Yudith Oppenheimer, Executive Director, Ir Amim
Ilana Sichel, Research Fellow, Ir Amim
This past Sunday, Jerusalem celebrated the opening day of "Education Transcends Walls," a week-long focus on education in honor of Jerusalem Day -- the Israeli anniversary of the "reunification" of the city following the 1967 war. The event featured a wide array of performances, concerts, and panels discussing and honoring the achievements and challenges of Jerusalem in the educational sphere.
It seemed, however, that the evening's lofty title belonged to another event altogether. It soon became evident that schools serving the Palestinian third of Jerusalem's population were conspicuously absent. It seemed, in fact, that despite the optimistically entitled event, Jerusalem's walls were strong, intact, and higher than ever.
As was apparent that evening and over the four decades of Israeli control, Jerusalem has never become a united city. East and West Jerusalem are divided along lines of both political and national aspirations, as well as by deep socioeconomic disparities. Jerusalem's population is further divided by cultural orientation: Israelis look west toward Tel Aviv while Palestinians look toward Ramallah in the West Bank. Nonetheless, both Israelis and Palestinians see Jerusalem as their capital city. Negotiation efforts have made it clear that no political resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will come to pass if it does not include a mutual resolution on Jerusalem.
Though Israeli politicians seek popularity points by accusing each other of dividing the city, Israelis themselves seem to be more sanguine about the complicated realities of Jerusalem. A public opinion poll commissioned by Ir Amim revealed that 78% of Israelis see life in the city as effectively divided. A further 65% would be willing to forego Israeli jurisdiction over Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem for the sake of a peace agreement, as long as the holy sites remained accessible. These numbers point to the need for leadership that will move toward a negotiated settlement in Jerusalem; leadership that will build a city in which both nations can live in dignity, a city which honors and protects the three religions and two national narratives within it. (See "State of Affairs: Jerusalem 2008" for analysis and research on Jerusalem life and politics.)
Meanwhile, Jerusalem's walls are being reinforced. The separation wall courses around and through the city, and cuts off Palestinian Jerusalemites from their cultural and economic environs in Ramallah, Bethlehem, and the West Bank. In some areas, the wall even cuts off Palestinian Jerusalemites from the very city in which they live, work, learn, and pay taxes. Those who remain within the walls of Jerusalem suffer from municipal neglect: they face a shortage of over 1500 classrooms and over 70 km of sewage mains. They find it nearly impossible to obtain building permits in their own city, and as residents, not citizens, know that leaving Jerusalem for the West Bank may cut them off from the city forever.
The challenge for today is to create two effective political communities in the urban space now known as Jerusalem. The answer -- a path toward a stable and secure future -- will look less like a series of performances and concerts, and more like a reckoning of the contradictory realities of Jerusalem and the city's centrality in both Palestinian and Israeli political life.
In the new political climate created by the Obama administration, the Israeli government may find itself pushed to working toward a lasting resolution. As Jerusalemites find themselves increasingly surrounded by walls, the need is more pressing than ever to transform the city into a fulcrum for the resolution of the conflict -- and not a spark toward its conflagration. It is upon us to seize this chance for the future of the city cherished by Israelis and Palestinians, and by Christians, Jews, and Muslims around the world.
This article makes it clear that extremists want to deny Jewish religious connection to the temple mount.
Their passion is palpable.
High
UN Resolution 478:
2. Affirms that the enactment of the "basic law" by Israel constitutes a violation of international law and does not affect the continued application of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since June 1967, including Jerusalem;
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1979-1980/117%20Security%20Council%20Resolution%20478%20-1980-%20on%20Jeru
I am just shocked! If the UN really said that, then I'm convinced. Absolutely.
Because the UN decides what's right and wrong. It's a fair and unbiased arbiter of international order. No bias there.
Yep.
Israel will always remain in control of Jerusalem, and Muslims and Christians will always have access to their holy sites, as they should. Muslims need to get used to this fact.
...and Muslims and Christians will always have access to their holy sites...
Correction:
Israel restricted Palestinian access to Jerusalem to men older than 50 and women over 45, angering would-be worshipers eager to reach Islam's third holiest shrine for prayers on the first Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1018536.html
One-hundred and one states recognize the State of Palestine, and 21 more grant some form of diplomatic status to a Palestinian delegation, falling short of full diplomatic recognition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_the_Palestinian_National_Authority
Substantiation 2:
2. Affirms that the enactment of the "basic law" by Israel constitutes a violation of international law and does not affect the continued application of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since June 1967, including Jerusalem;
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign%20Relations/Israels%20Foreign%20Relations%20since%201947/1979-1980/117%20Security%20Council%20Resolution%20478%20-1980-%20on%20Jeru
Its a military occupation. It doesnt belong to the Israelis.
No country recognizes Israels occupation and settlement as having legal basis. The whole world is in agreement that the seizing and settlement of occupied land is unlawful. Israel has no support anywhere and it doesnt have a mandate.
The Geneva convention and international law specifically forbids the seizing of land and the building of residential settlements under military protection. Public statements by right-wing Israelis wont change that fact.
The settlers must be removed and the land returned. It is the responsibility of an occupying army to protect civilians under the occupation. Not steal their land and resources.
The "Geneva convention" says absolutely nothing regarding Israel's occupation of the West Bank. It was never intended to address a situation in which a country defensively captured land from an aggressor.
http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/INTRO/380?OpenDocument
Read carefully, talkative friend.
who says so, not according to UN?