Amos Elon, Jerusalem: Battlegrounds of Memory (New York, 1995; updated reissue of Jerusalem: City of Mirrors, 1989): 238-251 (chapt. 8)

1) Elon suggests that the current status of Jerusalem is the product of a chain of often highly emotional reactions on the part of both Jewish and Arab political leaders to unforeseen events. How did the war which followed upon Israel's declaration of independence in May of 1948 affect political leaders' views about Jerusalem?

2) Why were Israeli leaders shocked by the United Nations resolution on Jerusalem in 1949 and to what did they attribute it?

3) What has traditionally been the Zionists' attitude towards Jerusalem? Why?

4) What does Elon mean when he asserts that Israeli leaders "hypocritically" wanted Arab Jerusalemites to "forget their past"?

5) What disagreements did long-time Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek have with the Israeli government?

6) How did Kollek view his life's work upon leaving office in 1994?

7) Why have Arab and Jewish positions over Jerusalem hardened in recent years?

8) In what ways can memory be "destructive," according to Elon?

9) Might the the radicalization of Arab and Jewish views on Jerusalem, in your opinion, be attributed to a "politicization" of religion?