This is an historical and ethnographic account of the 20th-century struggle for Jerusalem. The volume examines how Jerusalem is doubly divided, on the one hand between Israelis and Palestinians, each of whom ground their national identities in the city, as well as within each nation between those who put primacy in the democratic decisions of their nations and those who would yield to a higher divine law. Professors Friedland and Hecht explore how Jerusalem has figured as a battleground in conflicts over the relation between Zionism and Judaism and between Palestinian nationalism and Islam. Based on hundreds of interviews with powerful players and ordinary citizens over the course of a decade, this book evokes the ways in which these conflicts are experienced and managed in the life of the city. To Rule Jerusalem is a study of the intertwining of religion and politics, exploring the city as simultaneously an ordinary place and an extraordinary symbol.

Twentieth-century Jerusalem is doubly divided. As well as being a holy site for both Judaism and Islam, the city contains secular Israelis and Palestinians who ground their respective national identities within its borders. "To Rule Jerusalem" provides a historical and ethnographic account of how Jerusalem has become the battleground for conflicts both within and between the Israeli and Palestinian communities. Roger Friedland and Richard Hecht examine the relation between Zionism and Judaism and between Palestinian nationalism and Islam. Based on hundreds of interviews with powerful players and ordinary citizens over the course of a decade, this book evokes the ways in which these conflicts are experienced and managed in the life of the city. "To Rule Jerusalem" is a compelling study of the intertwining of religion and politics, exploring the city simultaneously as an ordinary place and an extraordinary symbol.