Remarkably, the resolution made sure to grant the Arabs of the Holy Land individual civil and religious rights – but specifically not those of a national political nature. Calling for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people,” it added that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.”
Despite this, the upcoming march caps the international campaign to deny Israel the right to cement Jerusalem’s Jewish nature. Israel stands accused of attempting to “maintain a unified Jerusalem; to Judaize or Israelize it, demographically and politically.” Given the deep bonds between the Jews and Jerusalem, and in light of the Arab attempts to “Arab-ize” the city when they controlled it and to erase proof of our historic ties to the city, these accusations are nothing short of preposterous.
Yet they command the attention of anti-Semites around the world, and even have the potential to ignite conflagrations this week all across Israel’s borders. And so we must continue to fight these outlandish positions, wherever and however we can.
For more information on how to participate in keeping Jerusalem Jewish, via bus tours of critical parts of Jerusalem, updates, and more, send an e-mail to [email protected] or visit Keep Jerusalem-Im Eshkachech’s website at www.keepjerusalem.org.
Chaim Silberstein is president of Keep Jerusalem-Im Eshkachech and the Jerusalem Capital Development Fund. He was formerly a senior adviser to Israel’s minister of tourism. Hillel Fendel, past senior editor at Israel National News/Arutz-7, is a veteran writer on Jerusalem affairs. Both have lived in Jerusalem and now live in Beit El.