“United Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty.”
Who, if anyone, is working to ensure that this ideal becomes a permanent and accepted international fact? What is being done to ensure that, just like the phrase “united Washington under American sovereignty” is a no-brainer, the same will be true about Jerusalem?
Do the city fathers, or Israel’s national leaders, have a master plan to lead us towards permanent “United Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty”? Has a comprehensive policy ever been formulated to direct trends in housing, demographics, public relations, tourism, and much more, toward the objective? Or are we passively allowing a quick-fix, band-aid approach to reign?
Most surprisingly and unfortunately, KeepJerusalem’s research has shown that neither the government nor any other official or unofficial body has prepared a 10- or 20-year policy plan geared toward maintaining, strengthening, and perpetuating the current united status of Jerusalem. Various experts we have consulted sadly concur with this conclusion. (The official Jerusalem website (www.jerusalem.muni.il) doesn’t even have a mission statement about the centrality, history, and long-term objectives of the city!)
Stepping in to fill the vacuum are many left-wing, pro-Palestinian organizations that have made the efforts to prepare such plans, or portions thereof. Their papers receive much attention among world governments, and even among that of Israel.
Consider for example the pro-two-state organization Terrestrial Jerusalem (TJ). TJ claims to “assemble under one organizational roof and for the first time, the experts and fields of expertise relevant to the Jerusalem issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” – experts such as founder Dan Seidemann and Hagit Ofran, Peace Now’s settlement watch expert.
Two features of its homepage (http://www.t-j.org.il) give a clear indication to where all its research, efforts, and Norwegian, Swiss and British funding (as it itself boasts) are directed: One is its “Photo of the Month,” which shows various residents of Jerusalem reading, writing, or praying in Arabic; not one of them appears to be Jewish, and no Hebrew appears in the photo. Adjacent to that is a quote by Israeli author Yehuda Amichai bemoaning the practice of Jerusalem tour guides to show off Jerusalem’s grand history.
Or consider the Ir Amim (City of Nations) organization, which strives not for a “united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty” but for “an equitable and stable Jerusalem with an agreed political future.” This latter is achievable, Ir Amim says, “only through a negotiated process between Israel and the Palestinians.” Ir Amim is behind large-scale public campaigns to oppose Jewish construction in Silwan, Jewish Temple Mount groups, Israeli-government education in eastern Jerusalem, and more.
Organizations of this ilk are often buttressed by the New Israel Fund, which supports many causes that strive to delegitimize Israel and the concept of a united Jerusalem under Jewish sovereignty.
These groups work hard to achieve their goals – and they are showing success. Their work certainly receives a supportive back wind by findings such as this 2006 declaration by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies: “According to population forecasts, if the existing demographic trends continue Jerusalem may, in about 25 years’ time, lose the Jewish majority which has characterized it since the second half of the 19th century. A change of this nature may have far-reaching geopolitical implications for Israel. [In addition, the] negative immigration balance that has characterized Jerusalem since the early 1980s harms the city’s image and does not positively contribute to its social status.”
The population of Israel’s capital was of course overwhelmingly Jewish before the Six-Day War. Immediately afterward, with the liberation of the Old City and other neighborhoods, it became only 74 percent Jewish and then began gradually dropping, to 69 percent by 2000, 66 percent in 2004, and nearly 60 percent by 2013. At current rates, within 20 years Jerusalem will lose its Jewish majority for the first time since the 1860s.
We who believe in “United Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty” appear to be dropping the ball, and we must scramble to pick it up.
KeepJerusalem is working to compile a policy paper that is essentially a practical “tool chest” to serve the city in keeping United Jerusalem as Judaism’s historic and religious capital under Israeli sovereignty. This “tool chest” includes detailed reports and recommendations by experts in the following fields, among others:
*A Mission Statement for the City of Jerusalem: Formulation and presentation the Jewish Nation’s historic and legal rights to Jerusalem.
* Security: the dangers of re-dividing the city, how to maintain security under the status quo, and how to manage security such that it will not lead to pressures to divide the city.
* Demographics: how to ensure that demographic trends favor the maintenance of a Jewish majority without harming the civil rights of Arabs.
* Holy sites: Maintaining free access, and ensuring their management such that they will not be a reason for pressures to divide the city.
*Public relations
In addition, we are seeking to list and formulate practical steps for improved management of a Jewish city with a sizeable Arab minority, in the areas of housing, municipal administration of different neighborhoods, historic sites such as archaeological digs and finds in Arab-populated neighborhoods, and strengthening awareness of Jerusalem’s historic Jewish past.
Dov Kalmanovitch, known as the first victim of the first Arab intifada – he was very seriously wounded by an Arab-hurled firebomb in early 1988 – is now deputy mayor of Jerusalem. In a brief talk with KeepJerusalem, he admitted, “Yes, there is a worsening demographic problem in Jerusalem, and there is no official municipal policy that has been formulated to deal with it.”
Another deputy mayor, Ofer Berkovitch, has an idea for an immediate band-aid solution: He has called upon the finance minister and the government to initiate laws that will free up the thousands of apartments that stand empty. Many of them are owned by Jews who live abroad but wish to have a foothold in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, these homes that stand empty 48-50 weeks a year, awaiting the annual visits by their owners, or their owners’ relatives, are an unhealthy phenomenon for the Jerusalem population. Berkovitch wants to see increased taxes on these apartments, so that it will be worth their owners’ while to rent them out, thus driving down rental prices and increasing Jewish housing.
For now, KeepJerusalem calls on the Jerusalem Municipality to enforce housing regulations against illegal Arab housing, and to take all measures to ensure affordable housing for young Jews – and on the Jewish world to remember that aliyah and Jewish education are the most direct routes to securing the future of the Jewish people, Israel, and Jerusalem.
To become a strong advocate for keeping Jerusalem united under Israeli sovereignty, please visit both the holy city itself as well as the Keep Jerusalem-Im Eshkachech website at www.keepjerusalem.org. Send an e-mail to [email protected] for information on our bus tours in news-making areas of the capital.