Professor Moshe Sharon, a historian of Islam who has been called "Israel's greatest Middle East scholar," said that US President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel "did not change anything as far as the Jewish people are concerned."
"The Jewish people had Jerusalem as the capital of their hearts even more than the capital of their country," Professor Sharon told Arutz Sheva. "Even when the country was not there, the yearning for Jerusalem was always there in the heart of the Jewish people."
He said that President Trump's recognition was "very important" in that it recognized reality, but it "doesn't make any difference" for the Jews, who have had Jerusalem as their capital for 3,000 years.
He said that Jerusalem has never been important to Muslims except for when the city has been controlled by non-Muslims.
Professor Sharon also said that he does not expect a new intifada to break out in response to Trump's decision. "I think we've already passed the time of disturbances in the West Bank and Jerusalem. And from now on the Palestinians will have to get used to the fact that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel."