116-410: Albala may refer to: People [ edit ] David Albala (1886-1942), Serbian military officer, physician, diplomat, and Jewish community leader Ken Albala , American professor of history Paulina Lebl-Albala (1891-1967), Serbian feminist, translator, literary critic, professor Other [ edit ] Albalá , a municipality located in
232-555: A demonym . Jerusalem is one of the world's oldest cities, with a history spanning over 5,000 years. Its origins trace back to around 3000 BCE, with the first settlement near the Gihon Spring . The city is first mentioned in Egyptian Execration texts around 2000 BCE as "Rusalimum." By the 17th century BCE, Jerusalem had developed into a fortified city under Canaanite rule, with massive walls protecting its water system. During
348-873: A voiceless uvular plosive (/q/), as in Classical Arabic , or with a glottal stop (ʔ) as in Levantine Arabic . Official Israeli government policy mandates that أُورُشَلِيمَ , transliterated as Ūrušalīm , which is the name frequently used in Christian translations of the Bible into Arabic, be used as the Arabic language name for the city in conjunction with القُدس , giving أُورُشَلِيمَ-القُدس , Ūrušalīm-al-Quds. Palestinian Arab families who hail from this city are often called " Qudsi " ( قُدسي ) or " Maqdasi " ( مقدسي ), while Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemites may use these terms as
464-622: A Jew as well as a Zionist," which influenced Albala's behaviour thereafter. Albala was later employed as a physician aboard an ocean liner sailing from Trieste to South America . Upon hearing of the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in October 1912, Albala tendered his resignation and returned to Serbia to enlist. For the duration of the Balkan Wars, Albala served in a Royal Serbian Army field hospital, during which he contracted typhus and cholera . In
580-601: A campaign of massacres, expulsions and forced religious conversions targeting its sizeable Serb and Jewish populations. Two resistance movements, the National Liberation Movement and the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland , soon emerged, but were divided along ideological lines, with the latter pledging loyalty to Yugoslavia's exiled monarchy and the former adhering to communism . Albala wrote two reports informing
696-518: A city of some importance in early sacred Hebrew writing. Possibly the redactor of the Apocryphon of Genesis wanted to dissociate Melchizedek from the area of Shechem, which at the time was in possession of the Samaritans . However that may be, later Rabbinic sources also equate Salem with Jerusalem, mainly to link Melchizedek to later Temple traditions. Originally titled Bayt al-Maqdis, today, Jerusalem
812-666: A country the United States was not formally at war with. The Serbian government's lobbying efforts centred around two organizations, the Serbian National Defence and the Yugoslav Committee . The latter was intended to attract the support of Croats and Slovenes for the creation of a unified South Slavic state after the war. In January 1917, Serbia established a diplomatic legation in Washington, D.C. Shortly thereafter,
928-594: A heavy blow to the diplomatic efforts of Yugoslav officials in the United States. The Yugoslav government-in-exile approved a pension for Albala's widow and a stipend for his daughter. Albala's widow continued to work for the Yugoslav government-in-exile's propaganda section in New York City until May 1943. After the war, Albala's ashes were transferred to Belgrade. Albala is the grandfather of Misplaced Pages editor Rosie Stephenson-Goodknight . Jerusalem Jerusalem
1044-470: A sad thing for us to see any of our fellow citizens leave us to return to their promised land, but we shall console ourselves in the hope that they will stand as brethren and leave with us a good part of their hearts, and that they will be the strongest tie between free Israel and Serbia. Believe me, dear Captain Albala, Very sincerely yours, —Vesnitch Serbia thus became the first country to openly endorse
1160-521: Is a Palestinian Authority regional office and an electoral office located in the Dahiyat al Barid neighborhood. The Jerusalem City Council is a body of 31 elected members headed by the mayor, who serves a five-year term and appoints eight deputies. The former mayor of Jerusalem, Uri Lupolianski , was elected in 2003. In the November 2008 city elections, Nir Barkat was elected. In November 2018, Moshe Lion
1276-707: Is a city in the Southern Levant , on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea . It is one of the oldest cities in the world , and is considered holy to the three major Abrahamic religions — Judaism , Christianity , and Islam . Both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine claim Jerusalem as their capital city . Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there, and
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#17328876740971392-587: Is completely controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Al-Ram and Dahiyat al-Barid are mostly in Area B , where both Palestine and Israel has control. Other parts of Beit Hanina , Kafr Aqab and Arab al-Jahalin also falls under Area B. Jerusalem is situated on the southern spur of a plateau in the Judaean Mountains , which include the Mount of Olives (East) and Mount Scopus (North East). The elevation of
1508-454: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages David Albala David Albala (born David Kovu ; 1 September 1886 – 4 April 1942) was a Serbian military officer, physician, diplomat and Jewish community leader. In 1905, Albala enrolled at the University of Vienna to study medicine. He returned to Serbia following the outbreak of
1624-904: Is located in central Tel Aviv's HaKirya district) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (which is located in Rishon LeZion , in the wider Tel Aviv metropolitan area , near Beit Dagan ). Since its capture in 1967, the Israeli government has built 12 Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem , with a population amounting to 220,000 Israeli Jewish settlers as of 2019. The international community consider Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law . The Palestinian National Authority views East Jerusalem as occupied territory according to United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 . The Palestinian Authority claims Jerusalem, including
