Jerusalem: From Past Divisions to a Shared Future? Balfour The Case for Equal Rights Souvenir Booklet from our Online Conference Held on 27th October 2020 Project Statement: Israel/Palestine: Equal Rights for lasting Peace The Balfour Project issued this statement at the end of the conference, signed by British Parliamentarians and Faith leaders, to be conveyed to the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary. We acknowledge Britain’s historic responsibilities for inequality and discrimination in Jerusalem and across the Holy Land. They stem from the last century, through the Balfour Declaration and the British Mandate for Palestine, with consequences which are still felt today. Past British responsibility for present injustice demands British commitment to work urgently for a better future, respecting equal rights. With British assistance, the Jewish people exercised their right to self-determination in the Holy Land more than 70 years ago. To this day, the Palestinian people are denied this right. This injustice must end. The future of Jerusalem is crucial to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and between Israel and the Arab and Muslim worlds. The recent normalisation of relations between Israel and some Arab Gulf states is no substitute for a lasting peace founded on broad popular consent from Israelis and Palestinians. Sharing Jerusalem is essential to gain that consent. Palestinians and Israelis will share the Holy Land forever, and must shape its future together. Only equality will bring safety and well-being, and essential dialogue. The two peoples, alone, have not attained peaceful coexistence. So, for the good of both, and if we truly mean what we say, we in Britain must help reverse current negative developments which only entrench separation and inequality. Civil society, including faith leaders, in the U.K., the rest of Europe and the USA, has a vital role in making that change happen. We call upon the British Government now to take the following five measures: – Reaffirm publicly East Jerusalem’s status under international law as occupied Palestinian territory and oppose current systematic efforts to undermine this status; – Press for true freedom of access for all believers – Jewish, Muslim and Christian– to their respective holy sites in Jerusalem: especially Jews to the Western Wall, Christians to the Holy Sepulchre, Muslims to al Aqsa Mosque, from wherever they live; – Work effectively to uphold the rule of law reflected in UN Security Council Resolutions, particularly Resolution 2334, which condemns illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory; – Insist that Israel end forthwith its discriminatory practices in Jerusalem, enabling all Jerusalemites to enjoy the same rights and services, regardless of creed or nationality; and – Recognise the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, with Jerusalem as the shared capital of both states. We seek a future of equal rights and peaceful coexistence between the peoples of Israel and Palestine in two states along the pre-1967 Green Line. Crucially, the wellbeing and security of both peoples in those states will grow with equality. We seek the Peace of Jerusalem. 27 October 2020 The conference is free, but please consider a donation to help us keep going www.peoplesfundraising.com/balfour-project Balfour Project is a Scottish Registered Charity (SC 047090) Signatories Tahir Ali MP Rt Reverend Declan Lang, Catholic Bishop of Clifton, Rt Hon Lord Anderson of Ipswich Chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Department of Claudia Beamish, Member of the Scottish International Affairs Parliament Carolyn Lawrence, Vice-President of the Methodist Clive Betts MP Conference, Methodist Church in Britain Rt Hon Baroness Tessa Blackstone Rt Hon Tony Lloyd MP Crispin Blunt MP Most Hon the Marquess of Lothian Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw MP Caroline Lucas MP Alan Brown MP Kenny MacAskill MP Richard Burden Seema Malhotra MP Wendy Chamberlain MP Imam Ajmal Masroor Joanna Cherry QC MP Very Reverend Dr Andrew McLellan, former Moderator Rt Reverend Christopher Chessun, Bishop of of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Southwark, Church of England Lead Bishop for Pauline McNeill, Member of the Scottish Parliament International Affairs Carol Monaghan MP Daisy Cooper MP James Graham, Duke of Montrose Rt Hon Lord Cope of Berkeley Layla Moran MP Neil Coyle MP John Nicolson MP Rt Hon Ed Davey MP, Leader, Liberal Democrats Lord Jonny Oates Wayne David MP, Shadow Minister for the Middle Rt Reverend Dr Joanna Penberthy, Bishop of St Davids East Rt Reverend John Pritchard, former Bishop of Oxford Most Reverend John Davies, Archbishop of Wales Yasmin Qureshi MP Martyn Day MP Andrew Selous MP Allan Dorans MP Tommy Sheppard MP Julie Elliott MP (Co chair of the All Party Andy Slaughter MP Parliamentary Group on Palestine) Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames Rt Reverend Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the Rt Hon Jack Straw General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Rev