Ateret Cohanim and Ir David Zionist organization and their role in the Judaization of Jerusalem

Abstract

the Jewish and Zionist thought initiated from Jerusalem and made the city its focus, making Jerusalem a state of love and attraction, return, repentance,  and purification of the Jewish soul from the sufferings and sins, and reaching the final salvation of the Jews and all mankind at the hands of the Zionists, who claim to have divine orders. This thought attracted a number of rabbis who initiated the formation of national religious schools. Consequently, in the 1970s and 1980s, the Ateret Cohanim organization ( the crown of the priests), and the Ir David organization (the return to the city of David) were established. Ateret Cohanim is associated with Matityahu HaCohen & Rabbi Shlomo Aviner , while Ir David is associated with David Be'eri. These organizations transformed from educational and cultural institutions to the most active settlement organizations that focus on Judaizing East Jerusalem. They also get support  from internal and external sources. Ateret Cohanim focuses on settlements and Judaization in the Old City, while Ir David do so in Silwan neighborhood, and it  seeks to revive the alleged city of David