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The Microstate “In view of its association with three world religions, the Jerusalem area (...) should be accorded special and separate treatment from the rest of Palestine, and should be placed under effective United Nations control.”
This map shows the area of historical Jerusalem, which is the holiest city of Judaism,
the third holiest city of Islam, and the site of the most important events in Christian history,
from the Temple Mount to Via Dolorosa and Golgotha. (Click the image for full-screen version.
Detailed maps of Jerusalem are for sale at the online shop of
The current wall of the Old City is shown in red colour, and the ruined or missing parts of the historical walls are marked with grey colour. (The course of the missing walls drawn on this map is close to authentic but not absolutely precise. More detailed description with photos: north wall, southern walls.) In the spirit of UN resolutions 181 and 194, the rights of the three Abrahamic religions should be equally guaranteed in the area of historical Jerusalem. Each of these three religions should control one third of the lands in historical Jerusalem (excluding the Temple Mount), and an equal quota of residents should be allowed for each of them, so that the three Abrahamic religions can control their shares of historical Jerusalem with fully autonomous immigration policies and quite autonomous building policies. (A common architectural style should be planned for the entire region, including guidelines for the maximum height of buildings and the minimum width of streets. The current ethnic and religious discrimination in building permits should be ended as soon as possible.) To make autonomous immigration and visa policies possible for the three religions, the area of historical Jerusalem should become a separate international zone, a walled microstate in the style of the Vatican City. Some comparison of the Vatican City and the proposed microstate of Jerusalem:
Characteristics common for both states: non-commercial economy (based on donations and some state-run industries), dual citizenship with another state, absolute elective monarchy. (The sovereign ruler of Jerusalem would be elected by Israel, the Arab League and the United Nations, each of these having a veto right to end the term of the monarch.) In addition to the area of historical Jerusalem, the microstate can host also other areas meant for common use of Jews and Arabs, such as nature reserves, national parks, historical sites and modern residential settlements, as agreed between Israel and its neighbouring countries. Photos of the controversial Umayyad Mosque:
The proposed project is to close the entire Damascus Square from traffic, build a large platform, and relocate the Umayyad Mosque on Damascus Square. (The buildings on Temple Mount can be seen from Damascus Square, and vice versa, as the photo above demonstrates.) |
