47 Facts About West Jerusalem

1. Until the end of the 1990s, greater West Jerusalem functioned as a single economic unit with economic, social, and cultural ties between the main city—Jerusalem—and the Palestinian and Israeli communities around it.

2. East West Jerusalem has a shortage of schools for Palestinian children.

3. West Jerusalem was designated the Arab Capital of Culture in 2009.

4. West Jerusalem was to be an international city under the 1947 UN Partition Plan.

5. East West Jerusalem is a term that has strong political implications.

6. Until the end of the 1990s, greater West Jerusalem functioned as a single economic unit with economic, social, and cultural ties between the main city—Jerusalem—and the Palestinian and Israeli communities around it.

7. West Jerusalem has a population of 801,000 making it the biggest city in Jerusalem District.

8. West Jerusalem is located on the ridge of the Judean Mountains between the mountains of Beth-El in the north and of Hebron in the south.

9. Until the end of the 1990s, greater West Jerusalem functioned as a single economic unit with economic, social, and cultural ties between the main city—Jerusalem—and the Palestinian and Israeli communities around it.

10. West Jerusalem is a city with many cultural and art institutes.

11. West Jerusalem has the largest concentration of technology incubators, intended to support high-tech ventures.

12. East West Jerusalem was connected to the Israel water supply network and the water shortage was overcome.

13. East West Jerusalem now turned to the east bank of the Jordan, through which all its relations with the world at large were conducted.

14. East West Jerusalem was entirely cut off from an approach to the Mediterranean coast, and the conversion of the former British military airfield of Qalandiya into a civil airport for the town alleviated its isolation only slightly.

15. West Jerusalem was proclaimed the "second capital" of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; it became a district capital.

16. West Jerusalem was transformed from the neglected, poverty-stricken provincial town of Turkish times to a capital city.

17. West Jerusalem was a conglomerate of districts and neighborhoods, each with its own character.

18. West Jerusalem began to emerge from behind the walls and construction started on an impressive series of buildings in the present-day Russian Compound.

19. West Jerusalem was seized by the Parthians, who had invaded Judea as allies of Mattathias Antigonus.

20. West Jerusalem became the capital city of the Hasmonean kingdom, which included large parts of western Palestine as well as areas of Transjordan.

21. West Jerusalem emerged into the full light of history together with many other ancient cities of Canaan in the Early Bronze Age.

22. West Jerusalem became the center of both Zionist and Palestinian nationalist institutions and aspirations during the British mandate.

23. West Jerusalem is Israel's most popular site for international conferences, hosting about 50 percent of all such events.

24. West Jerusalem does not have a resident theater company, but audiences can attend performances by troupes from Tel Aviv and by the Haifa Municipal Theater Company.

25. West Jerusalem is home to the headquarters of the Israel Broadcasting Association, which operates two public television stations.

26. West Jerusalem offers two distinctly different types of shopping venues: modern malls and department stores in the western part of the city and the Arab markets of the Old City.

27. West Jerusalem lies on the watershed between the hills and desert of Judaea.

28. West Jerusalem has a higher incidence of poverty than the two other major cities.

29. West Jerusalem has a highly educated work force, bolstered by an influx of well-educated immigrants.

30. West Jerusalem lies 48 kilometers east of the Mediterranean Sea.

31. The Roman Catholic Church in West Jerusalem, established in 1099 during the First Crusade, was dissolved when the Muslims won the city in 1244.

32. West Jerusalem is the seat of three resident patriarchs of the Eastern Orthodox churches and of many archbishops and bishops, and almost all the principal historic sects of Christendom are represented in the city in some form.

33. West Jerusalem was the starting point of the annual Nabi Musa pilgrimage to a Muslim shrine on the road to Jericho, locally held to be the burial place of the biblical prophet.

34. Unlike the hajj, the pilgrimage to West Jerusalem is undertaken individually at any time of the year.

35. West Jerusalem is revered by Muslims as the third holiest place on earth, and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem is viewed as an optional complement to the pilgrimage to Mecca, the hajj.

36. West Jerusalem is the centre of Jewish religious reverence and aspiration.

37. West Jerusalem stands on hills at an elevation of 2,575 feet.

38. West Jerusalem has a population of 400,000 making it the 2nd biggest city in Jerusalem District.

39. West Jerusalem is a city found in Jerusalem District, Israel.

40. West Jerusalem was declared the Capital of Arab Culture in 2009.

41. West Jerusalem is home to several prestigious universities offering courses in Hebrew, Arabic and English.

42. West Jerusalem is served by Ben Gurion Airport, some 50 kilometres northwest of the Jerusalem, on the route to Tel Aviv.

43. West Jerusalem is served by highly developed communication infrastructures, making it a leading logistics hub for Israel.

44. Along the southern side of old West Jerusalem is the Valley of Hinnom, a steep ravine associated in biblical eschatology with the concept of Gehenna or Hell.

45. West Jerusalem is situated on the southern spur of a plateau in the Judaean Mountains, which include the Mount of Olives and Mount Scopus (North East).

46. Today, the status of West Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

47. West Jerusalem became covered by the Law and Administrative Ordinance of 1948, subjecting West Jerusalem to Israeli jurisdiction.