In this post, I discuss the accusation that Israel engages in "Judaization" of Jerusalem and other areas in the Holy Land.
I will consider, in turn, three Israeli activities that Palestinians characterize as "Judaization":
Note: In what follows, I consider what I will call "East Jerusalem" separately from the Jewish holy sites there such as The Mount of Olives, the Western Wall, the Temple Mount / Haram al Sharif, and the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. These areas pose more complicated questions that will have to be dealt with separately. ARCHAEOLOGICAL DIGS: Recently, U.S. ambassador to Israel David Friedman and Jason Greenblatt, Trump's chief legal officer and advisor on Israel, broke the ground on a new excavation of a Roman-era road in East Jerusalem. For many Jews, this was an exciting moment, since some archaeologists believe that this road was used by Jewish pilgrims on their way to the Second Holy Temple. However, like the highly controversial City of David archaeological site, this road also runs underneath the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan (pictured above on the left). Even though it was a ceremonial cardboard wall, the image of Friedman and Greenblatt waving a sledgehammer to a structure underneath a Palestinian neighborhood has not played well with Palestinians. To them, it symbolizes American blanket support for what they see as Israel's erasure of their history and their present-day neighborhoods. Palestinian politicians and advocates have been quick to condemn the excavations, calling them part of Israel's "imperialistic Judaization plan" to change the character of Jerusalem. The high-ranking Palestinian diplomat Saeb Erekat even went so far as to claim that the site is "fake" and "based on a lie that has nothing to do with history". Below, I will attempt to unpack some of the complicated reactions that leftist Zionists are having to this very frustrating exchange. In no particular order:
[1] Here are several examples:
JEWS MOVING TO PALESTINIAN NEIGHBORHOODS IN EAST JERUSALEM: Right-wing groups such as Elad, the municipal government of Jerusalem, the Israeli national government have taken various measures that encourage Jewish immigration to Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. This is one of the main actions that Palestinians describe as "Judaization". Some reactions:
BUILDING PERMITS One frequent complaint of Palestinians, be it in East Jerusalem, Israel-proper, or the West Bank, is that Israeli officials make it *extremely* difficult for them to obtain building permits. So, when Palestinians build in these cases, their structures are liable to be demolished by the Israeli government due to illegality. Or, because they're built illegally, it's harder to make these structures conform to building codes, with the result that they more often are structurally unsound, prone to fires, have inadequate plumbing, not connected to the electrical grid, etc.
2 Comments
Horazio
7/6/2019 09:17:58 am
I don't have much to add to the points you made above about archeological diggings; they seem sensible to me. However, I don't think that archeological diggings are the only or even the main bone of contention in accusations regarding the "Judaization" of Jerusalem. I think the term very often refers to Israel's perceived efforts to strengthen the Jewish demographic in Jerusalem through the use of selectively issued building permits and the determination of municipal boundaries. I wonder if you have thoughts to share about these criticisms?
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LiberalZionist
7/6/2019 12:21:54 pm
Ah, thank you, Horazio, for bringing this up!
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