Jerusalem: a Primer Jerusalem: a Primer 2
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JERUSALEM: A PRIMER JERUSALEM: A PRIMER 2 STATE 194: ABOUT THE FILM In 2009, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad launched a plan to demonstrate that his people were deserving of statehood, inspiring them to change their destiny and seek UN membership. Since then, they’ve made remarkable progress, but the political quagmire--and Fayyad’s recent resignation from office--may destroy the most promising opportunity for peace in years. Parents Circle members Yitzhak Frankenthal (left) and Nabeel Sweety (right) Israeli Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni Former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad JERUSALEM: A PRIMER 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction . 4 Background . 5 Jerusalem’s Significance . 7 Jewish-Israeli Narrative . 7 Palestinian-Arab Narrative . 7 Jerusalem’s Status . 9 The Israeli Case that Jerusalem Must Remain Unified Under Israeli Sovereignty . 9 Confiscation, Displacement, Isolation: Israel’s East Jerusalem Policies through Palestinian Eyes . 9 Perspectives on Negotiations . 15 Jewish-Israeli Perspective . 15 Palestinian-Arab Perspective . 15 Conclusion: International Positions and Proposed Solutions . 18 Maps . 20 Jerusalem in the News . 24 Partial Reference List . 25 JERUSALEM: A PRIMER 4 WRITTEN AND CONCEIVED BY MELISSA WEINTRAUB IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TELOS GROUP, INC. INTRODUCTION Of all issues at the heart of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, Jerusalem may be the most fraught and decisive. Many observers claim it was the “radioactive” issue over which Camp David negotiations unraveled in 2000. Arguably, there remains a greater gulf between dominant Israeli and Palestinian narratives on Jerusalem than on any of the other core issues of the conflict. This primer aims to provide not just historical background and context to shed light on current disputes regarding Jerusalem, but also to share dominant Israeli and Palestinian narratives to elucidate the city’s unique holiness and significance to each people. It is not intended to be a comprehensive account of Jerusalem, but rather an entry point to understanding why Jerusalem remains one of the most intractable issues of the conflict. JERUSALEM: A PRIMER 5 BACKGROUND Followers of the three Abrahamic faiths have called Jerusalem home since the advent of their respective religions. In the past century, the holiness of the city has increasingly been deemed an obstacle to finding a terrestrial solution, and practical options for Jerusalem’s sovereignty have stumped the international community. Jerusalem’s place in the modern conflict can be divided into three main historical chapters: 1. 1917-1947 - British Mandate and international proposals: Before World War I, Jerusalem was under control of the Turkish Ottoman Empire for 400 years. After the Ottoman’s fall and the Allied Powers victory, the League of Nations—the predecessor to the United Nations—granted the British Mandate control over Palestine, including Jerusalem. They nonetheless stipulated that the rights and claims of all peoples to Jerusalem should be safeguarded by the international community. After World War II, in 1947, this drive to preserve Jerusalem’s globally-significant heritage was further reaffirmed by the United Nations in the Partition Plan, which called for the establishment of two states in the Holy Land, one Jewish and one Arab. The Partition Plan specifically called for a special international regime called the “corpus separatum,” including not only Jerusalem, but also Bethlehem and surrounding areas. Shortly after the announcement of the Partition Plan, however, war erupted and the “corpus separatum” was never implemented. 2. 1948-1967 - Division of Jerusalem between Israel and Jordan: At the end of the 1948 war, a ceasefire line running north to south cut through Jerusalem and divided it into “west” and “east” sections, the former controlled by Israel (about 38 sq km), the latter controlled by Jordan (approximately 6 sq km). The eastern part held the Old City, including many Jewish, Muslim, and Christian holy sites. Arguing against an internationalized Jerusalem, the Israeli delegation to the UN pointed to the inability of the international community to protect Jerusalem’s residents during the war. They claimed division of the city preferable to an international regime, though they did accept limited international control and protection of holy sites. The Arab delegation to the UN, meanwhile, stressed that prior Muslim sovereignty had protected the city’s holy sites in a way “satisfactory to all the world”, but accepted an international regime over Jerusalem in theory, given current “circumstances.” Nonetheless, while the international community recognized Israel and Jordan’s de facto control over respective sections of Jerusalem during these nineteen years, they did not recognize their sovereignty – universally refusing to build embassies in Jerusalem or recognize Jerusalem’s residents as citizens of either Israel or Jordan. This international equivocation set a precedence of ambiguity and contestation over claims of legality, sovereignty, and citizenship that continue to hover over the city’s status to this day. 3. 