Jerusalem Unbound

Geography, History, and the Future of the Holy City

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Current Events, Political Science, Government, Local Government
Cover of the book Jerusalem Unbound by Michael Dumper, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Dumper ISBN: 9780231537353
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: June 17, 2014
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Michael Dumper
ISBN: 9780231537353
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: June 17, 2014
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Jerusalem's formal political borders reveal neither the dynamics of power in the city nor the underlying factors that make an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians so difficult. The lines delineating Israeli authority are frequently different from those delineating segregated housing or areas of uneven service provision or parallel national electoral districts of competing educational jurisdictions. In particular, the city's large number of holy sites and restricted religious compounds create enclaves that continually threaten to undermine the Israeli state's authority and control over the city. This lack of congruity between political control and the actual spatial organization and everyday use of the city leaves many areas of occupied East Jerusalem in a kind of twilight zone where citizenship, property rights, and the enforcement of the rule of law are ambiguously applied.

Michael Dumper plots a history of Jerusalem that examines this intersecting and multileveled matrix and, in so doing, is able to portray the constraints on Israeli control over the city and the resilience of Palestinian enclaves after forty-five years of Israeli occupation. Adding to this complex mix is the role of numerous external influences—religious, political, financial, and cultural—so that the city is also a crucible for broader contestation. While the Palestinians may not return to their previous preeminence in the city, neither will Israel be able to assert a total and irreversible dominance. His conclusion is that the city will not only have to be shared but that the sharing will be based upon these many borders and the interplay between history, geography, and religion.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Jerusalem's formal political borders reveal neither the dynamics of power in the city nor the underlying factors that make an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians so difficult. The lines delineating Israeli authority are frequently different from those delineating segregated housing or areas of uneven service provision or parallel national electoral districts of competing educational jurisdictions. In particular, the city's large number of holy sites and restricted religious compounds create enclaves that continually threaten to undermine the Israeli state's authority and control over the city. This lack of congruity between political control and the actual spatial organization and everyday use of the city leaves many areas of occupied East Jerusalem in a kind of twilight zone where citizenship, property rights, and the enforcement of the rule of law are ambiguously applied.

Michael Dumper plots a history of Jerusalem that examines this intersecting and multileveled matrix and, in so doing, is able to portray the constraints on Israeli control over the city and the resilience of Palestinian enclaves after forty-five years of Israeli occupation. Adding to this complex mix is the role of numerous external influences—religious, political, financial, and cultural—so that the city is also a crucible for broader contestation. While the Palestinians may not return to their previous preeminence in the city, neither will Israel be able to assert a total and irreversible dominance. His conclusion is that the city will not only have to be shared but that the sharing will be based upon these many borders and the interplay between history, geography, and religion.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book The Severed Head by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Imaginary Ethnographies by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Sovereignty by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book The Ethical Economy by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Multimodal Treatment of Acute Psychiatric Illness by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Constructing Public Opinion by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book The Fate of Ideas by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Love in Motion by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Little Magazine, World Form by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book What It Means to Be Daddy by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Negotiating Governance on Non-Traditional Security in Southeast Asia and Beyond by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Beyond the Ivory Tower by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Down and Out in New Orleans by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book The Splendid Vision by Michael Dumper
Cover of the book Not Being God by Michael Dumper
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy