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please add an ", also known as Al-Quds" after jerusalem in the first words of the article. this is the arabic name for the city and considering the city is half claimed by the 1967 palestinian borders and fully claimed by other previous borders, this is a name to be included. MerluchWK (talk) 06:08, 10 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
shouldn't be "Jewish holy places", because another category ("Holy cities of Judaism") is already in the "Jewish holy places" Shabe (talk) 14:10, 23 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
why does the article start with "Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant" when the articles for other cities start like "Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon." or "Amman is the capital and the largest city of Jordan" or "Jericho is a city in the West Bank, Palestine."
All the other cities start their article with the country where it is located in, but for jerusalem it is just "southern levant." It should start with "Jerusalem is a city in Israel" or "Jerusalem is the capital and the largest city of Israel," like all the other cities. Ely137 (talk) 04:17, 19 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Because it is not "like all the other cities". If you were unaware of this, despite the very first paragraph of the article explaining it, you might benefit from reading Status of Jerusalem. Have a read through WP:EDITXY to see how to write edit requests. Also, click on the Code of Conduct link at the very bottom of the page. That will take you to the Wikimedia Foundation Universal Code of Conduct which explains that "manipulating content to favour specific interpretations of facts or points of view" is prohibited. That Jerusalem is "in Israel", a spatial object that includes occupied East Jerusalem, is not an objective fact, it is a point of view. Employing Wikipedia's editorial voice in the way you propose would be inconsistent with the mandatory WP:NPOV policy. Sean.hoyland (talk) 04:53, 19 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
While I understand the importance of adhering to Wikipedia’s WP:NPOV policy and acknowledge the sensitivity surrounding Jerusalem’s status, describing it merely as being “in the Southern Levant” doesn't reflect neutrality. This phrase is an uncommon regional term and diverges from the standard editorial approach used for other cities, especially those in politically complex situations.
Wikipedia articles typically begin with a clear statement of a city’s de facto status. For instance:
The article for Pristina (whose status is not universally recognized) starts with:
"Pristina is the capital and largest city of Kosovo."
The article for Taipei (the capital of a country only 12 others recognize) begins with:
"Taipei is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan)." Despite the contested nature of Taiwan's sovereignty, Wikipedia presents the commonly accepted administrative reality. It doesnt even mention the People's Republic of China claim except for one sentence in a tiny note at the very end of the article: "Other [edit] a. ^ The Constitution of the Republic of China does not stipulate any city, including Taipei or its pre-1949 capital, Nanjing, as the de jure capital of the Republic of China. However, Taipei has been designated the official seat of central government by a decree, thus making it the de facto capital. Despite having no actual control, the People's Republic of China considers Taipei to be the capital of its claimed Taiwan Province."
Earlier versions of the Jerusalem article itself followed this editorial standard more closely by stating the city’s location and administrative function before elaborating on its disputed status.
A more neutral and informative phrasing might be:
"Jerusalem is the capital and largest city of Israel. It is also claimed as the capital by the State of Palestine, and its status is the subject of international dispute."
This fairly reflects the de facto situation while also immediately informing readers of the controversy, rather than avoiding the issue altogether. To be neutral you need to present all the facts in a transparent way that gives appropriate weight to all major viewpoints.
Using vague regional terms like “Southern Levant” in place of commonly understood geographic or political descriptors can confuse readers and creates inconsistency in Wikipedia’s editorial voice. The goal should be clarity and fairness, as demonstrated in the handling of similarly complex cities across the platform. Ely137 (talk) 07:21, 19 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
level-3 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
