JewsByChoice.Org

A few days ago I stumbled across an online version of a an old National Geographic documentary (which I’m sure was part of a larger series) on Jerusalem. It was produced back somewhere around the mid 80s, so it’s a little dated now but interesting nonetheless. It basically presents a snapshot of what the city means spiritually to people of different faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and more importantly how they came to call Jerusalem home.

To be honest I didn’t really have any expectations as I began to watch the video but to my surprise, I actually learned several new things. For example I didn’t realize that Jerusalem was something of a sanctuary for (some) Armenians during the Armenian genocide of 1915.

As a Jew by choice who is never been to Israel and therefore never been to Jerusalem. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this documentary and as I have already mentioned managed to learn a thing or two about the city and it’s people. If you’ve got an hour to spare I highly recommend checking out this video because it’s both entertaining and informative. Basically I think it’s a good free online resource for those of you who have never been to Israel and would like to learn a little about this holy city.

Anyhow enjoy and if you do watch it feel free to let me know what you thought.

If for some reason the video does not display or play correctly you can try watching it from here. Please note that this video is (apparently) hosted somewhere in China, so it my take a while to load but it does load, or at least it did load for me, when I watched it this morning. 

Below is a blurb about the episode from Amazon.

Within a square mile, enclosed by stone wall, live 26,000 people. Representing a multitude of nations, religions, and cultures, the people of this city rejoice in the historical and spiritual significance of their home–Jerusalem. National Geographic examines the lives of some of the residents in its 59-minute documentary Jerusalem: Within These Walls. The area of the Old City is divided into four quarters–Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian–each of which surrounds an emblem of its culture: the Western Wall of the Second Temple, the Dome of the Rock mosque, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Cathedral of St. James. As the spiritual center of the three Western religions, Jerusalem may always be a city of tension and turmoil, yet its undeniable beauty and importance force people of differing beliefs to live side by side. Jews of 120 cultural backgrounds live in the Jewish quarter. The Zadok family immigrated from Yemen, where Jews faced tremendous persecution. In Israel they still hold onto many of their traditions, including elaborate wedding rituals, noted for their ornate finery. The video also introduces the third Jewish couple–a Belgian man and his sabra (a native-born Israeli) wife–to move into the Old City after its liberation from Jordan in the war of 1967. We then move to the Muslim quarter, where we meet a family who has lived in Jerusalem for 1,300 years. A young man embraces both tradition–as a furniture repairer–and modern life–as an actor on an Israeli Arabic TV show. In the Christian quarter, Father Timothy is presented, a Greek monk who has dedicated his life to serving the church that stands where Jesus was crucified. Finally, we meet an Armenian man, who escaped the holocaust of his own country, was sold into slavery, and finally was rescued by a Jerusalem orphanage. Telling a remarkable tale of survival, of both the city and her people, this video shows Jerusalem in all her splendor. –Jenny Brown
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