Preface
What Jerusalem Means to Us
Jewish Perspectives and Reflections
Sir Rateb Y. Rabie, KCHS
Jerusalem is widely regarded as the center of the world because it is sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and their followers. For centuries, the world’s different traditions have shared, fought over, built, and rebuilt the holy city.
We all belong to Jerusalem, and it belongs to us. Each of us relates to her in different ways—religiously, spiritually, culturally, historically, politically, socially, psychologically, and financially, or a combination thereof.
This book, What Jerusalem Means to Us: Jewish Perspectives and Reflections, illuminates Jewish connections to and views on Jerusalem. Its main goal is to educate, clarify, and celebrate what it is about this Holy City that Jews hold dear and, at times, question.
What Jerusalem Means to Us: Jewish Perspectives and Reflections is published by the Jerusalem Peace Institute (JPI) (https://www.jerusalem-pi.org), which highlights Jerusalem as humanity’s shared gift, governed by two peoples and cherished by three faiths, and its centrality for a just peace. See Appendix I. This book follows on the successful publication of What Jerusalem Means to Us: Christian Perspectives and Reflections (https://hcef.org/publications/what-jerusalem-means-to-us/) and of What Jerusalem Means to Us: Muslim Perspectives and Reflections (https://hcef.org/publications/what-jerusalem-means-to-us-muslim-perspectives-and-reflections/), which were published the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation (HCEF) in 2018 and 2021, respectively.
The aforementioned three books will constitute the Jerusalem Trilogy, representing a true expression of our commitment to Jerusalem and its inhabitants. I urge people of good will – Jews, Christians, Muslims, and others – to advocate for maintaining the city as an inclusive center of faith; to preserve its religious Status Quo; and to sustain it as home to Jewish Israelis, Palestinian Christians and Muslims, and others.
Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Saliba Sarsar and Dr. Carole Monica C. Burnett for their hard work on assembling and editing this important volume.
Rateb Y. Rabie
Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors
Jerusalem Peace Institute
Founder and President/CEO
Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation
