Jerusalem is an amazing city, beautiful, historic and for Muslims, Jews and Christians, it is the Holy City – a central place to the world’s three leading faiths; and a magnet for foreign pilgrims. It is also a target for mentally sick people and also the cause of mental illness in otherwise mentally balanced pilgrims.<\/p>\n
Many of these religious tourists believe that modern Israel will be the site of the end of the world. A recent series of movies, books and tapes based on a coming Apocalypse have sold 60 million copies in the United States, the home of such ‘pre-Millennialist dispensationalism’.<\/p>\n
But for some believers, visiting Jerusalem brings them a little too close to God. Each year, dozens of visitors are diagnosed with the psychotic disorder known as the “Jerusalem Syndrome” – first described in the 1930s by a Jerusalem psychiatrist, Heinz Herman. Dr. Herman had noticed that during visits to Jerusalem, some Christians and Jews developed very unusual behaviour patterns. The syndrome is now claimed to afflict about 100 people a year.<\/p>\n
Every year in Israel’s Holy City, a handful of Christian tourists are suddenly transformed from seemingly healthy, normal people to street preaching, psalm singing Bible characters. Those who are affected by the Jerusalem Syndrome begin vigorously bathing to purify themselves, dress in robes or sheets, and begin preaching in the streets believing they are Moses, John the Baptist, or Jesus Christ, among others, who were sent on a “divine mission”.<\/p>\n
The Jerusalem Syndrome is usually benign; however, those affected by it have been known to cause trouble. Doctors and law enforcement officers treat the bizarre behaviour of the Jerusalem Syndrome with caution.<\/p>\n
As the year 2000 approached, the number of tourists anticipating the coming apocalypse grew drastically. It was estimated that as many as 50 people a week required hospitalization. Although the Jerusalem Syndrome affects many that have a history of psychiatric problems, many who experience the same delusions are sane, healthy and successful businessmen, teachers, and professionals.<\/p>\n
Israeli authorities, undercover, monitor these visitors closely, as they are regarded as a potential security threat. Authorities believe that potentially, there’s a more sinister aspect to Jerusalem Syndrome – the potential for exploitation by radical groups both within Judaism and Islam.<\/p>\n
A radical small minority of Jews want to dismantle the third holiest site in Islam – the Dome of the Rock from whence it is believed by Muslims that Mohammed ascended into heaven leaving behind his footprint in the rock in the nearby Al-Aqsa Mosque – in order to rebuild a Jewish temple on the same site that was said to have been destroyed by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago.<\/p>\n
I have met there, people suffering from the Jerusalem Syndrome who told me they already had plans for the Third Temple that would depend upon blowing up the Mosque revered by all Muslims. They have the support of some Fundamentalist Jewish groups and some very war-like American Christians.<\/p>\n
It’s feared these radical groups could harness the passion and psychosis of misguided Christian pilgrims. The last time the Al Aqsa mosque was damaged was in 1969, when a mentally unstable Australian, Denis Rohan, set it alight. Rohan said he was acting on divine instructions. But the fire led to citywide riots and almost led to international conflict.<\/p>\n
Sheik Ekrima Sabri, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, told Foreign Correspondent, “If they harm or destroy the mosque, the revenge will come from all over the world, not only from Palestine. They should know they would face a huge reaction.”<\/p>\n
Among other troubles in the Middle East, we can well do without mentally disturbed people thinking they will bring forth the Apocalypse and the return of Christ by their own actions. Their beliefs are outside those of the mainline denominations including the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and major Protestant denominations.<\/p>\n
I have noticed that some people seem to be affected by the Jerusalem Syndrome even in Sydney. They support all things Israeli right or wrong, become fanatical in Biblical interpretations concerning Israel in spite of the fact that these views are not supported by any major Christian denomination or by ranking theologians, attack anything that is Palestinian or Muslim, and portray behaviour that would normally be described as obsessive.<\/p>\n
We would encourage Christians who find themselves developing such obsessive interests and behaviour to talk with a sensible Christian counsellor or minister. Study your Bible, but do not be consumed by one aspect of its historical record.<\/p>\n