Jerusalem in the American consciousness

For many years, only a few Jews lived in Jerusalem. But as the American newspapers reported, “Jerusalem would be revived only by the Jews.”

By DAVID GEFFEN
Two receipts for contributions by Rabbi Tuvia Geffen of Atlanta, January 1911: From Torat Chayim Yeshiva in Jerusalem’s Old City, founded in 1887. The document was written by a scribe (photo credit: COURTESY AVIE GEFFEN)
Two receipts for contributions by Rabbi Tuvia Geffen of Atlanta, January 1911: From Torat Chayim Yeshiva in Jerusalem’s Old City, founded in 1887. The document was written by a scribe
(photo credit: COURTESY AVIE GEFFEN)
T here is excitement in the air because on May 13 we celebrate the 51st anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six Day War. On May 14, the United States will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We have all waited for this dynamic act, ever since the State of Israel was declared on May 14, 1948.
Then, our capital city was labeled as international. President Donald Trump has changed all that.
BUT US links to Jerusalem have deep roots. American ambassadors to Palestine were here in the 19th century. Their reports deepened the relationship with the American people.
However, Americans were always cognizant of Jerusalem’s assets, even if they had not visited Jerusalem in person. The ties between America and the Holy Land can be witnessed throughout the last two centuries in the 10 towns and locales named Jerusalem in various American states.
After returning from trips to Palestine, Americans emphasized what they had witnessed in our eternal city. Americans traveled here, responded to the city’s spiritual meaning, and returned to the US to describe the city’s poignancy. The feelings about Jerusalem are so embedded that the US recognizing Jerusalem as our capital is a given; because Americans, in their hearts, have always believed that this is the way it should be.
An example of the geographical usage of the name of our city can be found in America’s smallest state, Rhode Island. Visiting in Rhode Island in the 1970s, I asked a native of the area – just on a lark, since the state had been founded by Roger Williams for settlers of every faith – if there was a Jerusalem in the vicinity.
“Have you seen the one in Narragansett?” he asked Very surprised, we sought to find it. In a local tourist office, our hopes were raised when the individual in charge told us that there was not just a Jerusalem but also a Galilee nearby.
In the 19th century, Narragansett fishermen decided that they wanted a biblical linkage for the area where they plied their trade. They felt that God’s blessings would follow from their choice of a name. Naturally, since this was a watery site like the Sea of Galilee, Galilee was the name chosen.
The story continues in an interesting fashion. In 1902 a fisherman from Nova Scotia, Canada, sailed into Narragansett Bay and shouted out,“Where am I?” A local fisherman replied: “You are in Galilee.”
The Canadian then pointed to another side of the bay, and asked, “What’s that?” Quickly, the answer came back. “If this side is Galilee, that must be Jerusalem.”
Since then, the name has been on the state map.
In an Illinois paper from 1890, I found that “Jerusalem oranges” were in great demand in Chicago and probably in other big cities in America. I am not exactly sure what “Jerusalem oranges” were, but they must have had a taste of the eternal.
In American newspapers, the editors used stories in which Jerusalem was included, because they knew it was a city in ruins which “only could be revived by the Jews.” In our prayer books, we have prayed daily for centuries for “a return to Jerusalem,” and so the Christians, the Evangelicals today, believe that Jerusalem has to be inhabited by the Jews, who arrive from all parts of the world.
In the Los Angeles Herald, on March 31, 1903, the headline read “Jerusalem shaken.” The dispatch continued, “An earthquake of unprecedented severity was experienced here this morning. The entire population was panic-stricken, but the damage done was slight. Hallelujah – Jerusalem was rescued.”
I have read many passages in newspapers, ranging from California to Georgia to Arizona to South Carolina, that carry reports of travelers to the Holy Land.
A Minister Robert Evans, whose African-American church was the largest and most influential black church in the city of Atlanta, was given a six-month sabbatical to travel to Europe and Palestine. On his return, his public lectures were advertised in the “Atlanta Georgian newspaper” in 1911 as being free to all attendees. One ad carried a picture of the minister standing next to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Interest in Jerusalem in the US was generated by the love of the Holy Land. Are Trump and his advisers aware of this American love for Jerusalem? I think so.
On April 8, 1873, the following story, headlined “Jerusalem by rail,” was carried around the world.
“A railroad to Jerusalem is likely to afford, at no distant date, a new illustration of modern progress.... Already, the projected railway from Jaffa to Jerusalem has sent plans to the minister of public works of Turkey, to the pope and to the chiefs of the Greek, Armenian and Jewish faiths, not only in the East but even at Paris and London, further informing them that 1,500 tickets for the journey from Jaffa to Jerusalem will annually and graciously be placed at their discretion for use of pilgrims.”
It seems that building a railroad between the two cities is difficult. After all the fanfare, this railroad came to life only in the 1890s. Although the fast train between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem has been taking a long time to complete, maybe it will be ready before 2020.
On May 27, 1899, the Daily Alta newspaper of San Francisco carried this joyous item. “Jerusalem is profoundly sacred to the Jews, and the Jews are beginning to be locally numerous and important.”
That an American “sanitarian,” Louis Cantor, cleared Jerusalem of mosquitoes was a formidable story carried all across America. “Jerusalem has been freed from the mosquito pest,” was reported in early April 1919.
AS MY wife and I approached Jerusalem in July 1963 for the first time, on the two-lane winding road, our hearts were pumping.
Jewish Jerusalem then was only half of the area of the city; Jordan had the other part. The division made it impossible for a Jew to pray at the Kotel. From afar we scoured the buildings with our eyes, merely imagining what the Kotel was like, based on old pictures we had seen, which portrayed that holy site.
How does one describe Jerusalem? King David founded the city millennia ago. Nations from all geographic locations have tried to make our city their city. For many years, only a few Jews lived in Jerusalem. But as the American newspapers reported, “Jerusalem would be revived only by the Jews.”
We should all recite the “ Sheheheyanu” blessing for the privilege of being in Jerusalem during these special days in the week ahead. Grasp them tightly, for they can infuse you with a special sense of Eretz Yisrael and Am Yisrael.