1740-514: Is most commonly known in Arabic as القُدس , transliterated as al-Quds and meaning "the holy" or "the holy sanctuary", cognate with Hebrew : הקדש , romanized : ha-qodesh . The name is possibly a shortened form of مدينة القُدس Madīnat al-Quds "city of the holy sanctuary" after the Hebrew nickname with the same meaning, Ir ha-Qodesh ( עיר הקדש ). The ق (Q) is pronounced either with
1856-667: Is the Valley of Hinnom , a steep ravine associated in biblical eschatology with the concept of Gehenna or Hell . The Tyropoeon Valley commenced in the northwest near the Damascus Gate , ran south-southeasterly through the centre of the Old City down to the Pool of Siloam , and divided the lower part into two hills, the Temple Mount to the east, and the rest of the city to the west, the lower and
1972-536: Is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina . The city was the first standard direction for Muslim prayers , and in Islamic tradition , Muhammad made his Night Journey there in 621, ascending to heaven where he spoke to God , per the Quran . As a result, despite having an area of only 0.9 km ( 3 ⁄ 8 sq mi), the Old City is home to many sites of seminal religious importance , among them
2088-647: The American embassy to Jerusalem, reversing decades of United States policy on the issue. The move was criticized by many nations. A resolution condemning the US decision was supported by all the 14 other members of the UN Security Council, but was vetoed by the US on 18 December 2017. A subsequent resolution condemning the US decision was passed in the United Nations General Assembly . On 14 May 2018,
2204-608: The Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, until it became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1517. In the modern period, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Israel captured East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967, uniting the city under Israeli control. The status of Jerusalem remains a highly contentious issue, with both Israelis and Palestinians claiming it as their capital. Historiographically,
2320-621: The Balkan Wars in 1912 and enlisted in the Royal Serbian Army . In late 1915, Albala took part in the Royal Serbian Army's arduous winter retreat to the Greek island of Corfu , during which he contracted typhoid , and was subsequently evacuated to North Africa . Upon recovering, Albala returned to Corfu, where he proposed to Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pašić that he travel to United States to lobby on Serbia's behalf. Pašić agreed to
2436-629: The Canaanite period (14th century BCE), Jerusalem was named as Urusalim on ancient Egyptian tablets, probably meaning "City of Shalem " after a Canaanite deity . During the Israelite period, significant construction activity in Jerusalem began in the 10th century BCE (Iron Age II), and by the 9th century BCE, the city had developed into the religious and administrative center of the Kingdom of Judah . In 1538,
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#17328876740972552-828: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre . In 638 CE, Jerusalem was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate , and under early Islamic rule, the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque were built, solidifying its religious importance in Islam. During the Crusades , Jerusalem changed hands multiple times, being captured by the Crusaders in 1099 and recaptured by Saladin in 1187. It remained under Islamic control through
2668-513: The First Belgrade Gymnasium . Albala's wife, Paulina , who wrote her husband's biography, stated: "These schools provided David and his generation with something more than just knowledge: this was the unique and intensive feeling of patriotism, a special love for Belgrade, and the ideals Belgrade stood for." In 1903, Albala founded Gideon , Belgrade' first Jewish youth association. Albala was an ambitious student who aspired to enroll in
2784-587: The General Assembly of the United Nations in 1947, Jerusalem was envisaged to become a corpus separatum administered by the United Nations. In the war of 1948, the western part of the city was occupied by forces of the nascent state of Israel, while the eastern part was occupied by Jordan. The international community largely considers the legal status of Jerusalem to derive from the partition plan, and correspondingly refuses to recognize Israeli sovereignty over
2900-520: The Haram al-Sharif , as the capital of the State of Palestine, The PLO claims that West Jerusalem is also subject to permanent status negotiations. However, it has stated that it would be willing to consider alternative solutions, such as making Jerusalem an open city . The PLO's position is that East Jerusalem, as defined by the pre-1967 municipal boundaries , shall be the capital of Palestine and West Jerusalem
3016-587: The Holy Land for the first and only time to attend the dedication of a memorial forest in Jerusalem planted in honour of Yugoslavia's King Alexander , who had been assassinated the previous year. As the 1930s progressed, Albala became increasingly concerned about the precarious position of Jews in Central and Eastern Europe , but his concerns were ignored by many other prominent Yugoslav Jews. In 1939, Albala departed for
3132-500: The Israeli government — legislative , judicial , and executive —have resided there, except for the Ministry of Defense , which is located at HaKirya in Tel Aviv . At the time of Ben Gurion's proclamations and the ensuing Knesset vote of 24 January 1950, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan, and thus the proclamation only applied to West Jerusalem. In July 1980, Israel passed
3248-772: The Jerusalem District town of Mevaseret Zion ( Bolivia and Paraguay ). There are a number of consulates-general located in Jerusalem, which work primarily either with Israel, or the Palestinian authorities. In 1995, the United States Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act , which required, subject to conditions, that its embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On 6 December 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and announced his intention to move
3364-659: The Jerusalem Law as Basic Law . The law declared Jerusalem the "complete and united" capital of Israel. The Jerusalem Law was condemned by the international community, which did not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 478 on 20 August 1980, which declared that the Jerusalem Law is "a violation of international law" , is "null and void and must be rescinded forthwith" . Member states were called upon to withdraw their diplomatic representation from Jerusalem. Following
