The question of who made Jerusalem the capital of Israel touches on millennia of history, faith, and modern political declaration. From ancient kings to contemporary legislatures, the city’s status has been shaped by conquest, belief, and the deliberate choices of leaders seeking to define a national identity. Understanding this complex timeline is essential to grasping the current geopolitical landscape surrounding the city.
Ancient Foundations and Biblical Significance
Long before the establishment of the State of Israel, Jerusalem held a central, albeit often contested, role in the region. According to the Hebrew Bible, the city was captured by King David around 1000 BCE, who established it as the political and spiritual capital of the ancient Israelite kingdom. David’s son, Solomon, further cemented its importance by building the First Temple, transforming Jerusalem into the religious heart of the Jewish people. For followers of Judaism, the city’s divine designation as the eternal capital is rooted in these foundational events, making it a non-negotiable element of historical and religious identity.
The Roman and Ottoman Periods
Following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Jerusalem came under Roman rule, and later Byzantine and then Ottoman control. While the city remained a vital center for Judaism and early Christianity, it was not the political capital of a sovereign state for nearly two thousand years. During the Ottoman era, Jerusalem was a provincial capital within a vast empire, but its status as a distinct national capital for a Jewish entity was not formally recognized. The city’s demographic fabric, however, was consistently shaped by its Jewish majority, who maintained a continuous presence despite periods of exile and persecution.
The British Mandate and the 1947 Partition
After World War I, the League of Nations granted the United Kingdom a mandate over Palestine, a decision that set the stage for modern conflict. During this period, Jerusalem functioned as an administrative capital. The pivotal moment arrived in 1947 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 181, recommending the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states. Jerusalem was designated as a *corpus separatum*, an internationalized zone under UN administration, distinct from the proposed Jewish state. This plan was rejected by Arab leaders and neighboring states, leading to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
1948 War and the Division of the City
In the aftermath of the 1948 war, Jerusalem was split. West Jerusalem came under Israeli control, while East Jerusalem, including the Old City and the Western Wall, fell under Jordanian rule. During this period, neither side declared the city a formal capital; Israel established its government institutions in Tel Aviv, though the Knesset (parliament) was located in West Jerusalem. The division lasted until the Six-Day War in 1967, which resulted in Israel’s unification of the entire city under its sovereignty, a move viewed as illegal by much of the international community and the Palestinian people.
The 1980 Jerusalem Law and Political Declaration
The definitive act of declaring Jerusalem the undivided capital of Israel was made by the Knesset in 1980. The "Jerusalem Law," passed that year, stated that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel." This legislation was not the act of a single monarch or foreign power, but a formal legislative declaration by the Israeli parliament. The law triggered immediate international backlash, with the United Nations Security Council passing Resolution 478, which declared the law "null and void" and called on member states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from the city. The move solidified Jerusalem’s status as the most contentious issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
