50 Fantastic Facts About Jerusalem Prepared for Summer Camp, 2017
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50 Fantastic Facts About Jerusalem Prepared for Summer Camp, 2017 History 1. Jerusalem has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times and destroyed twice over the course of 3,000 years. 2. In the Middle Ages, Jews were banned from Jerusalem by Christians, and Muslims later lifted the ban. 3. The 2.5-mile-long walls around Jerusalem’s Old City were built in 1536 by Suleiman the Magnificent. 4. Archaeology proves Jews have lived in Jerusalem since 3000 B.C.E. 5. Jerusalem is the capital of the modern State of Israel. Jews are indigenous to Jerusalem and the rest of the country, having maintained a continuous, unbroken presence in the land of Israel. 6. No Arab or Muslim power ever claimed Jerusalem as its capital. Over the centuries, Jerusalem has been ruled by various invading empires. Other than the Crusaders, the rulers made their capitals Caesarea, Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, and Constantinople, not Jerusalem. 7. After Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, the Arab Legion of Jordan, commanded by British officers, attacked Jewish Jerusalem. After bitter fighting, the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City fell on May 27 to the Arab Legion. 8. Jordan occupied the eastern sector of Jerusalem until 1967. This was the only time in over a thousand years (since the Crusader Kingdoms) that Jews were prohibited from living in Jerusalem’s Old City. The Jordanians destroyed and looted nearly 60 Jewish synagogues, some centuries old, turning many into animal stalls or latrines. 9. Throughout Jewish history, Jews have wanted to be buried on Mount of Olives. There are estimated to be about 150,000 graves dating back to the 15th century in Har HaZasim. 10. Israel is the only country to enter the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, and you can enjoy them over a picnic or barbecue in the Jerusalem Forest. Religion 1. Jerusalem has more synagogues per capita than any city in the world. 2. Jerusalem is the only city in which some 15 different Christian communities live alongside one another, according to the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. 3. Jerusalem is the third-holiest city in Islam, outside of Mecca and Medina, both in Saudi Arabia. 4. Jerusalem is mentioned more than 600 times in the Hebrew Bible, but not once in Islam’s Quran. 5. There are more than 70 different Hebrew names for Jerusalem in Jewish scripture or Torah. 6. The breaking of the wine glass at weddings while reciting in Hebrew, “If I forget you, Oh Jerusalem, may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,” memorializes Jerusalem’s destruction, as does the Jewish holiday Tisha B’Av – a fast day of mourning. The Western Wall is the last standing remnant of the Jewish Temple, the holiest site for Jews. 7. Jerusalem is also of great importance for Christianity and Islam, containing holy sites held in deep reverence by billions of people around the world. For Christians these include the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Garden Tomb, and the Garden of Gethsemane. For Muslims these include the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque, 8. During the Jordanian occupation, Christians, unlike Jews, were allowed access to their holy sites but with limits on the numbers of Christian pilgrims permitted into the Old City and Bethlehem during Christmas and Easter. 9. Jerusalem is the focal point of the three Jewish holidays of Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot. 10. The First Temple was overseen by 3,300 men and built by 150,000 Jewish workers. Economy 1. Jerusalem is home to more than 400 high-tech companies. 2. The number of high-tech startups in Jerusalem has grown from 200 to more than 600 since 2012. 3. Fourteen percent of the Jerusalem workforce is self-employed. 4. Arab families in Jerusalem are almost three times as likely to live below the poverty line compared to Jewish families in Jerusalem. This is attributed to a large difference in number of years in education. 5. Seventy-nine percent of Jewish women in Jerusalem work, compared to 70 percent of Jewish men. 6. Women in Jerusalem earn 25 percent less income than the average man, compared to 46 percent less in Tel Aviv. 7. The Jerusalem-founded company Mobileye, bought by Intel this year, was part of the largest-ever acquisition of an Israeli technology company. That technology is the basis for driverless cars. 8. The thumb drive or flash drive was developed in Israel. 9. Israel’s scientists are sent all over the world for their expertise in hydroponics, water conservation and desalinization. 10. Stem cell research and other medical breakthroughs from Hadassah contribute greatly to the economy. Demographics 1. Jerusalem is statistically safer than nearly most large U.S. cities and many major cities elsewhere in the world. 2. Jerusalem is Israel’s largest city in both landmass and population. 3. Jerusalem’s population is comprised of 61 percent Jews, 36 percent Muslims, 1 percent Arab Christians and 1 percent non-Arab Christians. 4. Jerusalem has had a Jewish demographic majority since 1864. 5. Jerusalem represents about 0.001 percent of the landmass of the Middle East. 6. Eighteen percent of Israel’s Arab population lives in Jerusalem, compared to 8 percent of Israel’s total Jewish population. 7. Thirty-four percent of Jerusalem’s Jews identify as charedi or ultra-religious. 8. Nearly 37 percent of all Jerusalem families live below the poverty line, which represents 61 percent of all Jerusalem’s children. 9. Brazilian immigration to Jerusalem tripled during the past year. 10. New immigrants arrive daily in Jerusalem. Immigrants arriving in just the last 20 years represent 13% of the city’s population. Culture 1. Thirty-thousand people ran in this year’s Jerusalem Marathon. 2. Bob Dylan held his eldest son Jesse’s bar mitzvah at the Western Wall. 3. Israelis read more books than any population in the world. 4. Jerusalem has 1,578 public gardens and parks. 5. Jerusalem has over 70 cultural centers that teach art, music, poetry, literature, and performance to young people. 6. There are more than 60 museums in Jerusalem. 7. There are 30 annual festivals in Jerusalem, the most in all of Israel. 8. There are 26 wineries in Jerusalem. 9. A lion is the emblem of the municipality of Jerusalem. Shuk Mahane Yehuda), often ,שוק מחנה יהודה :Mahane Yehuda Market (Hebrew .10 referred to as "The Shuk", is a marketplace in Jerusalem, Israel. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the market's more than 250 vendors sell fresh fruits and vegetables; baked goods; fish, meat and cheeses; nuts, seeds, and spices; wines and liquors; clothing and shoes; and housewares, textiles, and Judaica. In and around the market are falafel, shawarma, kibbeh, kebab, shashlik, kanafeh, baklava, halva, zalabiya and jerusalem mixed grill stands, juice bars, cafes, and restaurants. Sources The information on the preceding pages was taken from the following web sites: http://www.aish.com/jw/j/50-Jerusalem-Facts.html https://unitedwithisrael.org/facts-about-jerusalem http://www.aish.com/jw/j/Jerusalem-10-Essential-Facts.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahane_Yehuda_Market .