3480-819: The Jewish people . The sobriquet of holy city (Hebrew: עיר הקודש , romanized: 'Ir ha-Qodesh ) was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity , conserved in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible , which Christians adopted as the Old Testament , was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection there. Meanwhile, in Islam , Jerusalem
3596-683: The Jewish-Roman Wars , which culminated in the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The city was renamed Aelia Capitolina and rebuilt as a Roman colony after the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE), with Jews banned from entering the city. Jerusalem gained significance during the Byzantine Empire as a center of Christianity , particularly after Constantine the Great endorsed the construction of
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3712-672: The Jordanian waqf , under the Jordanian Ministry of Religious Endowments. In 1988, Israel ordered the closure of Orient House , home of the Arab Studies Society, but also the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization , for security reasons. The building reopened in 1992 as a Palestinian guesthouse. The Oslo Accords stated that the final status of Jerusalem would be determined by negotiations with
3828-415: The Kiryat HaMemshala (government complex) in the Givat Ram neighbourhood. Some government buildings are located in Kiryat Menachem Begin . The city is home to the Knesset, the Supreme Court , the Bank of Israel , the National Headquarters of the Israel Police , the official residences of the President and Prime Minister , the Cabinet , and all ministries except for the Ministry of Defense (which
3944-402: The Late Bronze Age , Jerusalem became a vassal of Ancient Egypt , as documented in the Amarna letters . The city's importance grew during the Israelite period , which began around 1000 BCE when King David captured Jerusalem and made it the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel . David's son, Solomon , built the First Temple , establishing the city as a major religious center. Following
4060-534: The Palestinian Authority . The accords banned any official Palestinian presence in the city until a final peace agreement, but provided for the opening of a Palestinian trade office in East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority regards East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. President Mahmoud Abbas has said that any agreement that did not include East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine would be unacceptable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has similarly stated that Jerusalem would remain
4176-408: The Parliament of the United Kingdom adopted the Balfour Declaration , which called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Albala immediately drew the attention of the Royal Serbian Government to the document's significance and recommended that it consider officially endorsing it. On 17 December 1917, Vesnić sent a letter to Albala expressing the Royal Serbian Government's support for
4292-449: The Second Temple period . Jerusalem fell under Hellenistic rule after the conquests of Alexander the Great in 332 BCE, leading to increasing cultural and political influence from Greece . The Hasmonean revolt in 164 BCE briefly restored Jewish autonomy, with Jerusalem as the capital of an independent state. In 63 BCE, Jerusalem was conquered by Pompey and became part of the Roman Empire . The city remained under Roman control until
4408-409: The Supreme Court . The international community rejects the annexation as illegal and regards East Jerusalem as Palestinian territory occupied by Israel . The name "Jerusalem" is variously etymologized to mean "foundation (Semitic yry' 'to found, to lay a cornerstone') of the pagan god Shalem "; the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. Shalim or Shalem
4524-473: The Temple Mount with its Western Wall , Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque , and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre . At present, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict . During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , West Jerusalem was among the areas incorporated into Israel, while East Jerusalem , including the Old City, was occupied and annexed by Jordan . Israel occupied East Jerusalem from Jordan during
4640-543: The University of Vienna . He received a scholarship from Potpora , a Jewish benevolent society headquartered in Belgrade. Further financial support was provided by several prominent members of Belgrade's Jewish community. In 1905, Albala enrolled in the University of Vienna's Faculty of Medicine . The University of Vienna facilitated contact and cultural exchange between Sephardim from the Balkans and Ashkenazim from Central Europe . While studying medicine, Albala first became introduced to Zionism . He subsequently joined
4756-441: The city walls were rebuilt for a last time around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottoman Empire . Today those walls define the Old City , which since the 19th century has been divided into four quarters – the Armenian , Christian , Jewish , and Muslim quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger . Since 1860, Jerusalem has grown far beyond
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4872-454: The dual , thus leading to the suggestion that the name Yerushalayim refers to the fact that the city initially sat on two hills. The Execration Texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (c. 19th century BCE), which refer to a city called rwšꜣlmm or ꜣwšꜣmm , variously transcribed as Rušalimum , or Urušalimum , may indicate Jerusalem. Alternatively, the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba (1330s BCE), which reference an Úrušalim , may be
4988-491: The polis would be similar to Hierolophos . The city was renamed Aelia Capitolina for part of the Roman period of its history. The Aramaic Apocryphon of Genesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 22:13) equates Jerusalem with the earlier "Salem" (שלם), said to be the kingdom of Melchizedek in Genesis 14. Other early Hebrew sources, early Christian renderings of the verse and targumim , however, put Salem in Northern Israel near Shechem (Sichem), now Nablus ,
