Jerusalem — Israelis may purchase property in all parts of Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu said.
The Israeli prime minister’s comments Sunday to his Cabinet at its weekly meeting came after the U.S. State Department told Israel’s ambassador to the United States over the weekend that the Jewish state must halt a construction project in eastern Jerusalem.
“I would like to re-emphasize that the united Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “Our sovereignty over it cannot be challenged. This means, inter alia, that residents of Jerusalem may purchase apartments in all parts of the city.
“(I)n recent years hundreds of apartments in Jewish neighborhoods and in the western part of the city have been purchased by or rented to Arab residents, and we did not interfere. This says that there is no ban on Arabs buying apartments in the western part of the city and there is no ban on Jews buying or building apartments in the eastern part of the city.
“I can only describe to myself what would happen if someone would propose that Jews could not live in certain neighborhoods in New York, London, Paris or Rome. There would certainly be a major international outcry. Accordingly, we cannot agree to such a decree in Jerusalem.”
The State Department summoned Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren to tell him that Israel must put a halt to the construction of an apartment project in eastern Jerusalem, according to Israeli news reports.
American philanthropist Irving Moskowitz purchased the land, on which the Shepherd Hotel sits and located near an Israeli compound housing several government ministries, in 1985. He plans to build 20 apartments there.
“The acquisition of the land that includes the Shepherd Hotel was legal and received the necessary renovation and construction,” according to a statement from the Municipality of Jerusalem.
“Not only were 20 apartments approved,” the statement says later, “but a number of conditions that include the preservation of the historic structure were prescribed by the committee.”
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We give Israel $3 billion a year, and Netanyahu told our President to go f* himself.
The comment boards of major newspapers like the New York Times are filled with messages denouncing Netanyahu and Israeli policies.
Unfortunately, they're spilling over into denouncing Israel and Jews as well. The pro-settler policies are *promoting* antisemitism.
Occupying the land beyond the 1967 borders violates international law, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry's own legal adviser, Theodor Meron http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/opinion/10gorenberg.html It's also illegal to use U.S. aid to build settlements.
Obama is the first President to meet with the peace movement, and I give him a lot of credit for that. He should follow their advice.
There's an easy solution. The Arab Peace Initiative is on the table. The Arab world is willing to recognize Israel and normalize relations, if Israel goes back to the 1967 (legal) borders, and gives the Palestinians a fair settlement.
Obama should tell Netanyahu to take it.
The Arabs have said that the right of return is a right which can be negotiated. The settlers in Gaza got $200-300,000 per family to leave their homes. Most Palestinians would consider $200-300,000 to be fair compensation.
But more important than money, the Palestinians have said that what they want is respect -- an apology, and a recognition that they were wronged http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/opinion/25atran.html
Netanyahu is giving them the very opposite of respect and recognition. He's killing their children, and moving farther into their land. If you want safety and security, you don't provoke and insult your enemies like that.
Obviously the settler's highest priority is not safety and security for Israel.
This has reached a crisis. We can't afford to indulge these nationalist fanatics any more. Our President has to stop humiliating himself before Netanyahu and start giving orders.
I hope my fellow Jews will ignore these abusive attacks and concentrate on the real task before us:
How can we support President Obama and encourage him to stand up to Netanyahu?
How can we support J Street and our other progressive Jewish organizations?
Check the J Street web site http://www.jstreet.org/
Get the facts from Democracy Now http://www.democracynow.org/ and Common Dreams http://www.commondreams.org/
There's a good article in Haaretz, which nicely expresses my point that the right wing is no longer dominating the debate.
I will quote from it, since it's poor etiquette to copy and paste the whole thing into the comments forum:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1093667.html
Why aren't Jews outraged by Israeli occupation? By Antony Loewenstein Haaretz July 11, 2009
Quote:
The decades-old ability of Zionist groups to manage the public narrative of Israeli victimhood is breaking down. Damning critics has therefore become a key method of control.
But, writes Salon.com's Glenn Greenwald, a leading Jewish-American blogger, "whereas these smear tactics once inspired fear in many people, now they just inspire pity. They no longer work."
Do Arabs have the right to purchase property anywhere in Jerusalem too?
Norman, Don't mind the vituperative comments of the anti-Norman. I have seen quite a number of irrational respondents lately. Anti Normans of the world feel lost and impotent. They have been schooled in the nether realm of O'Reilly, Hannity and of course, Rush. This is not their time anymore This is ours. Hopefully we will forge a new Middle East before Israel self-destructs by virtue of reactionary policy.
Shai, that's a good question. The answer is no.
Here's a discussion from Americans for Peace Now on the rights of Palestinians to live in West Jerusalem.
http://peacenowconversation.org/?p=258 Setting the Record Straight: Palestinians Can’t Really Live in West Jerusalem July 20, 2009, posted by Lara Friedman
(There are other restrictions on East Jerusalem. I think B'Tselem had a few articles about that on its website.)
Netanyahu's argument is fundamentally dishonest.
Leave aside the fact that he is not telling the truth about Arabs being able to freely buy or rent land in Jerusalem. This is not about Jews being restricted from buying land in Palestine. It is about the state of Israel extending its unlawful sovereignty over more of occupied Palestine.
If a Palestinian was permitted to buy a house in West Jerusalem, and did so, that's a purely private transaction. If Moskowitz's people buy up land and reside in East Jerusalem, it is a political act. These purchases facilitate illegal Israeli land grabs, which is why it is ideologues like Moskowitz who finance them.
Unlike the racial restrictions on land use in Israel, it is unobjectionable to restrict people like Moskowitz from setting up enclaves of violent racial supremacists in Palestinain areas. In fact, as an occupier Israel has the duty to prevent such things.
There is something terribly wrong when a country forbids its own citizens (Arab Israelis and Arabs from east Jerusalem)from purchasing land in West Jerusalem or any other part of Israel where a majority of Jews reside although it is fine for Jews to claim manifest destiny in land that is occupied following the '67 war.
There was a law suit a number of years ago built upon a situation where an Israeli Arab nurse was forbidden to buy land in a new development inhabited by Jews. The Keren Kayemet (Jewish Nat. Fund) did not want "Jewish" land going to Arabs. The nurse was chagrined since he treated Jewish patients in the hospital in matters of life and death. After 5 years, Israeli Supreme Court agreed with the nurse and gave him the go ahead to purchase a piece of land. While justice was ultimately served, the situation remains.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1101682.html
Here's some good news. The whole world is joining in the demands to end the settlements.
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSLL696621 Europe raises pressure on Israel to stop settlements Tue Jul 21, 2009 3:01pm EDT * Germany, France and Sweden protest against settler plans * Netanyahu said to have plan to remove unauthorised outposts
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