Welcome to Share Jerusalem, an effort dedicated to promoting world peace by encouraging three great religions to share their most sacred city - Jerusalem.
In doing so, this effort will address the central question of religious toleration: How can different faiths co-exist when each believes it is the one true path to personal salvation?
This effort will be guided by the principles of toleration and non-violence. It is based on the faith that, if people act with good will, then humanity will move forward, even if we don't know the final outcome.
This effort will specifically address the belief that religious doctrine does not allow sharing Jerusalem. It may well be that the opposite is true, that sharing Jerusalem is the very act that will bring such doctrines to their fulfillment.
UPDATE, March, 2004: a report from the Ecumenical Conference on Peace with Justice held March 5-8 in Washington D.C.; Common Prayer for Muslims and Christians; excerpts from book on Saladin & Richard the Lionhearted; Christian Zionism; plus words from Jesus on another way, personal salvation through personal sacrifice (all in The Theology of Sharing).
"Sharing Jerusalem, and the Haram-Temple Mount, is the only sustainable solution. If the Israeli center can't embrace that -- or if the Palestinians, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia can't embrace that -- then no final peace is possible. It's time for everyone to show his real cards.
"The good news: If they can share Jerusalem, they can share the Middle East. Because the only way they can share Jerusalem is by acknowledging and respecting each other's deepest claims."
Thomas Friedman, Foreign Affairs Editor, New York Times (full article)
"I see all the children of Abraham Laying down their swords in Jerusalem."
Steve Earl, "Jerusalem", as sung by Joan Baez, San Francisco Peace Rally, Feb. 16, 2003
The Share Jerusalem group site archives additional relevant materials, including: - A Letter Concerning Toleration, by John Locke - The Birth of War, from Natural History Magazine - Christian Zionism, by John Huber - Leave the West Bank Now, by Thomas Friedman - The Limits of Empire, by Pat Buchanan - Denied Entry, by Susan Van Dongen - the proposed Geneva Accord between Israel and Palestine - several fliers from Churches for Middle East Peace