5104-415: The 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into the city's municipality, together with additional surrounding territory. One of Israel's Basic Laws , the 1980 Jerusalem Law , refers to Jerusalem as the country's undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israel's parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister and President , and
5220-402: The Balfour Declaration. Unlike the Balfour Declaration, which called for the establishment of a Jewish "national home" in Palestine, Vesnić's letter unambiguously called for the establishment of a state that would become an integral member of the international community, as demonstrated by the use of the term "free Israel" in its latter half. Vesnić's letter also marked the first time that Israel
5336-430: The Balkan Jewish students association of Bar Giora , and later became its president. He graduated from the University of Vienna in 1910. Upon his return to Serbia, Albala was conscripted into the Royal Serbian Army . During this time, he found himself attending synagogue less often. Asked by his adopted father about this change, Albala asserted, "But I am a devoted Zionist." The father replied, "Ah, my son, one must be
5452-495: The Bible, named Jebus . Called the "Fortress of Zion" ( metsudat Zion ), it was renamed as the "City of David", and was known by this name in antiquity. Another name, " Zion ", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole, and afterwards to represent the whole biblical Land of Israel . In Greek and Latin, the city's name was transliterated Hierosolyma/Hierosoluma (Greek: Ἱεροσόλυμα; in Greek hieròs , ἱερός , means holy), and
5568-458: The English-speaking nurses. Upon recovery, he returned to Corfu, where Serbia had established its government-in-exile. As a consequence of the Russian Revolution , the Russian Empire – one of Serbia's principal allies – was no longer able to offer its support. Worsening matters further, the other Allied countries were hesitant to provide further aid to the Royal Serbian Army on the Salonika front . The Royal Serbian Government decided to turn to
5684-419: The God of Jerusalem". An earlier example of the name appears in a papyrus from the 7th century BCE. In extra-biblical inscriptions, the earliest known example of the -ayim ending was discovered on a column about 3 km west of ancient Jerusalem, dated to the first century BCE. An ancient settlement of Jerusalem, founded as early as the Bronze Age on the hill above the Gihon Spring , was, according to
5800-490: The Jerusalem landscape. Water supply has always been a major problem in Jerusalem, as attested to by the intricate network of ancient aqueducts , tunnels, pools and cisterns found in the city. Jerusalem is 60 km (37 mi) east of Tel Aviv and the Mediterranean Sea . On the opposite side of the city, approximately 35 km (22 mi) away, is the Dead Sea , the lowest body of water on Earth. Neighbouring cities and towns include Bethlehem and Beit Jala to
5916-410: The Jewish Sephardic Religious Community . Albala wrote and published articles in various journals, both Jewish and non-Jewish, and even wrote two plays. Albala also served as the vice-president of the Federation of Jewish Religious Communities of Yugoslavia. In 1930, Albala published an article titled Why the Jews Love Yugoslavia in the publication Jevrejski glas (Jewish Voice), in which he repeated
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#17328876740976032-491: The Jews living there. In late 1915 and early 1916, Albala took part in the Royal Serbian Army's winter retreat to Corfu across the mountains of Albania. During the retreat, Albala contracted typhoid , and was evacuated together with other ailing soldiers to the Greek port of Volos , and then to the town of Bizerte , in French Tunisia . He was later transferred to a hospital in Cairo , where he perfected his English-language skills by conversing with his fellow patients and
6148-447: The Muslim Quarter of the Old City in order to expand the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem, while some Islamic leaders have made claims that Jews have no historical connection to Jerusalem, alleging that the 2,500-year-old Western Wall was constructed as part of a mosque. Palestinians regard Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine , and the city's borders have been the subject of bilateral talks. A team of experts assembled by
6264-447: The NDH, as well as a letter to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt warning him of the dangers of an Axis victory in Europe. Albala also sent letters to Jewish representatives in Switzerland, requesting that they send aid to the Jews in the NDH. Albala worked so closely with the Yugoslav embassy in Washington, the scholar Krinka Vidaković-Petrov writes, that he was practically a member of the embassy staff. Albala concerned himself with
6380-402: The Old City is approximately 760 m (2,490 ft). The whole of Jerusalem is surrounded by valleys and dry riverbeds ( wadis ). The Kidron , Hinnom , and Tyropoeon Valleys intersect in an area just south of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Kidron Valley runs to the east of the Old City and separates the Mount of Olives from the city proper. Along the southern side of old Jerusalem
6496-432: The Old City's boundaries. In 2022, Jerusalem had a population of some 971,800 residents, of which almost 60% were Jews and almost 40% Palestinians. In 2020, the population was 951,100, of which Jews comprised 570,100 (59.9%), Muslims 353,800 (37.2%), Christians 16,300 (1.7%), and 10,800 unclassified (1.1%). According to the Hebrew Bible , King David conquered the city from the Jebusites and established it as
6612-402: The Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 58/292 affirmed that the Palestinian people have the right to sovereignty over East Jerusalem. Government offices are located outside the Israeli municipal limits include the Palestinian Security Services , Force 17 , the Preventative Security Service and the Ministry of Interior . There
6728-406: The Romanian towns of Craiova and Drobeta-Turnu Severin before relocating to Serbia and settling in its capital Belgrade prior to David's birth. The family was relatively impoverished. Following the deaths of both of their parents, the Kovu children were placed in the care of seven different families. Two of Albala's brothers were adopted by families in the United States. At the age of five, David
