Jerusalem--On the brink of Partition?

A Tur, eastern Jerusalem. Russian Church of the Ascension.


When Jewish tourists think of Jerusalem, they generally have in mind the
Western Wall, the Israel Museum, Ben Yehuda Mall and Yad Vashem. Tourists, like most Israeli Jews, don't spend much time in eastern Jerusalem--despite the fact that this part of the Holy City holds the most historical, spiritual and strategic significance for Jews.

But as the declarations that a Palestine state will have east Jerusalem as its capital go on, perhaps it's time to understand the dynamics of the eastern part of the city.

In the face of Palestine Authority rhetoric, Israeli politicians both left and right cite "Jerusalem, the undivided capital of Israel" as the consensus mantra. It's the definition of the phrase that's fraught with surprises.

For some American and European politicians, Jewish development in eastern Jerusalem is a provocation and a threat to the 'peace process.' Thus, the idea that Jews have the right to build and live wherever they wish in Jerusalem, under Israeli sovereignty, is an unacceptable concept.

But without the strategic assets of pockets of Jewish settlement in eastern Jerusalem, the city would indeed be divided, de facto. Jews will continue to work and live in the western section, and Arabs will predominate in the eastern part of the city where so much of Jewish history took place.

The idea of surrounding the inner core of Jerusalem with areas of Jewish settlement is not new. Successive Israeli governments since 1967 have consistently carried out this policy--developing the neighborhoods of Maaleh Adumim, Pisgat Zeev, Givat Zeev, East Talpiot and the re-established Neve Yaakov (founded in 1924). Even a cursory look at a map of greater Jerusalem will reveal that these communities play a crucial role in forming a buffer against PA efforts to achieve territorial contiguity between the Old City and the two nearby areas already under PA control--Ramallah to the north and Bethlehem to the south.

Jewish efforts to establish institutions and neighborhoods in the area include Beit Orot, sitting on the northernmost ridge of the Mt of Olives. Beit Orot encompasses a hesder yeshiva (where students study and serve in the IDF) and development initiative. Located just below the Mt Scopus campus of Hebrew University, the yeshiva, founded by MK Rabbi Benny Elon and former MK Hanan Porat, educates and houses more than 100 students every year. Beit Orot has already started building the first Jewish neighborhood on the Mt of Olives in two thousand years.

Down the hill and to the west of Beit Orot lies the reclaimed
neighborhood of Shimon Hatzaddik (established in 1891). Less than half a
mile from Meah Shearim, slightly north of the Old City, the area is named
for the nearby tomb of Shimon Hatzaddik. Israeli flags now fly proudly
over the complex of small houses and a synagogue that make up the
neighborhood.

Ownership of the site, and a six dunam area of the neighborhood, lies in
the hands of the Vaad Sephardi Haredit--a Sephardic communal body whose members populated the area until the Arab riots of the 1920s and 30s drove them out. Jewish organizations have been quietly acquiring the "protected tenancy rights" of the Arab tenants who had squatted there for many years and young Jewish families are now reclaiming the property.

Vaad members noted that the bar mitzvah of Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef took place in 1933 at the synagogue in Shimon Hatzaddik. Behind the synagogue is a flight of stairs leading to Derekh Har HaZeitim, the road where 77 doctors and nurses trying to reach Hadassah Hospital on Mt Scopus were murdered in 1948. A simple monument marks the spot.

Torah learning at the renovated synagogue now draws residents of nearby
Ramat Eshkol and Maalot Dafna to study with Kollel (advanced) students.

A few years ago, a group of Jewish investors from Israel and abroad signed a deal to purchase 18 dunams of land surrounding the ancient Tomb and plans call 80 apartment units to be built over the next few years, re-establishing the important Jewish neighborhood.

A larger area of Jewish renewal is Ir David (the City of David), the
original biblical city of Jerusalem. Older than the Old City, it is the
Ancient City. Currently known as Shiloah or Silwan, it lies right below
Dung Gate south of the old City, the traditional entrance
to the Western Wall. Ir David is where King David created his capital and
it is there that 3,000 years ago he united Israel and Judea politically,
religiously and economically.

One hundred years ago, Silwan was home to a Jewish community consisting primarily of Yemenite Jewish immigrants. But it was here that Jerusalem was founded. Not in the old city nor where the Western Wall stands today. So it's not surprising that young Jewish families want to live there today. In fact, more than thirty families now make their homes in Ir David. Extensive archaeological excavations have been taking place in
recent years, and a new visitors center entices people to learn more about Jewish history.

Strategically, strengthening Jewish presence in Ir David is important,
since the area lies on the only access route to the Western Wall from the
south. Another important strategic asset directly faces Ir David from the
opposite side of Silwan, atop the Kidron valley. Maale Hazeitim (Ras el
Amud) is another link along the Mt of Olives ridge, and creates a buffer
between Abu Dis and the Temple Mount.

The way to Maale Hazeitim is along the Jericho Road that cuts
through the Mt of Olives cemetery, the oldest Jewish burial ground in the
world. The site commands a magnificent and unusual view of the Temple
Mount, and makes property there most desirable. Construction of the first phase has been completed and dozens of families make their homes there. The site is a private initiative of Florida based philanthropist, Dr. Irving Moskowitz who purchased the property more than 20 years ago .

The site is continually referred to in the international press as being in
"traditionally Arab east Jerusalem." Standing on the roof of the site, it's difficult to understand what is traditionally Arab about this area. To the north lies the ancient Mt of Olives Jewish burial ground. Behind the site, to the east is the Israeli police headquarters for Judea and Samaria. Look west and you'll see the City of David and the Temple Mount surrounded by the walls of the Old City; south lies the Christian Monastery of Abraham. The majority of residents living in the neighborhood today are Arab, but that hardly justifies the "traditionally Arab" appellation.

One more area of Jewish development in eastern Jerusalem that is of
enormous strategic significance is Har Homa. Located within Jerusalem's
municipal boundaries, Har Homa is in the southern part of Jerusalem near
Kibbutz Ramat Rachel and Gilo, bordering on PA controlled Bethlehem. The 1,850 dunam site is on a previously desolate, uncultivated and barren hill.

The building project at Har Homa will ultimately include 6,500 housing units, as well as schools, parks, public buildings, commercial and industrial zones. After years of stalling under the threat of Arab violence, construction on the first stage of 2,456 housing units finally began on election day, 1999 and hundreds of families have moved into the neighborhood since the first phase completion in 2004.

The days are short before the battle for control of Jerusalem will
be decided. Efforts to establish Jewish strategic assets remain the best
hope of ensuring that "a united Jerusalem" will mean more than just a
slogan.