What Is Jerusalem Syndrome and How Does It Work?

Every year, a handful of visitors arrive in Jerusalem expecting to walk in the footsteps of prophets – and end up believing they’ve become one. It’s a phenomenon so strange it has its own name: Jerusalem syndrome, a rare but well-documented condition in which otherwise ordinary people, often with no past experience with psychosis, experience sudden, intense religious delusions while visiting the holy city.

On average, Jerusalem syndrome affects 50 tourists a year, often around major religious holidays. A selection of cases require hospitalization. 

As for the afflicted, they behave in a variety of strange ways. Some begin preaching in the streets. Others don makeshift robes and declare themselves biblical figures. A few even attempt to carry out what they believe are divine missions. In most cases, Jerusalem syndrome is resolved when the individual experiencing it leaves the city. 

The syndrome was first clinically described in the 1930s by Israeli psychiatrist Heinz Hermann, though likely cases of Jerusalem syndrome have been recorded as far back as the Middle Ages. Documented cases especially ramped up as the millennium approached (many of the afflicted believed the year 2000 held special religious significance). 

It’s equal parts fascinating and unsettling, raising an obvious question: what is it about this ancient city that can seemingly push the human mind to such extremes? 

Famous Cases of Jerusalem Syndrome

On occasion, Jerusalem syndrome makes headlines – often for the bizarre or even dangerous actions caused by those experiencing it. Here are some of the most famous cases of Jerusalem syndrome in recent years.

1969: An Australian sheepshearer, believing himself to be a messenger of God sent to establish a Jewish temple, sets fire to al-Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's third-holiest site. Political riots ensue and extensive damage is caused.

2017: A tourist from Northern Ireland disappears while cycling through the Negev desert in southern Israel. His tent and bicycle were found two months later, as well as a trail of torn out Bible pages and notes referencing Jesus’ 40 day/40 night journey in the desert. Other personal items such as his keys, wallet, and computer tablet followed, but he remains missing to this day.

2023: A 40-year old American tourist smashes and destroys Roman sculptures contained in the Israel Museum, because he believed them to be "idolatrous" and blasphemous toward the Torah.

Did It Just Happen Again?

Speaking of seeing oneself as a divine figure, the concept of Jerusalem syndrome arose again in the news recently after President Trump posted a photo of himself depicted as Jesus Christ:

The president later deleted the image following backlash from religious groups. But it nonetheless sparked conversations about his true intent. Is it possible Trump really does see himself as a divine figure? And if so, could Jerusalem be a factor? Trump last visited the city in October 2025, so (theoretically) he would have recovered from the syndrome at this point – though it hasn't stopped some folks from speculating. 

Types of Jerusalem Syndrome

Professional psychiatrists have broken down the Jerusalem syndrome phenomenon down into 3 “types” or categories of people that become afflicted: 

1. Those with a documented mental illness who specifically travel to Jerusalem because they believe themselves to be important historical religious figures, or who believe they can cause a significant religious event to occur (such as triggering the second coming of Christ).
2. Those who have not been yet diagnosed, but visit the city due to their previously held strange or supernatural beliefs about Jerusalem. These beliefs are intensified upon arrival to the city, and they similarly may believe they can bring about important Biblical events.
3. Most unsettlingly, those who have no previous history of mental illness nor overly supernatural beliefs about Jerusalem who nevertheless display any of the above behaviors upon arrival to the city.

Other ways in which this strange syndrome can manifest include: obsession over the significance of holy sites, relics, or even the city itself, anxiety, a need to explore the city alone, compulsive purification, preparation (ripping up hotel bed sheets to make togas), and/or removal of all clothing, even spontaneous long-winded preaching to crowds about morals.

Psychiatrists have long debated what exactly it is about the atmosphere of this city that brings about this unique behavior. Can these episodes be chalked up to the circumstances of jet lag or some other travel-related disorientation? Is Jerusalem syndrome the sudden manifestation of past mental illness, exacerbated by the spiritual significance of Jerusalem itself?

Or perhaps there is some greater metaphysical event at play?

What do you think? Is Jerusalem syndrome a divine delusion, or something more?