Here are the top seven reasons why Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel.

1. Passed Test

The Test of Faith was Passed in Jerusalem

The founding Father of Israel, Abraham, brought his son Isaac to Mount Moriah and demonstrated his faith in God, establishing this location as a pillar in biblical and Jewish history.

1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad

[a] and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.”
6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide;[b] as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”
15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” 19 So Abraham returned to his young men, and they rose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. Genesis 22

2. 3,000 Years Old

David Selects Jerusalem as His Capital

Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, was established approximately 3,000 years ago under the rule of King David.

King David conquered Jerusalem by taking it from the Jebusites and established the nation’s capital there. Jerusalem continued as the capital of Israel for 400 years until its first destruction at the hands of the Babylonians in 586/7 BCE during the First Temple period. David reigned over Israel for forty years: seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. David’s heir, King Solomon, reigned in Jerusalem over Israel for forty years. (2 Chronicles 9:30)

David Becomes King Over All Israel

David was about twenty years old when the prophet Samuel anointed him to be the next king of Israel. He ran from King Saul for ten years, who tried to kill the person God had appointed as the next king and, therefore, threatened his kingship. Finally, at the age of thirty, David was appointed king over Israel by the tribes of Israel in the city of Hebron.

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’” Therefore, all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David, king of Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron, he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months; in Jerusalem, he reigned for thirty-three years over all of Israel and Judah.

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites who lived there. The Jebusites told David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.

On that day, David said, “Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.” That is why they say, “The ‘blind and lame’ will not enter the palace.”

David then took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built up the area around it from the terraces inward. And he became more and more powerful because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

Now Hiram, king of Tyre, sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David. Then David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel and had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

David Defends Israel Against the Philistines

When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold. Now, the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim, so David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?”
The Lord answered, “Go, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into your hands.”

So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, “As waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.” So, that place was called Baal Perazim. The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.
Once more, the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim, so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines from Gibeon to Gezer. 2 Samuel 5

3. God Chose Jerusalem to be Israel’s Capital

After the first temple was built in Jerusalem, the king of Israel, Solomon, made this dedication speech;

While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. 4 Then he said:
“Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his hands has fulfilled what he promised with his mouth to my father David. For he said, 5 ‘Since the day I brought my people out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, nor have I chosen anyone to be ruler over my people Israel. 6 But now I have chosen Jerusalem for my Name to be there, and I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’
7 “My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 8 But the LORD said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name. 9 Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, your own flesh and blood—he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.’
10 “The LORD has kept the promise he made. I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 11 There I have placed the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with the people of Israel.” 2 Chronicles 6

4. No Other Nation Ever Retained Jerusalem as its Capital

No other nation or people group in history has ever stated or declared Jerusalem to be their capital.

5. Jerusalem is the Published Capital of Israel

Jerusalem and its alternative name, Zion, is cited in the bible as the Capital of Israel over 800 times. Thousands of additional documents also mention Jerusalem as Israel’s capital throughout ancient Jewish literature and Rabbinic sources.

There is not a single mention of Jerusalem in Islam’s holy text, either as Islam’s capital or intended capital. Mohammed himself never once visited the holy city.

6. Jews Have Had No Other Capital

Even though the Jews were removed from their nation Israel several times, when they returned, it was Jerusalem that remained their recognized capital. Tel Aviv became the internationally recognized capital by the United Nations, not by Israel.

This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.” ZECHARIAH 8:3

The 1947 UN Partition Plan divided Jerusalem and denied the Jews their full sovereignty to have the International community recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, although the Jews recognize it as such.

In 1980, the Knesset passed the Jerusalem Law that clarified Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Jerusalem Law

(Unofficial translation)
Jerusalem, Capital of Israel

1. Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.

Seat of the President, the Knesset, the Government
and the Supreme Court

2. Jerusalem is the seat of the President of the State, the Knesset, the Government and the Supreme Court.

Protection of Holy Places

3. The Holy Places shall be protected from desecration and any other violation and from anything likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the different religions to the places sacred to them or their feelings towards those places.

Development of Jerusalem

4. (a) The Government shall provide for the development and prosperity of Jerusalem and the well-being of its inhabitants by allocating special funds, including a special annual grant to the Municipality of Jerusalem (Capital City Grant) with the approval of the Finance Committee of the Knesset.
(b) Jerusalem shall be given special priority in the activities of the authorities of the State so as to further its development in economic and other matters.
(c) The Government shall set up a special body or special bodies for the implementation of this section.

Area of the jurisdiction of Jerusalem (Amendment no. 1)

5. The jurisdiction of Jerusalem includes, as pertaining to this basic law, among others, all of the area that is described in the appendix of the proclamation expanding the borders of municipal Jerusalem beginning the 20th of Sivan 5727 (June 28, 1967), as was given according to the Cities’ Ordinance.

Prohibition of the transfer of authority (Amendment no. 1)

6. No authority that is stipulated in the law of the State of Israel or of the Jerusalem Municipality may be transfered either permanently or for an allotted period of time to a foreign body, whether political, governmental or to any other similar type of foreign body.

Entrenchment (Amendment no. 1)

7. Clauses 5 and 6 shall not be modified except by a Basic Law passed by a majority of the members of the Knesset.

MENAHEM BEGIN
Prime Minister
YITZCHAK NAVON
President of the State

* Passed by the Knesset on the 17th Av, 5740 (30th July, 1980) and published in Sefer Ha-Chukkim No. 980 of the 23rd Av, 5740 (5th August, 1980), p. 186; the Bill and an Explanatory Note were published in Hatza’ot Chok No. 1464 of 5740, p. 287.
Amendment no. 1 was passed by the Knesset on the 29th Heshvan 5761 (27th November 2000) and published in Sefer Ha-Chukkim No. 5762, p. 28.

7. American Law Recognizes Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel

The Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act was passed in 1995 by the 104th Congress by a sweeping vote of 93-5 in the Senate and 374-37 in the House of Representatives.
This law directs “initiating and funding the relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no later than May 31, 1999.” Although passed, this law has yet to be installed. The ratified act further states, “Jerusalem to remain an undivided city and for it to be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel.”

I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent. Isaiah 62:6