Vilnius Its Jewish influence has led to it being described as the "Jerusalem of Lithuania" and Napoleon named it "the Jerusalem of the North" as he was passing through in 1812. In 2009, Vilnius was the European Capital of Culture, together with the Austrian city of Linz. The name of the city originates from the Vilnia River. The city has also been known by many derivate spellings in various languages throughout its history: "Vilna" was once common in English. The most notable non-Lithuanian names for the city include: , , , , , , ("Vilne"). A Russian name from the time
United States recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. Hamas called for a new intifada, but the response from Palestinians inside Jerusalem was relatively muted. Protests were held in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians burned portraits and effigies of Donald Trump and tore pictures of Salman bin Abdulaziz and Muhammad bin Salman in protest of the embassy move. The Israel military estimated that 3,000 people in the West Bank and 4,500 in the Gaza Strip participated in protests on December 8, 2017. The Jerusalem announcement inspired activist Ahmed Abu Artema to write a Facebook proposing the outlines