, Jerusalem 91080, or <mailto:yrusalem@actcom.co.il>thehope@actcom.co.il.



The Hayut Foundation, a registered non-profit organization dedicated to renewing the Vision of Zion, is seeking in this context assistance for building an Internet system that will facilitate locating all the varieties of Lovers of Jerusalem and their assembly into such an entity. This New Jerusalem System will facilitate the collection of love and commitment to Jerusalem from the whole world and will operate a pilgrimage program geared to assemble communities committed for the service of the City of God. Within this context there will be developed and operated a virtual educational-ritualistic facility of spiritual pilgrimage to "The New/Heavenly Jerusalem", which will adumbrate the operation of the entire Old City as a Universal Temple of Reconciliation. More elaborations and examples would be found at www.thehope.org