Jerusalem Video

In class this week we watched the video on Jerusalem. It followed different families and how and why they live in Jerusalem. It discussed the three main religions that are all focused there: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The family that was most interesting to me was the mother and son who didn't get to live with the son's father. The mother and son are citizens of Jerusalem and the husband/father is not. Because of this, he is not allowed to live in the city at all. The family only gets to reunite once per week. This was astounding to me. I could not imagine growing up and having to drive to a different city every week just to see a key part of the family, when the parents are still together. It is difficult for me to understand why the woman would want to stay in Jerusalem if she can't be with her husband that way. The video mentioned many different people that move to Jerusalem specifically to be closer to their religion since it is the main religious center. However, because the city is home to multiple religions, it has caused many disputes. It seems extremely difficult to live in a city that is enduring an internal battle, such as the battle over who the dome of the rock should belong to. The city of Jerusalem is home to many key elements to all three religions and that is what causes the many disagreements. I was amazed at how strict the city really is with their citizenship policies and who can go in and out of the city, but also at how the three religions can try to live in peace but don't always succeed. Overall, I found the movie to be very interesting because of this.