Jerusalem has been destroyed twice. It has been attacked 52 times. Captured and recaptured 44 times! Beseiged many other times! Still, after all this, the rightful owners of Jerusalem remains a major factor in the struggle between the Israelis and Palestinians. Both claim Jerusalem as their capitol!
 
WHO OWNS JERUSALEM?
In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel recaptured East Jerusalem from Jordan . West and East Jerusalem was reunified at that time. 
 

Ownership of that land captured in the 6-Day War is at the heart of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict now. Palestine claims right to the land bordering Israel and Jordan (West Bank), and the land bordering Israel and Egypt (Gaza Strip). 

Israel claims Jerusalem as it's capital and Palestine claims East Jerusalem as it's capitol. The United Nations does not recognize Jerusalem as the capitol for either one!
 
JERUSALEM TODAY
The modern Jerusalem, built with the same sandstone colored limestone, spreads west and north of the old walled city. It's like 3 cities in one! The modern part of Jerusalem is on the west side of the city. The Arab district is on the east side. Nearby is the the historic walled Old City of Jerusalem. This is where the majority of religious sites are located, and what most tourist come to see.
The 2015 census reported the population of Jerusalem at 870,000 . It's the largest city in the country. 63% are Jews, Christian and other non-Arabs. 37% are Arabs.
 
FIRST DAY IN JERUSALEM
I stayed in the Arab section of Jerusalem the 1st time there, in an Arab owned hotel. (I left Jerusalem several times and returned later). The Arab neighborhood is about a 20 minute walk from the Jewish neighborhoods and just across the street from the walls surrounding Old Jerusalem.
 
The hotel is owned and staffed by Arabs. The women staff are Muslim. I can tell by their dress. The men staff are Arab but there is no way for me to know if they are Muslim without asking. All Arabs are not Muslims and all Israeli's are not Jews. Most of the guests are Arabs, some are from India, and some, like myself, are from western countries. 
 
The hotel has a wonderful roof-top patio. From here I can watch the crowded traffic below. There is a lot of grid-lock on the streets. Up and down the line of stopped autos, the horns blow with long, angry blasts! The horns have many different tones, each one more annoying than the other! This continues all day until evening .
 
From the rooftop I can see the Muslim men stop and spread out a small mat, kneel, and bow toward Mecca, Syria, when the call to prayer is made (5 times a day). The prayers are broadcast, in Arabic, over loud speakers in the area. Often they go on for a long time, and you cannot escape hearing them.
 
But, I love sitting here at night, looking out over Jerusalem and towards the walls of Old Jerusalem, after the traffic has thinned. It is August in Jerusalem and the 60F temperature feels colder because of the windy nights!
 
When I step outside the hotel, it is difficult to walk. The sidewalks are filled with small shops and individuals selling food and goods.
 
One day I walked out the door and didn't recognize the street! No traffic. No shops. Everything closed and quiet. I found out it was a 3-day Muslim Holiday! One of the men staff brought me a nice plate of Arab food from their celebration meal, knowing a place to eat in the Arab neighborhood would be hard to find!
 
Another thing I notice from the rooftop is the constant flow of Jews on the other side of the street . But, they never cross to the Arab side of the street to shop or walk. They are going from their neighborhoods to the Western Wall in Old Jerusalem.
 
ODD
Other things I notice right away is that there are no prices on food in the small stores. How can you know the price? And, in the bathrooms instead of paper towels to dry your hands, they provide toilet paper to dry your hands! I have seen this in Asia, also. TP does not work well for drying hands. It disintegrates when wet. I think paper is at a premium in many countries. Often there are no napkins on the table. And, you need to always carry your own TP, just in case!

NEXT: Old Jerusalem - "City of Peace?"