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I was reading this article where representatives at the 2012 Democratic National Convention booed in disagreement over a platform position regarding Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

I'm not interested in a political debate in asking this question; rather I am interested in what is the thought process behind the position that would contest Jerusalem as Israel's capital?

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    This isn't really a Christian issue; it has to do with internal politics in which Israel (a Jewish state) claims the entirety of Jerusalem as their capitol, and the Islamic Arabs who call themselves Palestinians claim Jerusalem (or a large part thereof) as the capitol of their own hypothetical state that they've been trying to get officially recognized for decades now. Recognizing Jerusalem as the capitol of Israel firmly takes Israel's side, which angers a lot of pro-Palestinian types. You'd probably get a better explanation of the issues involved if you asked on Mi Yodeya or Islam.
    – Mason Wheeler
    Sep 5, 2012 at 23:56
  • @MasonWheeler: Thanks for the clarification. I'm aware the issue isn't directly related to Christianity, but this was the best place I could think of to ask the question. I had forgotten about the Judaism.SE and Islam.SE sites. Feel free to close the question as you see fit.
    – fbrereto
    Sep 6, 2012 at 0:07
  • In the future, you might try asking in The Upper Room, our third place. Sep 7, 2012 at 22:48

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This issue isn't really anything to do with Christianity, although it's an issue which Christians sometimes take sides on.

When the State of Israel was created in 1947-48 Jerusalem was given a special status, not a part of Israel proper: "The City of Jerusalem shall be established as a corpus separatum under a special international regime and shall be administered by the United Nations." The Israeli capital was established as Tel Aviv

Israel took effective control of West Jerusalem in 1948 and the rest of it in 1967, and has retained it ever since, declaring it to be their capital. Many nations, including until now the US, retain their diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv and consider it to be the capital, avoiding the implied recognition of the legitimacy of Israel's control over Jerusalem.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positions_on_Jerusalem

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