Jerusalem: The Old City

July 15….(Jerusalem Post) Jews and Christians together make up about 30 percent of the population of Jerusalem's Old City. The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies released its report on the Old City, and the report shows the proportion of Jews is increasing, from 8.6% in 1995 to 11.34% in 2002. There are some 33,500 people living in the Old City today. In 1995, according to a report issued by the institute last week, out of the 32,488 people living in the Old City, 70.6% were Muslims and 20.3% were Christians. The report showed that out of the 879 dunams of land in the Old City, 24% is owned by the Islamic Wakf, 28% by Muslims, 29% by Christians and the remaining 19% by Jews. The report was undertaken with the hope that it will prove useful in any future negotiations on the Old City's future. Overall, the Old City's population has grown by 36% since 1967, with the highest absolute growth in the Muslim community. The Muslim population remained constant from 1967 to 1983, but then jumped from 16,760 in 1983 to 22,814 in 1995. The Christian population dropped from 6,994 in 1967 to 6,483 in 1983. In 1995, there were 6,570 Christians in the Old City and the numbers have dropped since then, according to the report. Because of Muslim population growth and the return of Jews, the percentage of Christians living in the Old City dropped from 29.5% in 1967 to 20.3% in 1995. The Jewish population has risen from zero in 1967 to 2,235 in 1983, 2,802 in 1995, and 3,800 today.