1967-present – “Reunification and Liberation” vs. “Occupation”: In the 1967 war, Israel captured the eastern section of the city and extended the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem by 71 sq km (including the 6 km that had been considered “East Jerusalem” as well as 65 additional sq km), and placed these areas under Israeli civil law. Israel generally views this annexation as a reunification and liberation of the city, a restoration of Judaism’s geographical heart to the people who have held it most sacred. Palestinians generally view Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem as an unjust and illegal expropriation of areas both hallowed and essential to Palestinian culture and economy. The international community generally recognizes areas of Jerusalem beyond the 1949 Armistice line (aka 1967 border and “Green Line”) as “occupied” by Israel, and Israel’s measures to change Jerusalem’s status unilaterally as illegal under international law. The international consensus remains that questions of sovereignty over Jerusalem as a whole must be determined in permanent status negotiations; no other country de jure recognizes Israel’s 1967 annexation of East Jerusalem. One outcome of this checkered history: what is meant by “Jerusalem” is itself contested. Israel generally refers to “Municipal Jerusalem,” including significant neighborhoods such as Pisgat Ze’ev, Gilo and Har Homa that lie beyond the 1967 border. By Jerusalem (or “Al-Quds”), Palestinians generally refer to the JERUSALEM: A PRIMER 6 Old City and surrounding Arab neighborhoods that were under Jordanian control from 1948-1967 (such as Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah), as well as at times to the Arab neighborhoods that became part of West Jerusalem under Israeli control in 1948. At the molten core of the struggle over Jerusalem lies the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif – called by CNN “undeniably…the most contested piece of real estate on earth.” The site’s 35 acres contain the Foundation Stone – holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike – which lies at the base of Jerusalem’s iconic golden Dome of the Rock. Among its biblical associations, the rock purportedly marks Mount Moriah, where Abraham readied himself to sacrifice his son Isaac at God’s command and Jacob dreamed of angels. For Jews, the Temple Mount is the world’s epicenter: the “Holy of Holies” where two Temples stood that were Judaism’s original fulcrum, the place to which prayers have been directed for 2000 years, and the locus at which Heaven and Earth touch. Along the western side of the Temple Mount lies the Wailing Wall or “Kotel,” a site of Jewish pilgrimage, prayer and mourning for the destruction of the Temple for centuries. For Muslims, the Haram or “noble sanctuary” marks one of the world’s three holiest sites, the place to which the Prophet Muhammed made his famous nocturnal journey and from which he ascended to Heaven, as well as the initial direction toward which Muslims directed their prayers. While many scholars suggest that 4th century Christian rulers turned the Temple Mount into a garbage dump in order to signify Christian “replacement” of Judaism, Muslim rulers built glorious mosques there, including Al-Aqsa as well as Dome of the Rock, to commemorate a place holy to Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus – all of whom Muhammed considered prophets. The site has been a seat of Muslim learning, prayer, and pilgrimage for centuries. After capturing the Old City in 1967, Israel allowed the Palestinian-led Islamic waqf to retain independent authority over the Haram/Temple Mount, but Israeli security forces maintain a regular presence on the site in an effort to stem incitement and violence on the part of both Jews and Muslims. Within the already contentious issue of Jerusalem, there is perhaps no more contentious issue than who will exercise control over the Haram/Temple Mount as well as the “Holy Basin,” a term designating sites sacred to three religions that link the Old City via the City of David/Silwan with the Mount of Olives. The site is of such symbolic significance – and so flammable – that perceived and/or real provocations in connection to it have sparked some of the most intense waves of violence the area has known, from the 1929 riots to the Second (aka “Al- Aqsa”) Intifada beginning in 2000. Jerusalem is, in short, a microcosm and magnification of the broader conflict over who may exercise rights in and sovereignty over the same strip of land and holy sites. Reaching an agreement on Jerusalem might well be the most significant lever and biggest barrier to resolving the conflict as a whole. JERUSALEM: A PRIMER 7 JERUSALEM’S SIGNIFICANCE JEWISH-ISRAELI PERSPECTIVES PALESTINIAN-ARAB PERSPECTIVES There is overwhelming support among Israelis The Palestinian narrative on Jerusalem begins with for Jerusalem remaining unified under Israeli the deep Palestinian historical connection to the sovereignty. Since Israel issued its Basic Law on Holy City and its holy sites, for which Palestinians Jerusalem in 1980, Israel has officially maintained served as the proud caretakers for centuries.