Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury

I had such high hopes for the series. I eat up and relish historical documentaries. I consider myself a connoisseur. I was so disappointed when watching even the first episode how much history they missed. When they started the history of Jerusalem they missed it's very beginnings in the Bible.

One of the first times it shows up in scripture is whe Abram intersects with Melchizedek who is "king of Salem." (Gen 14:18) When Abram brings the tithe Melchizedek In Genesis 14. This shows centuries of a relationship of the Hebrews with the city of Jerusalem long before the conquest of Joshua. The documentary did not accurately care relational equity with the city and the Hebrew people they simply said that the Hebrew people committed genocide on the people of the land in Joshua's day

Likely the second largest miss was the Greek era. CNN did not even mention Alexander the Great or his conquest of the Middle East and into Persia. They skipped past so much of important pivotal history for the city of Jerusalem. I know they can't include all of history but not to include the classical period of Greeks and all of the Greeks have influence on our modern world and the city of Jerusalem was a complete miss. They opened up episode 2 going from Solomon straight into the Roman era.

CNN needed to do a more thorough job of researching history, and representing history if they're going to do a multi episode documentary. Sorry I can't continue to go back and watch if you're missing so much history.

I've just seen the episode covering 1935-1948. Interesting that the key _Palestinian_ leader in this period, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Hadj al-Amin al-Husseini, is never even mentioned. One Palestinian "scholar" went so far as to claim the Palestinians had no leadership representing them in 1947-1948. There was a reason for this. Al-Husseini was a Nazi. He led a violent three year rebellion against the British,1936-1939, which the British had to crush with the threat of Nazi Germany looming. This was dismissed in the show as the British suppressing Palestinian leadership and driving them into exile, without explanation. Al-Husseini fled to Iraq and helped organize another rebellion against the British (in wartime, with German support) which was also put down. Husseini then wound up in Berlin, appearing with Hitler, and helping raise Muslim troops for the Waffen-SS. I can see why the Arab leadership of 1947-48, the producers, and the Palestinians who apparently wrote this script, would want him out of the story, but he _was_ the Palestinian leader, and a violent anti-Semite, throughout the period. Instead, they created a straw man, Abdullah of Transjordan (later Jordan) as the Arab leader in opposition to the creation of Israel, because he wanted to hold Jerusalem for the Arabs. They did note, in a footnote, that he was assassinated in 1951 by "a Palestinian nationalist," without explanation. He was murdered because he was a moderate who accepted the outcome of the 1948-1949 war. But no mention of the man who was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem- what city is this series about, again?

Then there was the stress on Irgun terrorism, and the attempt, with two brief exceptions, to make it representative of the entire Zionist movement. No question they were terrorists, and Deir Yassin and the King David Hotel were terrorist acts, But did the Palestinians not commit these acts as well? Hebron, 1929, 60+ Jewish dead. How many dead in the slighted Arab rebellion of 1936-1939? Not a mention. Then there was Husseini again, putting a bounty on the head of his Palestinian political opponents, the Nashashibis. But that was probably too deep in the grass for a one hour show. Besides, Husseini doesn't exist, right?

Nor does the policy of both Husseini and the Arab High Committee to instruct Arab villagers to move their women and children out Palestine, leaving the young men behind to fight, first considered in 1946, a year and a half before Deir Yassin. Facts can be such a problem.

If you want a balanced, warts and all on both sides, account of this period. Take the time and read the books of Benny Morris. CNN has no credibility.

The series omits many key events . Major milestones in the history of Jerusalem ave been ignored or interpreted in a questionable way..

A superficial inaccurate incomplete and wholly subjective series. Non-History. Not too good.

My b.s. Detector kept going off, So, I did some research. These so called experts are pulling an awful lot of their "insights" out from where the sun doesn't shine. Highly controversial views outside the historical scholar mainstream.

I applaud CNN for giving an honest and non biased accounting of the history of Jerusalem. It is important to point out that Israel has as much fault for the current violence that exists in the region.