Jerusalem: Why The Land Is So Controversial

Jerusalem: Why The Land Is So Controversial

By Alexandra Miller

By Alexandra Miller
December 7, 2017

December 7, 2017

President Trump named Jerusalem the capital of Israel, but not every other country is on board. We look at why this city is so controversial.

SHOW TRANSCRIPT

This is really something presidents have contemplated closely for the last 20 years but shied away from for issues relating to safety and promoting peace — until today.

Get a deeper understanding of the stories that matter with Newsy's "The Why" — weekdays 7-9 p.m. ET.

TRENDING IN World NEWS

Berlin apartments

New Policy In Berlin Freezes Rent For The Next 5 Years

Venice Carnival 2020

Italy Cancels Venice Carnival To Stop Spread Of The Coronavirus

Houses are reduced to rubble after an earthquake hit villages in Baskale in Van province, Turkey, at the border with Iran

5.7 Magnitude Earthquake Kills At Least 9 People In Turkey

Prince Harry and Meghan

Harry And Meghan Will Drop 'Royal' Tag From Their New Brand

Taliban militants

Taliban, U.S. Begin Temporary Truce Seeking To End War In Afghanistan

Illustration of coronaviruses

U.S. Department of Defense

Coronavirus Fears Cause School Closures On U.S. Base In South Korea

Coronavirus screening in China

AP / Ng Han Guan

China's Coronavirus Battle Is Disrupting The Global Auto Industry

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales

Morales Blocked From Running For A Seat In Bolivia's Senate

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar Resigns

People in South Korea have their temperatures checked

Coronavirus Cases Almost Double In South Korea

Demonstrators protest pipeline construction

Jason Hargrove (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Canadian Police May Leave First Nations Lands After Weeks Of Protests

The Olympic rings

London Says It Could Host 2020 Olympics If Coronavirus Forces A Move

A wallaby in a scorched forest

Australia Opens Federal Inquiry Into Deadly Bushfire Season

Authorities investigate the scene of a shooting in Hanau, Germany

AP / Michael Probst

9 Killed In German Hookah Bar Shootings

Train derailment outside Melbourne, Australia

2 Dead In Train Derailment In Australia

The Diamond Princess cruise ship

2 Cruise Passengers Infected With The Coronavirus Have Died

Leaked Data Reveals China Detained Uighurs Due To Their Religion

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex

Harry And Meghan May Have To Stop Using The Word 'Royal' In Branding

A U.K. border officer checks a passport

U.K. To Close Its Borders To Unskilled Workers, Non-English Speakers

Front page of the Wall Street Journal

China Orders 3 Wall Street Journal Reporters To Leave The Country

U.S. Designates Five Chinese Media Outlets As Foreign Missions

The Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan

Quarantine Ends For Those Still Aboard Cruise Ship In Japan

A female protester holds sign at the entrance of the National Palace in Mexico City

AP / Ginnette Riquelme

Mexican Lawmakers Propose Tougher Sentences For Femicide

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Wins Reelection

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Court Sets Date For Netanyahu's Corruption Trial

Boris Johnson Aide Resigns Over Controversial Comments

Person conducts medical tests on airplane

Phil and Gay Courter

Americans Return To U.S. After Coronavirus Is Found On Cruise Ship

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

Iran's President Says Talks Are Possible If U.S. Rejoins Nuclear Deal

Woman checks her child for fever

Separating Fact From Fiction About The Coronavirus Outbreak

China May Postpone Annual Legislative Meeting Over Coronavirus

Vendors at North Korea-China border

Coronavirus Raises New Humanitarian Concerns Around North Korea

Operation Sophia ship

European Union

EU Ends Mission To Crack Down On Migrant Smuggling In Mediterranean

American passengers are driven to planes waiting to take them back to the U.S.

14 Americans Evacuated From Cruise Ship Test Positive For Coronavirus

The Westerdam cruise ship docked in Cambodia

Passenger Let Off Cruise Ship In Cambodia Diagnosed With Coronavirus

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hands with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani

AP / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds

CNN: U.S. Officials Reassure Afghanistan It Will Not 'Abandon Them'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukraine's President Disputes Trump's Assertion It's A Corrupt Country

Medical staff sterilize the main building of Jinyintan Hospital on January 22, 2020 in Wuhan, China.

New Research Shows COVID19 Spreads Easily In Hospitals

Matteo Salvini, leader of right-wing League Party, attends session in Italian Senate.

AP/Andrew Medichini

Italy Refuses Immunity For Right-Wing Leader Charged In Migrants Case

Congressman: White House Report On Soleimani 'Contradicts' President

Soldier in Afghanistan

U.S. Reportedly Reaches Truce With Taliban In Afghanistan

A Chinese man wears a mask

China's Coronavirus Cases Surge As Researchers Eye New Treatment

Crews construction a portion of the border wall

Trump Extends National Emergency Declaration For U.S.-Mexico Border

U.S. Wine Companies Fear 'Catastrophic' Impact Of New Tariffs

President Donald Trump

War Powers Resolution Passes Senate With Bipartisan Support

U.K. Treasury Chief Resigns As Boris Johnson Overhauls Cabinet

Sea ice in the Antarctic Peninsula region

Antarctica May Have Hit A Record High Temperature — Again

USS Cole after bombing.

