The Mount of Olives (Har HaZeitim) is the oldest and most significant Jewish cemetery in the world, holding over 3,000 years of continuous Jewish history and deep religious significance. For the Jewish people, the mount is not only an active burial site dating back to the biblical era of King David, but it also represents the core of Jewish eschatological hope, where resurrection is prophesied to begin. The main actors involved in this topic include the State of Israel, the Jerusalem Municipality, Jewish families worldwide whose ancestors are buried there, and various hostile political actors who have historically desecrated or sought to delegitimize Jewish claims to the site. From a public diplomacy (hasbara) perspective, this category is critically important because it highlights the undeniable, millennia-old physical connection of Jews to Jerusalem, exposes the historical pattern of cultural erasure under Arab/Jordanian rule, and demonstrates Israel's ongoing commitment to safeguarding freedom of religion and preserving sacred heritage for all faiths in its capital.
Historical and Religious Legacy of the Mount of Olives
Burial on the Mount of Olives began during the First Temple period, approximately 1,000 BCE, when King David established Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish kingdom. The eastern ridge evolved into a vast necropolis where generations of prophets, rabbis, leaders, and ordinary Jews chose to be buried. Beyond its funerary role, the Mount of Olives holds paramount theological weight; according to the Prophet Zechariah, the Mount of Olives is the site where the Divine Presence will appear on the Day of Judgment, and the dead will be resurrected. This continuous connection was violently severed in 1948 during Israel's War of Independence when Jordan captured eastern Jerusalem, including the Old City and the Mount of Olives. Under Jordanian occupation from 1948 to 1967, and in direct violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreement that promised free access to holy sites, Jewish access to the cemetery was completely barred. During this nineteen-year period, a systematic and state-sanctioned desecration occurred: roads were paved directly through the cemetery, gravestones were shattered and repurposed to build Jordanian military camps, latrines, and pathways, and tens of thousands of graves were destroyed. Following the reunification of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel took immediate steps to halt the destruction, initiate extensive archaeological and structural restoration, and restore the cemetery to its sacred role.
Key Issues in Preservation and Security
- Historical Erasure and Desecration: Documenting and addressing the legacy of the Jordanian occupation (1948–1967), during which an estimated 38,000 tombstones were damaged or pulverized, illustrating the tragic consequences of non-Jewish control over Jewish holy sites.
- Ongoing Security and Vandalism: Countering modern attempts by hostile actors to vandalize Jewish graves, stone Jewish mourners, or spray-paint nationalistic graffiti, requiring continuous Israeli police vigilance and state-of-the-art surveillance.
- Physical Restoration and Digital Mapping: Facilitating the massive, ongoing undertaking by Israel and international committees to physically restore shattered graves, reconstruct historical retaining walls, and digitally map all active and historical burial sites.
- Geopolitical Legitimacy and Sovereign Protection: Demonstrating that Israeli sovereignty over united Jerusalem is the only viable mechanism for guaranteeing religious freedom, maintaining open access for global visitors, and preventing the site's politicization.
Israel's Official Position and Protection Efforts
The State of Israel maintains that the Mount of Olives is an irreplaceable monument of Jewish history and a sacred sanctuary that must be protected with absolute sovereignty. To this end, Israeli authorities have partnered with global initiatives like the International Committee for the Preservation of the Mount of Olives to fund extensive restoration, install hundreds of security cameras, and establish a permanent security presence to protect mourners and visitors. Israel's public diplomacy emphasizes that under Jewish administration, the holy sites of all religions are legally protected and open to the public, in stark contrast to the period of Jordanian occupation where Jewish sites were systematically destroyed. For further information on the historical division and the state of holy sites, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides official archives documenting the vandalism of the cemetery during the divided Jerusalem period. Furthermore, detailed research and historical timelines of the cemetery are maintained by the Jewish Virtual Library, which illustrates the profound physical and spiritual ties linking the Jewish people to this historic mount.
How to Engage and Advocate in Public Discourse
When discussing the Mount of Olives in public forums or on social media, the primary goal of advocates should be to center the conversation on historical facts, cultural heritage, and human rights. First, address the common misconception that Jerusalem has no historical Jewish majority or that Jewish ties to the land are recent fabrications; the existence of over 150,000 graves on the Mount of Olives, spanning three millennia, is irrefutable physical proof of the Jewish people's deep-rooted indigeneity to the land. Second, contrast the dark nineteen years of Jordanian control, which was characterized by systemic desecration and total denial of religious access, with the post-1967 era of Israeli administration, which is marked by rigorous preservation, security, and open access for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. Third, frame modern acts of vandalism on the cemetery not as legitimate political protest, but as unacceptable hate crimes and acts of cultural desecration that would be universally condemned if directed at any other religious group. By articulating these key talking points, advocates can successfully counter anti-Israel historical revisionism, highlight Israel's exemplary stewardship of holy sites, and reinforce the moral necessity of maintaining a unified Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty to secure religious liberty for future generations.