The mayor of Jerusalem warned that the city’s Arab population could soon outnumber the Jews. “Unless the government takes dramatic steps to strengthen the capital, it will have an Arab majority within 12 years,” Mayor Uri Lupolianski said Sunday at a Cabinet-level meeting on Jerusalem’s future. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who was officiating, proposed several measures such as expanding government ministries in Jerusalem and setting up a special educational institute for advancing Jerusalem studies. This week, Israel celebrates 40 years since Jerusalem was unified in the Six-Day War. But the event is likely to be overshadowed by continued international refusal to recognize the city as Israel’s capital. The U.S. ambassador and other Western dignitaries said they would not attend a special celebratory session of the Knesset.
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