6844-411: The Serbian War Mission was established, headed by Milenko Vesnić . At Corfu, Albala approached the Prime Minister of Serbia , Nikola Pašić , with a proposal to visit the United States and lobby Jewish Americans on the Serbian government's behalf; Pašić accepted Albala's proposal. In July 1917, Albala left Corfu, and after brief stopovers in Rome and Paris , reached London in September. He arrived in
6960-446: The State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power. Neither claim is widely recognized internationally . Throughout its long history , Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times , captured and recaptured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. The part of Jerusalem called the City of David shows first signs of settlement in the 4th millennium BCE, in the shape of encampments of nomadic shepherds. During
7076-400: The Union of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian : Savez jevrejskih vjeroispovjednih općina Jugoslavije ; SJVOJ), Albala met with Prime Minister Milan Stojadinović , and complained to him about the rising level of anti-Semitism in the Yugoslav press. According to Albala, Stojadinović "expressed his clear disapproval" of anti-Semitism and stated that he would take steps to address
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#17328876740977192-437: The United States officially opened its embassy in Jerusalem , transforming its Tel Aviv location into a consulate. Due to the general lack of international recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, some non-Israeli media outlets use Tel Aviv as a metonym for Israel. In April 2017, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced it viewed Western Jerusalem as Israel's capital in the context of UN-approved principles which include
7308-550: The United States on 26 September 1917. Albala's tour of the United States was financed by several Jewish organizations. He formed relationships with several prominent members of the Jewish American community, among them Louis Brandeis , an associate Supreme Court justice, as well as Felix Frankfurter , one of president Woodrow Wilson 's closest advisors. These connections gave Albala access to several senior Wilson administration officials, such as Secretary of State Robert Lansing and his counselor Frank Polk . In November 1917,
7424-459: The United States on another mission to raise funds and lobby American officials on Yugoslavia's behalf. He died of a brain aneurysm in Washington, D.C. , in 1942, never having returned to Yugoslavia, which had in the interim been invaded , occupied and partitioned by the Axis powers . David Kovu was born in Belgrade , Serbia on 1 September 1886. He was one of seven children born to Avram Kovu and Lea Malamed, Sephardic Jews who had lived in
7540-476: The United States, Albala found that the majority of Americans favoured isolationism , a stance which made the task of lobbying on Yugoslavia's behalf all the more difficult. Moreover, most Americans that Albala spoke with, as well as many American Jews, failed to grasp the severity of the situation in Europe and the extent of the unfolding Holocaust. On 6 April 1941, Germany, Italy and Hungary invaded Yugoslavia. The country quickly capitulated and its royal family
7656-453: The United States, a neutral country at the time, for financial assistance. A mission headed by Bishop Nikolaj Velimirović two years earlier to garner support for the Serbian war effort had been unsuccessful. The Royal Serbian Army needed to replenish its depleted ranks, but for much of the war, it was illegal for Serbian representatives to recruit volunteers on American soil because most Serbian Americans were still subjects of Austria-Hungary,
7772-449: The Yugoslav government-in-exile about the extermination of Jews in the NDH. The first was dated 18 October 1941 and was based on the eyewitness testimony of Yugoslav Jews recently arrived in New York. On 10 November 1941, Albala wrote a second report, addressed to Subašić and Fotić, describing the extent of the Holocaust in Croatia. This report was based on the testimony of a Croatian Jew who was smuggled out of Europe by an unnamed gentile. It
7888-445: The Zionist idea. Albala subsequently toured the United States addressing Jewish communities and raising money for war bonds . After the head of the Serbian legation, Ljubomir Mihailović, failed to secure a loan from the United States, Albala appealed to Brandeis, who persuaded Wilson to approve a loan of $ 1 million ($ 15.7 million in 2024) to Serbia. Albala proposed forming a Jewish Brigade made up of Jewish American volunteers, on
8004-474: The bill sent "a clear, unequivocal political message that Jerusalem will not be divided", and that "all those within the Palestinian and international community who expect the current Israeli government to accept any demands regarding Israel's sovereignty over its capital are mistaken and misleading". The status of the city, and especially its holy places, remains a core issue in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Israeli government has approved building plans in
8120-456: The capital of Israel, with each state enjoying full sovereignty over its respective part of the city and with its own municipality. A joint development council would be responsible for coordinated development. Orient House in East Jerusalem served as the headquarters of the PLO in the 1980s and 1990s. It was closed by Israel in 2001, two days after the Sbarro restaurant suicide bombing . Some states, such as Russia and China , recognize
8236-446: The capital of the United Kingdom of Israel , and his son, King Solomon , commissioned the building of the First Temple . Modern scholars argue that Israelites branched out of the Canaanite peoples and culture through the development of a distinct monolatrous —and later monotheistic —religion centered on El / Yahweh . These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, assumed central symbolic importance for
8352-521: The city's history is often interpreted through the lens of competing national narratives. Israeli scholars emphasize the ancient Jewish connection to the city, while Palestinian narratives highlight the city's broader historical and multicultural significance. Both perspectives influence contemporary discussions of Jerusalem's status and future. From 1923 until 1948, Jerusalem served as the administrative capital of Mandatory Palestine . From 1949 until 1967, West Jerusalem served as Israel's capital, but
