The Other Jerusalem: Rethinking the History of the Sacred City
There have been countless works written on Jerusalem, often framing it as a holy city central to the three Abrahamic faiths. However, modern accounts of Jerusalem have come to privilege Zionist narratives and claims to the city. Such ideologically motivated representations deny us an understanding of Jerusalem's rich intercommunal traditions and the true scope of its modern development since the 19th century. Providing a balanced approach is a core part of the mission of the Journal of Palestine Studies and its sister publication, the Jerusalem Quarterly, whose long-standing focus on the history, geography, archaeology, sociology and future of Jerusalem is featured in this selection of outstanding articles from both journals. The contested modern history and the rapid changes Jerusalem has witnessed over the past two centuries provide the essential background to these articles, which illuminate lesser-known aspects of the multi-dimensional story of Jerusalem. Preserving this story as part of the history of the Holy City is also central to the mission of the co-publisher of this series, the Khalidi Library, for over a century.
Rashid Khalidi is the president of the American Committee on Jerusalem, Washington, D.C., Edward Said Chair in Arab Studies at Columbia University, director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University, and editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies. He is author of major works on the Middle East.
Salim Tamari is IPS senior fellow and the former director of the IPS-affiliated Institute of Jerusalem Studies. He is editor of Jerusalem Quarterly and Hawliyyat al Quds.
He is professor of sociology at Birzeit University and an adjunct professor at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University. He has authored several works on urban culture, political sociology, biography and social history, and the social history of the Eastern Mediterranean. Recent publications include: Year of the Locust: Palestine and Syria during WWI (UC Press, 2010); Ihsan's War: The Intimate Life of an Ottoman Soldier (IPS, Beirut, 2008); The Mountain Against the Sea (University of California Press, 2008); Biography and Social History of Bilad al Sham (edited with I. Nassar,2007, Beirut IPS); Pilgrims, Lepers, and Stuffed Cabbage: Essays on Jerusalem's Cultural History (edited, with I. Nassar, IJS, 2005) and Essays on the Cultural History of Ottoman and Mandate Jerusalem (editor, IJS, 2005). Tamari has served as visiting professor, University of California at Berkeley (2005, 2007, 2008); Eric Lane Fellow, Cambridge University (2008); lecturer in Mediterranean Studies Venice University (2002-present); among other posts.
