R317 Spring 2024 Jerusalem's Holy Sites: History and Controversy

R317  Jerusalem's Holy Sites: History and Controversy
Wednesdays, 11:50–1:15, May 1—May 15
Three sessions
Rose Gallery at Reston Community Center, Lake Anne
Instructor: Allan H. Goodman
This course will review the history of Jerusalem, emphasizing the origins of, and the competing rights to, the holy sites of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We will focus on the most controversial religious site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. This is the location of the Jewish Temples, the Western Wall, the Muslim Dome of the Rock, and the al–Aqsa Mosque. We will also discuss the complicated administration of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (where Jesus was crucified and buried) and the evolution of the Via Dolorosa (Jesus’ route to the crucifixion). Additional topics will include recent controversies concerning demolition under the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary by the Muslim Authority, the issue of who will control the archaeological excavations of the “City of David” in East Jerusalem, and the political/religious movement to rebuild the Jewish Temple.
Allan H. Goodman is a judge, mediator, arbitrator, and author of the novel Father, Son, Stone, a historical mystery that takes place in Israel. He is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the University of Toledo College of Law, and a member of the bars of Virginia, Maryland, and DC. He has also been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center.