8468-570: The city. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel extended its jurisdiction and administration over East Jerusalem, establishing new municipal borders. In 2010, Israel approved legislation giving Jerusalem the highest national priority status in Israel. The law prioritized construction throughout the city, and offered grants and tax benefits to residents to make housing, infrastructure, education, employment, business, tourism, and cultural events more affordable. Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon said that
8584-471: The committee. When Albala's wife and daughter Jelena joined him in the United States, Albala's departure from the country became widely known. Albala thus sent Alkalay a letter of resignation, which was read aloud before the committee. In the letter, Albala expressed concern about the political climate in Europe, and warned the members of the committee, "you are sitting on a volcano." This line prompted laughter among
8700-582: The district's capital. 37% of the population is Palestinian, but in 2014 not more than 10% of tax revenues were allocated for them. In East Jerusalem, 52% of the land was excluded from development, 35% designated for Jewish settlements, and 13% for Palestinian use, almost all of which was already built upon. In Oslo I Accord , certain parts of few neighborhoods were allotted to the Palestinian Authority . Parts of Sur Baher , Wadi al-Hummus, Umm Leisun and Umm Tuba , altogether came under Area A , which
8816-511: The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states: "I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem", or as other scholars suggest: "Yahweh is the God of the whole earth. The mountains of Judah belong to him, to
8932-452: The earliest mention of the city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua . According to a Midrash , the name is a combination of two names united by God, Yireh ("the abiding place", the name given by Abraham to the place where he planned to sacrifice his son ) and Shalem ("Place of Peace", the name given by high priest Shem ). One of
9048-643: The establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. The letter, written in English, was soon published in all major American newspapers, it read as follows: Dear Captain Albala, I learn that you have to attend on Saturday 19th ... a meeting of the Menorah, the great Cultural Society in this country of the Jewish youth. I wish you to express to your Jewish brothers on that occasion the sympathy of our Government and of our people for
9164-712: The immediate post-war period, Albala served as one of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes ' representatives at the Paris Peace Conference in Versailles . Following a dispute with Pašić and his People's Radical Party , Albala reoriented his focus towards civic activism. He served as the president of the Jewish Community of Belgrade , vice-president of the Council of Jewish Communities of Yugoslavia and president of Yugoslavia's Jewish National Fund . In 1935, he visited
9280-610: The invitation and his subsequent visit marked his first and only stay in the Holy Land . The Royal Yugoslav Government subsequently honoured Albala, as well as four other Yugoslav Jews, for their roles in the planting of the forest. By the mid-1930s, the political climate in Yugoslavia had changed, and anti-Semitism became more palpable. "It is difficult to be a Jew in Yugoslavia," Albala wrote in 1936, in stark contrast to his optimistic tone from several years earlier. "I wish many non-Jews could be Jews for only twenty-four hours and feel all
9396-550: The issue. Several weeks later, Albala was granted an audience with prince regent Paul , who was reported to have expressed sympathy with the Jewish people. Despite this, the Yugoslav government continued to relax its attitude towards the far-right, in accordance with Yugoslavia's policy of appeasing Germany in the lead-up to World War II. In May 1938, Albala held a meeting with Yugoslavia's Minister of Internal Affairs, Anton Korošec , who assured Albala that Yugoslavia would not implement German-style race laws targeting Jews. Albala
9512-403: The just endeavor of resuscitating their beloved country in Palestine, which will enable them to take their place in the future Society of Nations, according to their numerous capacities and to their unquestioned right. We are sure that this will not only be to their own interest, but at the same time to that of the whole of humanity. You know, dear Captain Albala, that there is no other nation in
9628-666: The kingdom's split, Jerusalem became the capital of the Kingdom of Judah until it was captured by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE. The Babylonians destroyed the First Temple, leading to the Babylonian exile of the Jewish population. After the Persian conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE, Cyrus the Great allowed the Jews to return and rebuild the city and its temple, marking the start of
9744-552: The majority of its seats. The headquarters of the Jerusalem Municipality and the mayor's office are at Safra Square ( Kikar Safra ) on Jaffa Road . The municipal complex, comprising two modern buildings and ten renovated historic buildings surrounding a large plaza, opened in 1993 when it moved from the old town hall building built by the Mandate authorities . The city falls under the Jerusalem District , with Jerusalem as
9860-608: The meeting, Cvetković expressed sympathy for the plight of the Jewish people and told the SJVOJ representatives that they had no reason to be concerned. At the Seventh Congress of the SJVOJ, held between 23 and 24 April 1939, Albala delivered a speech in which he extolled the nascent Jewish community in Mandatory Palestine as a refuge for the Jewish people. Prince Paul believed the only way to counter German pressure on Yugoslavia
9976-674: The members, who viewed Yugoslavia as a bastion of stability. Albala soon learned that neither the American nor British governments viewed the concept of a Bulgarian–Yugoslav federation as a realistic or viable solution. During his stay in Washington, Albala worked closely with the Yugoslav ambassador to the United States, Konstantin Fotić . Between 1 February 1940 and 8 February 1941, Albala sent twelve reports to Prince Paul and Yugoslavia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In stark contrast to his first mission to