AP/Dimitri Messinis

Sudan To Pay $30 Million To Families Of Victims In USS Cole Attack

Firefighters douse a bushfire in Bumbalong, Australia

Fire Officials Say All New South Wales Bushfires Contained

A Chinese man has his temperature checked amid a coronavirus outbreak

Coronavirus Cases Skyrocket After Changes In Diagnostic Methods

Nissan Sues Former Chairman Carlos Ghosn Over 'Corrupt' Actions

A person using Facebook

Facebook Removes 3 Networks Of Accounts Trying To Manipulate Users

U.S. troops in Afghanistan

U.S. Could Sign Peace Deal With The Taliban This Week

Lawyer Clair Gibbs speaks to the press about the high court's ruling

AP / Rod McGuirk

Australia's High Court Rules Aboriginal People Are Citizens

Pope Francis Rejects Proposal Allowing Married Men In Clergy

The Diamond Princess cruise ship sailing into a Japanese port

Coronavirus Cases On Quarantined Cruise Ship Jump To 174

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari

West African Countries To Explore Impacts Of Nigerian Border Closure

Child is treated for acute malnutrition in war-torn Yemen in 2018.

Getty Images/Andrew Renneisen

Report: U.S. Considering Suspending Humanitarian Aid To War-Torn Yemen

A rally at Azadi (Freedom) Square celebrating the 41st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution

Associated Press / Ebrahim Noroozi

Iranian President Denounces U.S. On Islamic Revolution Anniversary

People wear protective masks in China

Coronavirus Disease Gets An Official Name

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte

Philippines To Scrap Security Agreement With U.S.

A North Korean flag flies on a tower near the Demilitarized Zone

U.N. Report: N. Korea Continuing To Enhance Ballistic Missile Program

Omar al-Bashir sits in cage during corruption trial

Sudan To Hand Over Ex-President For War Crimes Trial

Study Finds Steep Decline In Some Antarctic Penguin Colonies

A man wears a protective mask on February 10, 2020 in Wuhan, China

Death Toll From The Coronavirus Climbs Above 1,000

Voter in Israel

Israel Election App Security Breach Exposes Voters' Information

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

CNN: Trump Doesn't Want To Meet With Kim Before Election

"Wanted" poster for hacking suspects

4 Chinese Military Members Charged In 2017 Equifax Data Breach

The Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in a Japanese port

Japan Might Screen Everyone On Board Quarantined Cruise Ship

Esperanza Station on the northernmost tip of the Antarctic Peninsula

ANDREW SHIVA / CC BY SA 4.0

Antarctica May Have Just Hit An All-Time Record High Temperature

A delivery man uses his phone in the empty streets of Central Business District on February 10, 2020 in Beijing, China.

Coronavirus Cases Continue To Rise As Extended Lunar New Year Ends

U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan

2 U.S. Service Members Killed In Afghanistan, 6 Wounded

Chinese authority screening citizens for coronavirus

Coronavirus Death Toll Exceeds That Of SARS Outbreak

Bullet hole in front of Thailand Mall

AP / Sakchai Lalit

Thai Soldier's Shooting Rampage Ends; Nearly 30 Dead, Including Gunman

A man wearing a mask in China

Coronavirus Outbreak Casts More Doubt On U.S.-China Trade Deal

Apple Fined $27 Million For Slowing Down Old iPhones

Remdesivir and Chloroquine are two drugs that could help the coronavirus fight

Gilead Sciences

Doctors Are Hopeful A Mix Of Old And New Drugs Could Treat Coronavirus

Syrian rebels drive toward government positions.

AP / Ghaith Alsayed

Turkey Sends More Reinforcements Into Syria Amid Idlib Offensive

Construction workers building a secondary border wall in Otay Mesa, Calif.

Getty Images/Sandy Huffaker

Report: Maintaining Border Wall May Balloon Its Costs Over Time

Al-Qaeda flag spray-painted on a wall.

White House Confirms Death Of Al-Qaeda Leader In Yemen

Diamond Princess cruise ship

More Than 60 People Test Positive For Coronavirus On Cruise Ship

Bill and Melinda Gates

Gates Foundation To Donate Up To $100M To Fight Coronavirus Outbreak

The remains of the wrecked Pegasus Airlines plane

AP / Emrah Gurel

3 Dead After Turkish Plane Skids Off Runway In Istanbul

World Cup Gymnastics in Melbourne 2017

Coronavirus, Visas Keeping Olympic Hopefuls From Australia Qualifier

China To Cut Tariffs In Half On $75 Billion Worth Of U.S. Goods

Cathay Pacific airplanes

Hong Kong-Based Airline Asks Staff To Take Unpaid Leave Due To Virus

Father holding child on his shoulder

Finland To Offer Moms And Dads The Same Amount Of Paid Parental Leave

President Donald Trump and Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó outside the White House

Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaidó Visits The White House

People in China wait in line for free masks during new coronavirus outbreak.

WHO Stops Short Of Calling New Coronavirus A Pandemic

Rescue crews in Turkey searching for those buried in avalanche

AP/Yilmaz Sonmez

Two Avalanches In Turkey Kill Dozens And Injure More Than 50

Asylum seekers from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras

Report: Deportees To El Salvador Face Possible Abuse And Death

Friends and relatives gather during a candle light vigil.

Ukrainian Commercial Jet Crash Renews Calls For Conflict Alert System

Construction is underway as new hospitals are built to tackle the coronavirus

Second New Coronavirus Hospital To Soon Open In Wuhan

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveil peace plan.

European Union Rejects U.S. Middle East Peace Plan

British flag lowered at the European Parliament

EU And U.K. Already At Odds Over Trade Future

Workers arrange beds in a convention center that has been converted into a temporary hospital in Wuhan

Chinatopix / AP

Hong Kong Hospital Workers Strike Over Coronavirus

People ride motorcycles next to a Turkey Armed Forces convoy in the northern town of Sarmada in Idlib province.

AP Photo / APTN

Soldiers Killed In Clashes Between Syrian, Turkish Forces