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. 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. 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.
Construction and controversy The 1980s saw Latter-day Saints and other Christian groups vying for representation and space in the city. 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. 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. They argued that the church had no local presence in the population of the Jerusalem area and no historical connections to the land. Some even gathered at the
Western Wall in a public prayer of mourning because of the center. 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". Despite the intensity of the Haredi opposition, at no point did the protests become physically violent. (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. 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." In addition to the promise not to proselyte, 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", and Former Foreign Minister
Abba Eban stated that the "free exercise of conscience and dissent in a democratic society" was at stake. The center also received support in the U.S., as former president
Gerald Ford spoke for the center, as well the United Jewish Council of Utah, who wrote a letter stating that "For over one hundred years, the Jewish and (Latter-day Saint) communities have coexisted in the Salt Lake Valley in a spirit of true friendship and harmony. It has been our experience that when the leaders of the ... Church make a commitment of policy, it is a commitment which can be relied upon. The stated commitment of Brigham Young University not to violate the laws of the state of Israel, or its own commitment regarding proselytizing in the state of Israel through the Jerusalem-based Brigham Young facility, is a commitment which we sincerely believe will be honored." The U.S. government also became an intermediary as 154 members of
Congress issued a letter to the Knesset in support of the BYU Jerusalem Center. In 1986, the Knesset approved the completion of the center. On June 9, 2006, officials announced their intention to reopen the Jerusalem Center for the Fall 2006 semester. However, escalating violence in the area from the
2006 Israel-Lebanon Conflict frustrated these plans and raised new concerns about students' safety in the area. School officials deemed the center would remain closed until the conflict was resolved. During this time, some Latter-day Saints in Northern Israel were "voluntarily relocated" into the center, away from border missile strikes. BYU officials announced on October 9, 2006, that the center would be reopening for student academic programs for Winter Semester 2007. The initial program was limited to only 44 students. Currently, over 80 students participate each semester. The center remains open into future academic terms. == Facilities and architecture ==