Doc's Talk: Jerusalem Mayor Postpones Plan for Historic Neighborhood

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Jerusalem Mayor Postpones Plan for Historic Neighborhood

Municipality to Work with Residents on Housing Agreement
www.theisraelproject.org

Launch of King’s Garden Plan (PDF, provided by Jerusalem Municipality)

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat announced Tuesday (March 2) that he would delay implementation of a plan to revitalize the city’s historic Al Bustan section, located in the mostly Arab neighborhood of Silwan.[1] The plan has caused controversy because its restoration of the western part of the area, known in Hebrew as Gan Hamelech (King’s Garden) would require the demolition of about 22 houses illegally built there.[2] [3] Barkat made the decision to postpone the plan, estimated to cost $50 million - $100 million,[4] at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who wants to avoid tensions created by what he called “elements…interested in sowing strife and discord and in presenting a distorted picture to the country and the world.”[5]

In the meantime, Barkat said he would hold further talks with area residents to reach a housing agreement with them.[6] A senior city official met with residents of illegal houses in March 2009 to discuss the issue,[7] and since then the municipality has met dozens of times with area residents and their representatives.[8]

In the summer of 2009, the municipality issued demolition orders for 88 Al Bustan houses built in violation of a late-1970s municipality decision designating the area as a public, open space where residential construction is prohibited. Despite the four-decade-old zoning restrictions, the municipality has not demolished or evicted residents from the homes.[9] The city also decided to waive legal actions against other buildings erected in the area prior to 1992.[10]

In addition to restoring Gan Hamelech – thought to be the site where the biblical King David wrote the psalms[11] – and creating a tourist park there, Barkat’s development plan would provide for the construction of apartments above a new commercial area.[12] The plan would also retroactively issue permits to some of the post-1992 houses. As a compromise, the residents of the 22 houses slated for demolition could build new homes as high as four storeys in the eastern part of the neighborhood[13] and would have the opportunity to own businesses in the tourist park.[14]

An Israeli court applied the same criteria for demolishing a nearby illegal Jewish structure.[15] Barkat announced in February that he would carry out a court order to evacuate Jewish residents of Beit Yehonatan – a 7-storey building in Silwan – because the building lacked the proper permits.[16]

In 2009, house demolitions conducted by the Jerusalem municipality decreased by 25 percent.[17] Israel usually demolishes illegal buildings only in severe cases, such as when a structure is built illegally on roadbeds or on land designated for public institutions.[18]

Residents of illegal houses in Silwan were previously offered alternative land for construction in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina and other areas of the city.[19] Under the new plan, residents of illegal houses would have the ability to stay within Silwan, where their housing status would be normalized.[20]

Following are other important aspects of the plan:

• Housing units will be built for area residents to meet the needs of Silwan residents.[21]

• A 32,290-sq.-ft. (3,000-sq.-meter) ground-level area will be designated for tourist shops, artists’ studios and restaurants.[22]

• Roads, sewage and other public infrastructure will be improved.[23]

• A 21,528-sq.-ft. (2,000-sq.-meter) area with an underground parking garage will be designated for a public facility building, which will include schoolrooms, daycares, fitness centers and more.[24]

Footnotes:

[1] “The King’s Garden (Gan Hamelech, Al Bustan) – Development Plan,” Jerusalem Municipality press release, March 2, 2010

[2] Ravid, Barak; Hasson, Nir, “Jerusalem mayor agrees to delay demolition of Arab homes,” Haaretz, March 2, 2010, http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153351.html

[3] McCarthy, Rory, “Jerusalem mayor unveils demolition plan,” The Guardian (UK), March 2, 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/02/israeli-prime-minister-jerusalem-mayor-demolition

[4] Bronner, Ethan, “Mayor’s Housing Offer Sets Off Row in Jerusalem,” The New York Times, Feb. 25, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/world/middleeast/26mideast.html

[5] “Statement on the ‘Gan Hamelech’ Project,” Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, March 2, 2010

[6] Ravid, Barak; Hasson, Nir, “Jerusalem mayor agrees to delay demolition of Arab homes,” Haaretz, March 2, 2010, http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153351.html

[7] Lefkovits, Etgar, “Barkat may Relocate Silwan Residents,” The Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1237461629053&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

[8] “The King’s Garden (Gan Hamelech, Al Bustan) – Development Plan,” Jerusalem Municipality press release, March 2, 2010

[9] Sofer, Roni, “Barkat to suspend Silwan plan at PM's request,” YnetNews, March 2, 2010, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3856753,00.html; “Silwan families: Israel serves 8 new demolition orders,” Maan News Agency, Feb. 24, 2010, http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=263972

[10] “The Planning Crisis in East Jerusalem: Understanding the phenomenon of “illegal” construction,” Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, occupied Palestinian territory, April 2009, http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_planning_crisis_east_jerusalem_april_2009_english.pdf

[11] Bronner, Ethan, “Mayor’s Housing Offer Sets Off Row in Jerusalem,” The New York Times, Feb. 25, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/world/middleeast/26mideast.html

[12] Bronner, Ethan, “Mayor’s Housing Offer Sets Off Row in Jerusalem,” The New York Times, Feb. 25, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/world/middleeast/26mideast.html

[13] Sofer, Roni, “Barkat to suspend Silwan plan at PM's request,” YnetNews, March 2, 2010, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3856753,00.html

[14] Ravid, Barak; Hasson, Nir, “Jerusalem mayor agrees to delay demolition of Arab homes,” Haaretz, March 2, 2010, http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1153351.html

[15] “Response by the Jerusalem Municipality,” Office of Mayor Nir Barkat, May 21, 2009, http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=43656

[16] Selig, Abe, “Barkat agrees to evacuate Beit Yehonaton,” The Jerusalem Post, Feb. 2, 2010, http://www.jpost.com/LocalIsrael/InJerusalem/Article.aspx?ID=167736

[17] “Municipality slams BBC demolition report,” The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 21, 2010, http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=166317

[18] Weiner, Justus Reid, “Illegal Construction in Jerusalem,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, 2003

[19] Lefkovits, Etgar, “Barkat may Relocate Silwan Residents,” The Jerusalem Post, March 19, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1237461629053&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

[20] Sofer, Roni, “Barkat to suspend Silwan plan at PM's request,” YnetNews, March 2, 2010, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3856753,00.html

[21] “The King’s Garden (Gan Hamelech, Al Bustan) – Development Plan,” Jerusalem Municipality press release, March 2, 2010

[22] “The King’s Garden (Gan Hamelech, Al Bustan) – Development Plan,” Jerusalem Municipality press release, March 2, 2010

[23] “The King’s Garden (Gan Hamelech, Al Bustan) – Development Plan,” Jerusalem Municipality press release, March 2, 2010

[24] “The King’s Garden (Gan Hamelech, Al Bustan) – Development Plan,” Jerusalem Municipality press release, March 2, 2010

The Israel Project is an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace. The Israel Project provides journalists, leaders and opinion-makers accurate information about Israel. The Israel Project is not related to any government or government agency. The Israel Project authorizes and welcomes use of any part or all of this release/statement free of charge and without attribution. .

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk