Jerusalem

Jerusalem is an ancient city and capital of the State of Israel, located in the center of the country. The Palestinian Authority also lays claim to Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.

Jerusalem is considered a holy city by major religions, chiefly Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jerusalem is a host to many religious sites, especially within the walls of the old city. The Temple Mount is remains of the Jewish temples, and the holiest site in Judaism. Jews often pray at the Western Wall, or Kotel, a retaining wall for the Temple Mount built by Herod the Great. On the temple mount now sit the al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques, the former being the 3rd holiest site in Islam. Several chirstian sites, such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, are important to many sects of Christianity.

As it is the political capital of Israel, Jerusalem is home to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. There are also ministries that have their headquarters in Jerusalem, such as the Foreign Ministry. The status of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is not recognized by all international actors. However, embassies of states such as the US reside in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built on several hills, and has a cooler climate than many other major cities. One of its aesthetic features is that buildings are made with Jerusalem stone, a pale white-yellow limestone.

Jerusalem has been the center of Jewish life since Davidic times. In its history, it has been conquered and destroyed dozens of times by invading armies and empires. However, there has always been a Jewish presence in Jerusalem. In late 1800 Ottoman censuses, Jews were a majority of the population of Jerusalem. However, Jerusalem was set to be an international city in initial partition plans in the late 1940s. Following the Israeli War of Independence, Jerusalem was split between east and west, with the east side being in the possession of Jordan. In 1967, Israel retook east Jerusalem, and the bulk of Jewish holy sites. In 1980, the Knesset passed the “Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel” which establishes a united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and under complete Israeli sovereignty.

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Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar speaks at The Jerusalem Post's Diplomatic Conference in Jerusalem, Israel, on October 8, 2026.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather on Oct. 7, 2026, outside City Hall in New York.

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Collection of glass vials with medicines (illustrative)

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Yechiel Leiter, Israeli Ambassador to the US, outside the Shaare Zedek Medical Center after his son was wounded in a terror attack, September 24, 2026.

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Salvaged fruit & vegetables are taken to collection points all over the city.

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ETHIOPIA’S GRAND Renaissance Dam undergoes construction work on the Nile River in Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia, on September 26. (Tiksa Negeri/File Photo/Reuters)

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Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

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View of residential buildings under construction in Jerusalem, August 23, 2026.

'Sarah: Text and Presence' offers a 21st-century reimagining of traditional Jewish texts

Sarah: Text and Presence, created by Gabriella Lev and Yael Valier, is the second collaboration between Theatre Company Jerusalem and Theater and Theology.

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Directors Gabriella Lev (L) and Yael Valier explore texts with their audience through theater.

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Avi Kaiser and Sergio Antonino (see Tuesday).

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He also praised the courage and heroism of first responders, emergency services, and citizens of New York who assisted in the aftermath of the attack.

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President Isaac Herzog speaks at a conference in Herzliya, June 30, 2026.

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