The Shining City on the Hill

Jerusalem is surely the most extraordinary city on earth. Fought over for centuries and now the iconic symbol of the terrible dispute between Arabs and Jews, it is the place where civilisations are layered on top of each other in ancient stones. For some, it

represents danger and claustrophobic intolerance. For Melanie Phillips, however, it is a place of unparalleled beauty and tranquillity, the eternal centre of the spiritual world.

Melanie Phillips writes for the Daily Mail, the Spectator website and The Jewish Chronicle. Her most recent book is Londonistan.