The Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies (often simply referred to as the BYU Jerusalem Center or BYU–Jerusalem, and locally known as the Mormon University), situated on Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, is a satellite campus of Brigham Young University (BYU), the largest religious university in the United States. Owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the center provides a curriculum that focuses on the Old and New Testaments, ancient and modern Near Eastern studies, and language (Hebrew and Arabic). Classroom study is built around field trips that cover the Holy Land, and the program is open to qualifying full-time undergraduate students at either BYU, BYU-Idaho, or BYU-Hawaii.
Plans to build a center for students were announced by church president Spencer W. Kimball in 1979. By 1984, the LDS Church had obtained a 49-year lease on the land and had begun construction. The center's prominent position on the Jerusalem skyline quickly brought it notice by the ultra-Orthodox Jews of Israel. Protests and opposition to the building of the center springing from the Haredi Jews made the issue of building the center a national and even international issue. After several investigative committees of Israel's Knesset reviewed and debated the issue, Israeli officials decided to allow the center's construction to continue in 1986. The center opened to students in May 1988 and was dedicated by Howard W. Hunter, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, on May 16, 1989. It did not admit students from 2001 to 2006 due to security issues during the Second Intifada but continued to provide tours for visitors and weekly concerts. During construction, the church hired about 300 workers at one time, with 60% Arab workers, and 40% Jewish workers, and as of 2008 uses a similar level of cooperation.
History
Before the center The first Latter-day Saint official to enter the city of Jerusalem was apostle Orson Hyde, who came in 1841 and dedicated the land for the gathering of the people of Israel, the creation of a Jewish state, and the building of a temple at some future time. After his visit, the presence of the church in the city was virtually non-existent. By 1971, the city saw enough Latter-day Saint visitors for the church to lease a building in East Jerusalem for church services. BYU's study abroad program to Jerusalem, which began in 1968, played a key role in the growth of church members visitors to the area. The church's presence in the area soon grew too large for the leased space to provide adequate space for worship, so it began looking into building a center for students.Olsen, Daniel H. and Jeanne Kay Guelke. "Spatial transgression and the BYU Jerusalem center controversy." The Professional Geographer. (Nov 2004) 56.4 pp. 503–516. In 1972, David B. Galbraith became the director of BYU's program in Jerusalem. He remained in this position until 1987 when the church's First Presidency asked him to organize the BYU Jerusalem Center.Galbraith and Van Dyke. "The BYU Jerusalem Center: Reflections of a Modern Pioneer" in The Religious Educator Vol. 9 (2008) no. 1, p. 29ff.
On October 24, 1979, church president Spencer W. Kimball visited Jerusalem to dedicate the Orson Hyde Memorial Gardens, located on the Mount of Olives. The church had donated money to beautify the Jerusalem area, and officials of the Israeli government were present at the occasion. It was at this dedication that Kimball announced the church's intent to build a center for BYU students in the city. Negotiations between the church and the Israeli government stretched from 1980 to 1984. The land the church wanted for the center, located at the northwestern margin of Mount of Olives, right next to the valley which separates it from Mount Scopus, had been occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967 and could not be sold under Israeli law. The church decided to obtain a lease on the land instead. Leasing the land also prevented the politically controversial problem of the church owning a piece of Jerusalem land. Israeli officials saw the building of the center on the land as a way of solidifying control over land whose ownership was ambiguous under international law. By August 1984, the church had the land on a 49-year lease, building permits had been obtained, and construction on the building began.Benvenisti, M. 1996. City of Stone: The Hidden History of Jerusalem, trans. M. K. Nunn. London: University of California Press. As cited in Olsen and Guelke.Cohen, S. E. 1993. The Politics of Planting: Israeli-Palestinian Competition for Control of Land in the Jerusalem Periphery. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. As cited in Olsen and Guelke.Benvenisti, M. 2000. Sacred Landscape: The Buried History of the Holy Land Since 1948. Berkeley: University of California Press. As cited in Olsen and Guelke.
Construction and controversy
The 1980s saw Latter-day Saints and other Christian groups vying for representation and space in the city.Arieli, Y. S. 2000. Evangelizing the chosen people: Missions to the Jews in America, 1880–2000. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. As cited in Olsen and Guelke.Kark, R., and M. Oren-Nordheim. 2001. Jerusalem and its environs, quarters, neighbourhoods, and villages, 1800–1948. Detroit:Wayne State University Press. As cited in Olsen and Guelke.Dumper, M. 1997. The politics of Jerusalem since 1967. New York: Columbia University Press. As cited in Olsen and Guelke. These groups constantly faced opposition from a strong political minority of Orthodox Jews living in the city. Neither major political party in Israel (the Likud and Labor Parties) could achieve a majority vote in the Knesset without support from the more religious parties. Religious parties used this situation to pass laws in favor of Jewish Orthodoxy in exchange for their support on other issues.Kna’an, M., ed. 1986. The Israeli yearbook. Vol. 41. Tel Aviv: Israel Yearbook Publications Ltd. As cited in Olsen and Guelke.Stump, R. 2000. Boundaries of faith: Geographical perspectives on religious fundamentalism. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. As cited in Olsen and Guelke. At the time, the conservative Jews, who made up the "religious right" in Israel, or the Haredim, constituted 27% of the population of Jerusalem, and was decidedly against the building of the BYU Jerusalem Center or any other similar Christian structure. Larger parties faced loss of a majority if they stood opposite on this issue. Many Israeli officials, however, such as the Mayor of Jerusalem at the time, Teddy Kollek, along with others in attendance at the Orson Hyde Memorial Garden dedication, supported the center because of what the church had done for the city. Kollek specifically stated that the "church's presence in Jerusalem can do a great deal of work in providing the bridge of understanding between the Arab and Jews...because its members look with sympathy and understanding at both sides." The land on which the center was built was then still considered Arab land by many, and many officials saw that its lease would add an image of religious tolerance to their government and increase Israeli control of the land.
