If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth– if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. (Psalm 137:5-6)

A little over 3000 years ago, a young Middle Eastern king sent his crack troops up a water tunnel into a mountaintop stronghold and routed the resistance there, proudly “planting the flag” of the ascendant nation in what was to become its beloved and eternal capital.

To this day, Jerusalem is known as David’s City, the city of Israel’s greatest king. In their psalms, the sons of Korah call it “the city of God” (Psalm 46:4) and “the city of the great King” (Psalm 48:2).

God Himself calls it the city He has chosen, just as He calls the people He gave it to His chosen people.

For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for His dwelling place: “This is My resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it…” (Psalm 132:13-14)

“Yet I have chosen Jerusalem, that My name may be there; and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.” (2 Chronicles 6:6)

And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!…” (Zechariah 3:2)

One sure sign of this city’s special “chosenness” and designation by God as Israel’s capital is the unrelenting effort that has been waged to wrest it from the hands of the Jews.

Why? Why did God choose a city? When did He choose it? What does He plan for its future? Why is the whole city built out of yellow-wwhite stone? How long have Jews lived in Jerusalem. How much does Islam really value the city?

These pages will be used to answer some of the more frequently asked questions about Jerusalem’s special status, and to detail important aspects of the city’s long and often painful past.