Holy Land History

Here is an excellent history lesson from my friend Phil. When we were young sailors serving together over 20 years ago, who would have thought we would both be so intellectual.

Each side believes they are just and have a right to claim the Holy Land as their own. Most Christians tend to lean towards Israel which is totally understandable if one goes back to what history tells us regarding this religious conflict which is primarily focused in and around the Holy City of Jerusalem; the occupation goes back to the 4th millennium B.C. with the barbaric pagan Canaanites. In 1000 B.C. The Hebrew King David captured and claimed the city as his own property and his son Solomon built a Temple (966 B.C.) which eventually became the spiritual and political capital of the Hebrews. In 586 B.C. the city fell to the Babylonians, and the Temple was destroyed.
The City was restored to Hebrew rule later in the 6th Century B.C. by "Cyrus the Great" king of Persia. The Temple was rebuilt (515 B.C.; known as the Second Temple). The city remained relatively peaceful for the several hundred years while under Persian control. In 167 B.C. the Greeks attempted to eliminate the Jewish religion and set up a statue of the pagan god Zeus in the temple and sacrificed a pig on the alter thus desecrating the temple along with forbidding the reading of the Torah and the practice of circumcision. In 164 B.C. the Jews led a revolt and succeeded in returning Jerusalem to Israel’s control. The temple was purified and re-dedicated.
Not long after, Roman General Pompey marched on Israel and captured it for his Roman Emperor. Jerusalem remained under Rome almost continuously until the seventh century A.D.
The last great temple was built under the direction of King Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.). Construction and renovation on the temple continued long after Herod’s death, as late as 64 A.D. This construction was going on during the earthly life of Jesus Christ. The crisis created by the hostility between traditional Jews and the believers of the New Covenant led to an invasion by the Romans under the Emperor Titus (67-74 A.D.). The city was ruined and the Temple was destroyed (A.D. 70) in order to punish and discourage the Jews. Judea remained under Roman control for the next 60 years and then the emperor Hadrian (117-168 A.D.) decided to rebuild Jerusalem as a pagan shrine called Aelia Capitolinain in honor of Jupiter. This stirred up another Jewish revolt led by Simon Bar Kochba in 132 AD. After three years of fighting, the Romans crushed the rebellion. They renamed the land Syria Palestine, and expelled all Jews from the city on pain of death.
In 313 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made it the official religion of the Empire. This led to many monasteries and holy sites being erected in Jerusalem and throughout the areas where Jesus Christ lived and ministered.
The Muslim religion was founded by Mohammed in 622 AD and it is believed that he visited the Holy City. The armies of Islam captured Jerusalem in 638 making it the chief shrine after Mecca. From 688 to 691 the Dome of the Rock mosque was constructed on the site of the former temple. It is believed that the Prophet Mohammed ascended into Heaven on the spot where the Dome of the Rock was built. The Muslims restricted the Jewish life and forbid the construction and repair of synagogues. They also required Jews to wear a yellow patch on their sleeves. In the 11th century, the Islamic Turks began to persecute the Jews and Christians, and in 1009 the destruction of Christian churches began including the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The Turks captured Jerusalem in 1071 and closed all Christian sites. The Roman Catholic Pope initiated the Crusades in 1095 to try and wrest the Holy Land back from the Muslims. The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 and massacred all of the Muslim inhabitants. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was established and fortified by the European Christians. They remained until 1291, when the city was recaptured by the Turks.
Thereafter, under Islamic rule, Jerusalem was rebuilt and restored, but by the late 16th Century, it was declining as a commercial and religious center.
Since the expulsion of the Jews by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 135): most of the nation of Israel lived in Diaspora (meaning, the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world). Only a tiny percentage of the population of Jerusalem was Jewish.
In the early 19th Century, Jerusalem began to revive. The flow of Christian pilgrims increased, and churches, hospices, and other institutions were built. Jewish immigration accelerated.
By 1900, Jews made up the largest community in the city and expanded settlement outside the Old City walls.
In 1948, the country of Israel was established and the Palestinian inhabitants were displaced to make room for the victims of Adolph Hitler. Many Jewish people, refugees and others, returned to Israel and Jerusalem to establish their own country on their historical land base.
The flood of Jewish settlers caused many new tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians, as well as with Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and especially Syria. The Jerusalem of modern times is claimed by Israelis and Palestinians as their capital. Jerusalem, the city, is a place of significance for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Today it is divided into quarters: the Jewish Quarter, the Armenian Quarter, The Muslim Quarter, and the Christian Quarter. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is occupied by six denominations: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syrian, Coptic and Ethiopian. Suspicion prevents any of the six from having much to do with the others. What we see happening in Jerusalem between Israelis (Jews) and Palestinians (Muslims) has been ongoing for over 1000 years.
Now the fight is in Berkeley, CA? How did these people get here? I don’t know about you, but I’m in favor of border closure until the U.S. has defeated these Terrorist enemies. We are living in a time of War. I’m also in favor of nation-wide sweeps of every illegal immigrant here in this country and deport them back to their home countries until further notice. If someone wants to come and live here and experience the American Dream, then do it by following our laws. Stop sucking the government dry from hard earned tax dollars with special programs & welfare.

-Phil