Jerusalem

This story from the Talmud forgets that God gave to Jerusalem nine out of the ten parts of the world’s hatred and irreconcilability. And so, like an eternal curse, suffering and sorrow weigh heavily on this legendary city, a city that has contributed more than any other to the spiritual history of salvation.  Believers from all three monotheistic religions view Jerusalem as the place that God blessed in particular: Jerusalem was the destination for peaceful pilgrims as well as warmongering soldiers and armies that campaigned against the city and besieged it over forty times, set it on fire, plundered it and laid it to waste.  Everyone lays claim to holy Jerusalem and defends themselves mightily against the claims of other believers and other gods.

An early interpretation of the name of Jerusalem is the translations of its Hebraic appellation as the city of two peaces, a clear allusion to the heavenly as well as earthly peace – the former promised and proclaimed by the prophets, the latter strived for by the rulers of all times.

During the course of the evening, Jewish, Christian and Muslim musicians present the history of the Holy City.  Using texts and musical extracts, they tell of the people who shaped its history – the dreams and nightmares of those who lived here, their hopes and fears – extracts from Jewish, Christian and Muslim writings from a time long gone to the present day, in which Jerusalem appears as a city that hopes one day to conjoin the two peaces of its name.