Jerusalem Before Israeli Occupation: Fascinating Old Historical Photos Show Life In The Arab Holy City

Jerusalem is the holy city for every Abrahamic religion, and it has the site of conflicts for centuries. Countless kingdoms and conquerors ruled the most sacred city, since the first human settlements around 3500 B.C.

The Ottoman Empire ruled Jerusalem and much of the Middle East from about 1516 to 1917. After World War I, Britain took control of Jerusalem and surrounding regions, until Israel became a state in 1948 in a violent process that entailed the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Israeli seized Palestinian territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, as well as the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula in 1967. Zionist forces expelled some 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland and destroyed their villages in the process.

Since the Arab–Israeli War, millions of Palestinians were expelled from their land, and they are facing the most prolonged military occupation in modern history. Their lives have been dictated by hundreds of military checkpoints, a color-coded permit system, and a Separation Wall that has divided families.

After the Israeli occupation, Christians and Muslims are not treated like Jews; they face all kinds of a disclination. The Muslims and christens lived peacefully, and that’s why the churches still exist; even Jews were protected under the Muslim rule. The Jerusalem municipality has charged churches with heavy taxes. They are buying more and more land in the city both legally and illegally to turn Arab areas into Jewish neighborhoods. Today there are thousands of families living in illegal settlements in Jerusalem.

Before the illegal occupation, there was a different Jerusalem that has been forgotten and only lives in photographs.

#1 A Jewish rabbi living in Jerusalem, called, in the original caption, “The Jew of Jerusalem, Circa 1900-1910.

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#2 Lepers beg for alms, Circa 1900-1920

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#3 William II in Jerusalem, The emperor and the empress leaving the mosque of Omar, 1898.

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#4 William II in Jerusalem, The emperor and the empress contemplating the panorama of the city. 1898

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#5 Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, 1898

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#6 Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem, 1898

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#7 The Dormition Abbey on Mount Zion, Jerusalem, 1898.

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#8 English Freemasons at Jerusalem, 1898

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#9 Wilhelm II visits to Jerusalem, 1890s

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#10 German Emperor, Wilhelm II visiting an orphanage Talitha Kumi in Jerusalem with his wife, Auguste Viktoria, 1890s.

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#11 King Abdullah I bin al-Hussein being escorted by members of the Arab Legion in Jerusalem, 1899

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#12 Gate of Damascus, Jerusalem, 1900

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#13 The Duke of Connaught and the British army on their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem , 1900

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#14 Pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem for Easter, 1900s.

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#15 Sherif of Medina Preaching the Holy War in Medina Before starting for Jerusalem, 1914.

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#16 A grocer’s shop, Circa 1900-1920.

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#17 Two women stop to talk.Ramallah, Circa 1898-1914

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#18 The street inside of the Jaffa Gate, Circa 1917-1934

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#19 A Yemenite Jew, Circa 1898-1914

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#20 A group of Bedouins prepare coffee in a tent, 1936

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#21 A woman in Bethlehem.Bethlehem, Circa 1900-1920

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#22 A porter carrying 50 empty petrol tins on his back, Circa 1914-1918

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#23 A woman walks below the arch of ecce, Circa 1898-1914.

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#24 A Ramallah woman in an embroidered dress.Ramallah, Circa 1940-1946.

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#25 The American Colony store, Circa 1920-1935

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#26 A woman poses with a jug on her head.Ramallah, Circa 1898-1914

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#27 A man fights off a locust plague with a flame thrower.1930

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#28 A vegetable market on the streets of Nazareth, Circa 1934-1937

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#29 A woman, labelled, in the original caption, as a “peasant girl, “Circa 1900-1920

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#30 The street of arches, Circa 1898-1914

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#31 A coffee house spills out onto the streets, Circa 1900-1920

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#32 A woman carries her wares to the marketplace, Circa 1898-1914

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#33 A mother carries her child with a jug on her head.Beersheba, Circa 1900-1920

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#34 A fruit vendor displays his goods, Circa 1900-1920

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#35 A donkey waits in the street of arches, Circa 1898-1914

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#36 A Bedouin man, Circa 1898-1914

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#37 The scene on David Street, Circa 1898-1946

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#38 A Bedouin woman, Circa 1898-1914

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#39 A procession leave Jerusalem, on their way to Nebi Musa to visit the tomb of Moses, 1936

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#40 Three women stand by the door with their children.Bethlehem, 1936

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#41 A group of people, labelled in the original caption as “natives,” sit down for a meal, Circa 1900-1920

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#42 A woman barters over the price of bread, Circa 1900-1920

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#43 A crowd gathers in Nebi Musa, 1936

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#44 A Bedouin woman poses for a photograph, Circa 1898-1914

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#45 A man walks down the streets in the Jewish quarters, Circa 1920-1933

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#46 Artisans work with mother of pearl, Circa 1898-1914

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#47 A woman sits in front of the village oven, Circa 1898-1914

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#48 A worker drills holes into beads, Circa 1900-1920

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#49 Two women working at a mill, Circa 1898-1914

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#50 A vendor sells meat and bread, Circa 1900-1920

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#51 Workers carrying waterskins, Circa 1900-1920

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#52 A group of women carrying water jars on their heads, Circa 1900-1920

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#53 A mother carries her baby.Beersheba, Circa 1900-1920

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#54 Workers beat olives out of a tree, Circa 1900-1920

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#55 A young girl picks olives, Circa 1900-1920

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#56 Workers crush olives with the broken column of an ancient building.Beit Jibrin, Circa 1920-1933

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#57 A coffee shop with a gramophone, Circa 1900-1920

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#58 A young Bedouin boy wearing a cartridge belt, Circa 1898-1914

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#59 A group of beggars, Circa 1900-1920

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#60 A characteristic city street, Circa 1900-1920

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#61 Two men smoke on the streets of Bethlehem, Circa 1900-1920.

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#62 A Druze Sheikh, Circa 1900-1920

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