Jerusalem

WHEREAS, while Israel and the PLO agreed to defer negotiations on the status of Jerusalem until the final phase of peace negotiations, this issue nevertheless has become a matter of intense public discussion;

WHEREAS, for nearly three thousand years, the Jewish people have been inextricably bound to Jerusalem;

WHEREAS, since King David established the city as the capital of the Israelite nation some 3000 years ago, an event that will be observed in 1996 with celebrations in Israel and around the world;

WHEREAS, no other city has played a greater role in the history, culture, religion and consciousness of a people as has Jerusalem in the life of the Jewish people and Judaism;

WHEREAS, Jews have maintained a continuous presence in Jerusalem since their exile in 70 C.E. and have constituted a majority of the city’s inhabitants for more than a century;

WHEREAS, throughout its long history Jerusalem was controlled by many sovereigns but served as the capital only of the Jewish nation;

WHEREAS, under Israeli sovereignty, Jerusalem remains steadfast as a city in which freedom of religion is scrupulously respected and where diversity and harmony are fundamental goals;

WHEREAS, the Israeli government has demonstrated sensitivity to the concerns of all of Jerusalem’s residents and has been exemplary in protecting the holy places of all faiths and implementing the right of access to holy places to persons of all faiths;

Therefore, be it RESOLVED that the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC) reemphasizes the unified commitment of world Jewry to maintain the city of Jerusalem as the eternal undivided capital of Israel, and that the NJCRAC will increase its efforts to educate American policy-makers and the public about the unique status of Jerusalem in the life of Israel and world Jewry.

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