Because of its prominent location in the Jerusalem skyline, construction was quickly noticed, and this sparked a major controversy in Israel and in the Jewish world as a whole beginning in 1985. The Haredim led the opposition, their main concern being that the building would be used not as a school, but as a center for Latter-day Saint proselytizing efforts in Jerusalem. The Haredim said there could be a "spiritual holocaust".Sittner, A. 1985. Miari blasts Knesset switch to offices of Chief Rabbinate. The Jerusalem Post, 4 June. n.v.:2. As cited in Olsen and Guelke. They argued that the church had no local presence in the population of the Jerusalem area and no historical connections to the land. The group spread information through letters, newspapers, and television that the church's missionaries would convert Jews throughout the city. Kol Ha'lr, an Israeil Periodical, said that the church is one of the most dangerous organizations, and that the church has already struck down many Jews. Kol Ha'lr also stated that church missionary activities would cause "tremendous opposition", and that once the center is completed, the church would not be able to be stopped. Inter Mountain Jewish News, a publication in Colorado, stated that there was an emotional and bitter controversy surrounding whether Christian Zionism should be helped by Jewish government and municipal authorities, like what was being done with BYU. Warnings in the media led to street protests and demonstrations. Orthodox Jews marched on City Hall and to the construction site in 1986.Golan, P. 1985. Hysteria inside, demos outside. Jerusalem Post, 20 September. As cited in Olsen and Guelke. Some even gathered at the Western Wall in a public prayer of mourning because of the center.Shapiro, H. 1985c. Prayers said against Mormon study centre. Jerusalem Post, 19 July. As cited in Olsen and Guelke. They also gathered at the hotel at which the BYU president was staying at one point, carrying signs saying: "Conversion is Murder!" and "Mormons, stop your mission now".Friedland, R., and R. Hecht. 1996. To rule Jerusalem. Cambridge U.K.: Cambridge University Press. As cited in Olsen and Guelke.Watzman, H. M. 1985a. Building for Brigham Young U. in Jerusalem challenged anew. The Chronicle of Higher Education 31 (10): 41. As cited in Olsen and Guelke. Despite the intensity of the Haredi opposition, at no point did the protests become physically violent. In late 1985, the Haredim motioned for a no-confidence vote against the leading Labor Party. Prime Minister Shimon Peres organized a committee of eight, four for the center and four against, to debate the issue and come up with a solution either for or against the center's presence. Another committee was formed to look into the allegation that the money the church had put into Jerusalem was a bribe to gain Mayor Kolleck's support for the centerShapiro, H. 1985a. Jerusalem Foundation link to Mormons ‘‘ridiculous’’. Jerusalem Post, 20 August. As cited in Olsen and Guelke. (the committee found the church "Not Guilty"). A subcommittee of the Knesset requested that the church issue a formal promise not to proselytize Jews. Some Israelis considered this discriminatory, as no other Christian church had been asked to do this in Jerusalem. Church leaders, however, agreed to comply and sent a formally signed statement soon after.Shapiro, H. 1985b. Mormon: Proselytizers will go home. Jerusalem Post, 7 August. As cited in Olsen and Guelke. Some Jews in the area were still uneasy and doubted the church's intent, believing that religious belief among Latter-day Saints would supersede adherence to the law. One protester stated that "converting the sons of Judah, us, is a basic article of their faith. . . . They regard themselves as sons of Joseph and believe there will be no Second Coming for as long as we and they do not fuse."The Economist 1985, 31. As cited in Olsen and Guelke.
In addition to the promise not to proselytize, BYU began a public relations campaign to inform the public of their intentions for the center as a school and a gathering place for those already of the faith. Ads were purchased in local newspapers, magazines, and on television, and the center had personnel appear on radio talk shows. Government officials in favor of the center also began to speak out, saying that Jerusalem should deny no one a place to worship, Jew, Muslim, or Christian. The Minister for Economic Planning, Gad Yaakobi said that the debate had "already caused considerable damage to Israel",Watzman, H. M. 1986. Israeli Cabinet agrees to investigate Brigham Young’s Jerusalem Center. The Chronicle of