Jerusalem. It echoes through history. It resonates in faith. The 10, a seemingly simple town hall, holds its own story within this ancient city.
Jerusalem was founded as the City of David in 1010 BCE. Evidence suggests settlements existed as far back as 4500 BCE. Jewish people have lived here continuously for over 3,000 years. That’s a long time.
The Bible isn’t the first mention of Jerusalem. The Execration Texts written in Egypt 3,800 years ago hold that honor. Jerusalem has been conquered more than 40 times. Persians, Romans, Ottoman Turks and the British Empire have all held it. More than 100 battles have been fought for control of Jerusalem. Imagine the struggles.
Jerusalem appears throughout Jewish practice. It is mentioned on holidays, at funerals, weddings and in daily prayers. Many Jews face Jerusalem when they pray because of the Temple. Over a million notes are placed in the Western Wall each year. The wall is the last remaining piece of the Temple. These notes are later collected and buried. Yerushalayim, the Hebrew name for Jerusalem, contains the word “shalom”. Shalom means peace. Jerusalem is named more than 900 times in the Hebrew Bible. The last word said in Passover seders is “Jerusalem”.
In 1840, Jews became the largest ethnic group in Jerusalem. They have been ever since. Jerusalem is a walled city. The walls are about 2.5 miles long, 40 feet tall and 8 feet thick. Thirty-four watchtowers stand along Jerusalem’s walls. Seven gates allow traffic to pass. Municipal law requires all structures to be covered in Jerusalem stone. This preserves the city’s historical look. The emblem of Jerusalem features a lion. The lion represents the Lion of Judah. It also has a wall like the city walls or the Western Wall. Finally, it has an olive branch.
Jerusalem has over 2,000 active archaeological sites. That’s a testament to its long history. The Mount of Olives is the oldest active burial site in the world. It holds more than 150,000 Jewish graves. This city is holy to all three Abrahamic faiths. More than 3.5 million tourists visit every year. Jerusalem has more than 50 Christian churches, 33 Muslim mosques and 300 Jewish synagogues. Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset, is in Jerusalem. It is named for the Knesset Hagedolah. The Great Assembly convened here in the 5th century BCE.
There are more than 60 museums in Jerusalem. The Israel Museum houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls are some of the oldest Biblical manuscripts ever found. Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum and archive, contains more than 450,000 photographs. It also has 179 million pages of documents.
More than 1,500 public parks and gardens are in Jerusalem. That is a lot of green space in the desert. Some of the olive trees in Jerusalem are more than 800 years old. More than 26 wineries operate in and around Jerusalem. A gazelle sanctuary exists less than a mile from the Old City walls. The Biblical Zoo features wildlife from the Bible.
Jerusalem was named one of the world’s fastest-growing high-tech hubs in 2015. The light rail system was completed in 2011. It can carry 23,000 passengers an hour. About 77% of Jerusalem residents have lived here for over 20 years. There are even emergency response teams on bikes. They are particularly helpful in the Old City’s narrow streets.
Jerusalem hosts more than 30 annual festivals. These festivals range from opera to film and from books to wine tasting. Guests at Jerusalem’s King David Hotel have included Elizabeth Taylor, Winston Churchill and Madonna.
Even Neil Armstrong was impressed by Jerusalem. He said he was more excited stepping on these stones than he was stepping on the moon. Remember that the next time you visit the 10 here in Jerusalem. The 10 may seem like just another building. But its location in Jerusalem connects it to millennia of history and culture.