Richard Teal, President of the Methodist John Finnie, Member of the Scottish Parliament Conference, Methodist Church in Britain Patrick Grady MP Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Saltaire Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC Rt Hon Lord Norman Warner Rt Hon Lord Bruce Grocott Rt Hon Baroness Sayeeda Warsi (Co chair of the All Party Rt Hon Lord Peter Hain Parliamentary Group on Palestine) Lord Hannay of Chiswick Sandra White, Member of the Scottish Parliament Neale Hanvey MP Dr Philippa Whitford MP Wera Hobhouse MP Munira Wilson MP Baroness Sheila Hollins Lord Wood of Anfield Rt Hon Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece Lord Raymond Hylton Lord Michael Jay This statement reflects the views of the Balfour Project Rt Hon David Jones MP and the signatories listed above. It does not reflect the Lord Frank Judd diverse views of all the contributors to the conference, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC to whom we are deeply grateful. The conference is free, but please consider a donation to help us keep going www.peoplesfundraising.com/balfour-project Balfour Project is a Scottish Registered Charity (SC 047090) About the For hundreds of millions of followers of the three Abrahamic Balfour Project faiths around the world Jerusalem is a sacred city. Being able to access freely its holy places is for them of paramount importance. And, for Palestinians, East Jerusalem must be the MISSION STATEMENT capital of their future state. Putting the city back on the table was the purpose of this major conference. Acknowledging Britain’s historical and continuing responsibilities, through Sir Vincent Fean (Chair of Balfour Project Board of Trustees): popular education and advocacy to The questions we ask today are: can we establish the facts of the uphold equal rights for the Israeli and situation and highlight them: historical, legal, religious, actual. Palestinian peoples. To persuade the Second, can we explore the prospects for positive change British Government to recognise the inclusively, or more of the same when more of the same means state of Palestine alongside the state entrenching inequality? Third, what should Britain and others say of Israel. and do to advance equal rights and peaceful coexistence— government parliament, civil society, all of us, not acting alone, PATRONS but acting and doing so in concert with like-minded people Rt Hon Tom Brake elsewhere in Europe, in the United States, in Israel, and in Richard Burden Palestine. Our speakers will seek to put Jerusalem back on the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, Bishop table - for there will be no solution to this conflict without an of Southwark inclusive solution on Jerusalem, sharing the future. We seek the Rt Revd Declan Lang, Bishop of Clifton peace of Jerusalem. Rt Revd John Pritchard, former Bishop of Oxford Very Revd Dr Andrew McLellan CBE Baroness Morris of Bolton Rabbi Danny Rich Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames Dr Philippa Whitford MP HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan: It was Benjamin Disraeli, a Sephardic Jew, converted to Anglicanism and HRH Prince El reputedly died a Roman Catholic, who gave us one of the most evocative descriptions of old Jerusalem when he Hassan Bin Talal visited in the early 19th century. ..”The view of Jerusalem is the history of the world; it is more, it is the history of earth and of heaven.” of Jordan It is a history that is also deeply entwined with that of my own family. As Sharif of Mecca and King of Hejaz, my great-grandfather Sharif Hussein presided over the principal routes of pilgrimage… respect for each other's Holy Places was ingrained in a tradition of hospitality and watering and sanctuary. This hereditary duty directly links Mecca with the Glorious Esplanade and the Holy sites. Even now the holiness of the city does not ensure an agreed solution for its future. Only the legal arguments offer a dispassionate, neutral route out of the labyrinth, a counterbalance to the partisan nature of the political polemic and the dogmatic quality of so much of the religious debate. His Royal Highness was officially I have been a lifelong friend of the United Kingdom. invested as Crown Prince to the Hashemite Throne of Jordan, in 1965. Until 1999, he served as the I deeply admire its fundamental values and principles, King’s closest political advisor, including the upholding of the rule of law. Speaking as a confidant and deputy, as well as friend, I should add that though British interest in acting as Regent in the King’s Jerusalem has not always translated into attention to the absence from the country. well-being and equal treatment of all Jerusalem's residents today … the city concerns us all with its rich social fabric, a city that means so much to the peoples of the Abrahamic faiths and to the whole world. ..I would like to speak above all to… those concerned British people who worry about current negative trends and can make their voices heard in calls to those responsible for a change of direction before it is too late.