It’s hard to believe, but it was one year ago today that I arrived in Jerusalem to study at Jerusalem University College for a semester. A new group is already there now, following in the same footsteps that I did a year ago. Amidst all my studies, I had the chance to learn a little of the history of the little plot that the school sits on, which makes for an interesting story in itself.
I mentioned before that what is called the Old City is the section of Jerusalem that is walled. This is about 225 acres, of which about 35,000 people live in. Although it seems obvious today that the city would expand beyond those walls, it was only about 150 years ago that it did. One of the first buildings built outside those protective walls in the 1850’s was the beginnings of the JUC campus. It was a school set up by the British and Prussians for educating Arab boys to help them be more western and teaching them English, bringing influence into the Middle East. The school stayed in the same location until 1947, just before the Israeli war of independence.
From 1947 to 1967, the campus was used by the Israeli military. It was technically in Israel’s territory, but was surrounded on three sides by Jordan, with just a thin, dangerous connection across the Hinnon valley to Israel proper (and West Jerusalem). This provided the military with a vantage point for watching the Jordanians in the Old City. Getting supplies was difficult. A cable was strung from one of the buildings at JUC to another building across the valley. During the day, the cable was lowered out of sight. At night it was raised up and a small cable car traversed the valley under the cover of darkness. It was never found by the Jordanians.
In 1966, an inquiry was made into this campus and a deal was made that if the Israeli military ever left it, JUC could lease it. In June 1967, the Six Day War broke out and Israel captured all of Jerusalem. There was no need to keep troops there. JUC set up shop quickly, the first students spending time studying and cleaning the place up. In the meantime in the 1950’s G. Douglas Young founded what would become JUC, an overseas program for students to come to study in Israel. It was revolutionary for its time. Although many students today study abroad, almost no one did back then.
Today the campus has beautiful gardens (a contrast from the claustrophobic streets of stone of the Old City) and a handful of buildings strewn together on the slope of Mount Zion. One can follow the bedrock on one side the narrow campus as it slopes up the hill. The campus lies right on the city wall from the time of the first century. As the saying at JUC goes, location makes all the difference. It was a great privilege to study there, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the world of the Bible.