10092-518: The model of the British Army's Jewish Legion , to take part in combat operations in Palestine. The brigade was eventually formed in March 1918, in a ceremonial parade, the 1st Jewish Brigade was led by US Major Weiss and David Albala down New York's Fifth Avenue, before setting out for Palestine. It is also stated that Albala stood in the United States until November 1918. On his return to Serbia, Albala
10208-408: The phrase "we love it" eleven times. "We love it because its joy is our joy," Albala wrote, "its pain is our pain, its enemies are our enemies, its desires are our desires." Following the assassination of King Alexander of Yugoslavia in October 1934, the Jewish community of Mandatory Palestine planted a forest in his memory. In 1935, Albala was invited to attend its opening ceremony. Albala accepted
10324-568: The post-war period, Albala was demobilized and assigned as a physician in the town of Monastir (modern-day Bitola , North Macedonia ). His superiors quickly took note of his charisma and affinity for language. In November 1913, Albala and the chief rabbi of Belgrade, Isak Alkalaj, were enlisted by the Royal Serbian Government to travel through the territories recently wrested from the Ottoman Empire and deliver pro-Serbian speeches to
10440-568: The proposal and Albala embarked on a tour of the United States giving speeches, raising bonds and soliciting loans. On 27 December 1917, the head of the Serbian delegation to the United States, Milenko Vesnić , sent Albala a letter in which he affirmed Serbia's support for the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine . Serbia thus became the first country to endorse the Balfour Declaration . In
10556-524: The province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Albala . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albala&oldid=1156723269 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
10672-683: The public regarded it as a divided city. A poll conducted by Palestinian Centre for Public Opinion and American Pechter Middle East Polls for the Council on Foreign Relations, among East Jerusalem Arab residents in 2011 revealed that 39% of East Jerusalem Arab residents would prefer Israeli citizenship contrary to 31% who opted for Palestinian citizenship. According to the poll, 40% of Palestinian residents would prefer to leave their neighbourhoods if they would be placed under Palestinian rule. On 5 December 1949, Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion , proclaimed Jerusalem as Israel's "eternal" and "sacred" capital, and eight days later specified that only
10788-491: The resolution, 22 of the 24 countries that previously had their embassy in (West) Jerusalem relocated them in Tel Aviv, where many embassies already resided prior to Resolution 478. Costa Rica and El Salvador followed in 2006. There are five embassies—United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Papua-New Guinea and Kosovo —and two consulates located within the city limits of Jerusalem, and two Latin American states maintain embassies in
10904-455: The status of East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. On 15 December 2018, Australia officially recognized West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but said their embassy in Tel Aviv would stay until a two-state resolution was settled. The decision was reversed in October 2022. The Kiryat HaLeom (national precinct) project is intended to house most government agencies and national cultural institutions. They are located in
11020-514: The then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000 concluded that the city must be divided, since Israel had failed to achieve any of its national aims there. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in 2014 that "Jerusalem will never be divided". A poll conducted in June 2013 found that 74% of Israeli Jews reject the idea of a Palestinian capital in any portion of Jerusalem, though 72% of
11136-522: The town, and its Jerusalem Affairs Offices are all located in Abu Dis. While the international community regards East Jerusalem, including the entire Old City, as part of the occupied Palestinian territories , neither part, West or East Jerusalem, is recognized as part of the territory of Israel or the State of Palestine . Under the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine adopted by
11252-473: The tragedy of our position, feel what it is like when people turn their heads and eyes from a Jew, when conversation dies down as soon as a person discovers that he is talking to a Jew." In 1936, Albala became the first chairman of Bratstvo , a debating circle which attracted dozens of young Jewish intellectuals to discuss matters of interest to the Jewish community. Several days after the Sixth Congress of
11368-510: The treatment of Yugoslav prisoners of war in Germany and drafted lists of supplies that could be sent to them through the Red Cross . In a letter dated 17 November 1941, Albala advised Paulina's family, who had fled to Italian-occupied Split , to instead relocate to Rome , which Albala considered a safer alternative. Albala died in Washington, D.C. of a sudden brain aneurysm on 4 April 1942. He
11484-486: The undivided capital of Israel. Due to its proximity to the city, especially the Temple Mount, Abu Dis , a Palestinian suburb of Jerusalem, has been proposed as the future capital of a Palestinian state by Israel. Israel has not incorporated Abu Dis within its security wall around Jerusalem. The Palestinian Authority has built a possible future parliament building for the Palestinian Legislative Council in
11600-413: The upper cities described by Josephus . Today, this valley is hidden by debris that has accumulated over the centuries. In biblical times, Jerusalem was surrounded by forests of almond, olive and pine trees. Over centuries of warfare and neglect, these forests were destroyed. Farmers in the Jerusalem region built stone terraces along the slopes to hold back the soil, a feature still very much in evidence in
11716-507: The war had "compelled" the Israeli leadership "to establish the seat of Government in Tel Aviv", while "for the State of Israel there has always been and always will be one capital only – Jerusalem the Eternal", and that after the war, efforts had been ongoing for creating the conditions for "the Knesset... returning to Jerusalem." This indeed took place, and since the beginning of 1950 all branches of
11832-406: The world sympathizing with this plan more than Serbia. Do we not shed bitter tears on the rivers of Babylon in sight of our beloved land, lost only a short time ago? How should we not participate in your clamors and sorrows, lasting ages and generations, especially when our countrymen of your origin and religion have fought for their Serbian fatherland as well as the best of our soldiers? It will be
11948-459: Was adopted by his maternal aunt and her husband Isak Albala, whose surname he assumed. Isak traced his heritage to a noble family in first-century Judea . One of his distant ancestors was the 12th-century Spanish Jewish astronomer Abraham ibn Daud . Albala and his adopted family lived in Belgrade's Jewish quarter , Dorćol . Albala completed his primary education in Belgrade. He later attended
12064-573: Was asked by Pašić to attend the Paris Peace Conference as an observer and expert on Jewish matters. In the immediate post-war period, Albala was briefly associated with Pašić's People's Radical Party , but soon withdrew from the political scene altogether to focus on his medical career and civic activism. Albala became prominent in the Belgrade Jewish Nationalist Society and in the Yugoslav Zionist Federation. He
12180-516: Was by uniting with Bulgaria. In 1939, Prince Paul dispatched Albala on another public relations and fundraising trip to the United States. Since this was a confidential mission, Albala left Yugoslavia without informing Alkalay or the other members of the committee. He arrived in New York on 23 December 1939. Albala sent Alkalay a letter explaining that he had departed for the United States and requesting that Alkalay devise an excuse for his absence before
12296-596: Was cremated on 6 April 1942, on the anniversary of the German bombing of Belgrade and the beginning of the Axis aggression on Yugoslavia; the ceremony took place in the presence of members of the Yugoslav embassy as well as representatives of Jewish organizations in Washington. A condolence letter written by Sumner Welles , the United States Under Secretary of State , was received by Fotić on 25 April. Albala's death dealt
12412-538: Was elected mayor. Apart from the mayor and his deputies, City Council members receive no salaries and work on a voluntary basis. The longest-serving Jerusalem mayor was Teddy Kollek , who spent 28 years—six consecutive terms—in office. Most of the meetings of the Jerusalem City Council are private, but each month, it holds a session that is open to the public. Within the city council, religious political parties form an especially powerful faction, accounting for
12528-478: Was forced to flee together with its government. It was subsequently occupied and divided into several puppet states. Serbia was placed under direct German military occupation, whereas most of the country's west became part of the Independent State of Croatia ( Croatian : Nezavisna Država Hrvatska ; NDH), an Italo–German puppet state led by Ante Pavelić and the fascist Ustaše movement. The NDH soon launched
12644-462: Was mentioned in any official government document as the name of the future Jewish state. Albala himself considered Vesnić's letter to be the ultimate goal of his political work, both Serbian and Jewish; with its publication, he achieved three successes: he won American public opinion by exposing Serbia as tolerant, broad-minded and democratic, he received expressions of sympathy from Serbia for Jews, as well as for Serbian Jews, and he received support for
12760-471: Was not recognized as such internationally because UN General Assembly Resolution 194 envisaged Jerusalem as an international city . As a result of the Six-Day War in 1967, the whole of Jerusalem came under Israeli control . On 27 June 1967, the government of Levi Eshkol extended Israeli law and jurisdiction to East Jerusalem, but agreed that administration of the Temple Mount compound would be maintained by
12876-690: Was one of the first reports documenting the atrocities committed by the Ustaše at Jasenovac . Around the same time, Albala sent letters to representatives of the Roman Catholic Church imploring Pope Pius XII to demand an end to the extermination of Jews in the NDH. Albala also sent letters to the World Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Congress keeping them informed of the situation in
12992-462: Was said to have died of a "broken heart" upon hearing of the extent of the destruction inflicted on Yugoslavia's Jewish communities during the Holocaust . His death spawned rumours that he had been poisoned. On 5 April, Fotić sent a telegram to London informing the Yugoslav government-in-exile of Albala's death and requesting that it wire the money required to cover his funeral expenses. Albala's body
13108-630: Was the founder or co-founder of several Jewish organizations, among them the Jewish National Fund of Yugoslavia, where he served as a long-time president, the Yugoslav branch of Keren Hayesod , the Jewish Reading Room, and the theatrical association Max Nordau. He founded and co-founded several Jewish periodicals, which he edited or co-edited: The Jewish News-Letter , The Review of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities and The Newsletter of
13224-483: Was the last president of the Belgrade Sephardic community before World War II. In February 1939, a SJVOJ delegation consisting of Albala, Fridrih Pops and Šime Spitzer held a meeting with Prime Minister Dragiša Cvetković , who had recently provoked unease in the Jewish community by remarking that Yugoslavia would not implement laws targeting Jews "as long as the Jews continue to provide proof of their loyalty." At
13340-484: Was the name of the god of dusk in the Canaanite religion , whose name is based on the same root S-L-M from which the Hebrew word for "peace" is derived ( Shalom in Hebrew , cognate with Arabic Salam ). The name thus offered itself to etymologizations such as "The City of Peace", "Abode of Peace", "Dwelling of Peace" ("founded in safety"), or "Vision of Peace" in some Christian authors. The ending -ayim indicates
13456-466: Was the term used by Matthew and Mark in their gospels instead of the Hebrew term. Up until the 2010's the consensus among historians was that following Alexander the Great 's conquest, Hierosoluma was set to be incorporated into the larger temple cities of the Seleucid kingdom , and to be Hellenized as Hierapolis. However, modern historians dispute this as a proper Ancient Greek translation for
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