Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has stated that no pact is
possible with the Palestinians on the question of Jerusalem.
However, without some Israeli concessions to the Palestinians in
regard to their political rights in Jerusalem, there will be no
Middle East peace.
While it is not clear whether or not a Labor party government would
have made the kind of concessions on Jerusalem which would have
facilitated peace, it is quite clear that this present Likud
government will definitely not make those concessions. The Israeli
government is already advancing anti-peace plans for Israeli
building in Ras Al-Amoud, Silwan, A-Tur, and on Har Homa (Jabal Abu
Ghneim).
Mr. Netanyahu voices what he calls the Israeli consensus on
Jerusalem which, he claims, brought him to power. This consensus,
defined as supposedly the Israeli policy, is as follows: All of
Jerusalem is Israel's eternal, undivided capital; all of Jerusalem
must remain under Israeli sovereignty forever.
For years I have maintained that this is not really the consensus
of Israeli opinion on Jerusalem, but is in fact a rather narrow
view of what should be the future of this city. If Israelis were
given legitimacy to voice their true opinions on Jerusalem, it
would become quite clear that large sectors of the public recognize
that Jerusalem is a very divided city. If Israelis were encouraged
to speak out, then perhaps Israeli leaders, such as Mr. Netanyahu,
would understand that true peace is preferable to the myth of a
united Jerusalem under unilateral Israeli control.
During the last election campaign, both the Likud and Labor
competed in convincing the public which was more loyal to the myth.
Meretz didn't come out any better, refusing to adopt a clear
platform on Jerusalem, which expressed what the majority of Meretz
voters really believe - that Jerusalem must be shared. It is time
for Israeli leaders in the peace camp to shape public opinion and
to help Israelis understand that, eventually, Jerusalem can
continue to be the capital of Israel and at the same time the
capital of Palestine, without in any way harming Israel's interests
in the city. In fact, the opposite is quite true: as the capital of
Israel and Palestine, Jerusalem will finally be recognized by the
world as the legitimate seat of Israel's government.
A Shared Jerusalem
Israelis and Palestinians must act together, speak out together,
meet together, demonstrate together, lobby together for a united,
shared Jerusalem under the flag: "United Jerusalem, One City, Two
Capitals." This campaign should be waged by masses, not by elite
groups. Just as the Israeli streets were plastered with bumper
stickers about the Golan, so must we show our strength with this
slogan - United Jerusalem, One City, Two Capitals. While I believe
that the Israeli public is not unified in support of one Jerusalem
for Israel only, a large part of the Israeli public's voice is not
being, and has not been heard, on the Israeli or international
arena. The challenge before us, in the peace camp, is to have those
other voices heard. Many Israelis have long recognized that there
are two Jerusalems, not one. Many of us have been struggling
academically and politically to create a formula which would
guarantee that the two Jerusalems, Israeli Jerusalem and
Palestinian Jerusalem, become a unified Jerusalem, shared, governed
and cherished in a spirit which would recognize the political and
national rights of both sides in the city. We must get people to
understand that Jerusalem will never be a unified city unless it
can be shared. Jerusalem is a city of two peoples both of which
claim national, historic and religious rights to it. Real sharing
can only be achieved by recognizing the political reality which has
existed here since 1967, which is that there are really two
Jerusalems - one Palestinian and one Israeli. Jerusalem can stay
physically united. Infrastructures, economic development and some
elements of planning can be conducted jointly, while other
municipal affairs can be separate.
In our struggle to achieve a United Jerusalem of One City and Two
Capitals, we must understand what roles we have to play. It is not
acceptable that the issue of Jerusalem be determined solely by the
Israeli political system. However, the blame and the responsibility
for the current situation cannot be placed at the Israeli doorstep
only. If we are going to have intellectual integrity, it is
important to critique the Palestinian position as well. In my view,
for too long Palestinians have allowed Israel to make unilateral
decisions in Jerusalem. For too long Palestinians have depended
only on counter strategies to Israel's, rather than on shaping a
well-planned and developed Palestinian strategy for guaranteeing
that Jerusalem will also be a Palestinian and not only an Israeli
capital.
Against Palestinian Passivity
It is true that occupation is demoralizing and disempowering, yet
the overall test of the Palestinians' will is in their ability to
ensure that Jerusalem become a shared capital and that Palestinian
rights be fulfilled in Jerusalem. The Palestinian political
leadership, nationally or in Jerusalem, has failed to create and
implement a coherent strategy for ensuring their rights in the
city. There are many steps that Palestinians can take, even though
they have already mistakenly agreed within the Oslo agreements to
limit their activities in the city. There are many things that the
Palestinians in general, and the Palestinians of Jerusalem in
particular, can do to ensure that they will not be usurped of any
more of their rights in their city. It is however, first and
foremost, the Palestinians of Jerusalem who must conduct the
struggle to lead Jerusalem into an era of peace. Together, with
significant parts of the Israeli public in Jerusalem and beyond, a
partnership for "Our Shared Jerusalem" should be launched. Active
participation of the masses is the key. It was the Palestinian
masses that created the Intifada which changed history. It is now
the task of the masses to bring peace to Jerusalem. There is no
time for passivity. It is a luxury to rely solely upon the
leadership to determine a course of action. The leadership, both
Israeli and Palestinian, has failed until now to take adequate
action to guarantee a peaceful Jerusalem in the future.
The future of Jerusalem is larger than the leadership, and the task
of saving Jerusalem is too large for the leadership to take on
alone. The Palestinian struggle for Jerusalem must emanate from the
Palestinian neighborhoods and villages of Jerusalem. It must come
from those who fear that their land will be expropriated next. It
must come from those who have the threat of house demolition
hanging over their roofs. It must come from all of their neighbors
because the threat doesn't end at their neighbors' walls. It must
come from all of those who believe that peace must emerge and that
it will eventually prevail.
Palestinians in Jerusalem have been too passive for too long. Too
many Palestinians in Jerusalem stayed away from the polls on
Palestinian election day. This cannot be ignored. They were
expressing their fear and apprehension of their unclear future.
They feared losing the economic benefits which they have gained by
holding Israeli identity cards. They feared being under the sole
control of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). They feared
being placed under the inhuman conditions of constant and continued
closure, like their brothers and sisters in the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip. However, by not participating in the Palestinian
elections, they weakened the Palestinian position in
Jerusalem.
For three decades Palestinians have also stayed away from the polls
of Israeli municipal elections in Jerusalem. They feared that their
participation would be interpreted as acquiescence to Israeli
sovereignty in the city, which they view as illegal, illegitimate
and immoral. In not participating in that political process they
have essentially, once again, weakened their position in Jerusalem.
Political participation is a key to any political struggle. If
Palestinians in Jerusalem do not participate in the Palestinian
political process and they do not participate in the Israeli
political process, they are being passive observers while their
fate is determined by others.
A Platform for Sovereignty
The political voice of Palestinian Jerusalemites must be heard loud
and clear in the chambers of the Palestinian council. The political
voices of Palestinian Jerusalemites must also be heard in the
chambers and committees of the Israeli Jerusalem municipality, and
through the creation of truly democratic political bodies,
established and elected in every neighborhood and village of East
Jerusalem.
Palestinian Jerusalemites must adopt and engage their elected
representatives in the Palestinian council as their
representatives, even if the majority of them didn't bother to
vote. These representatives must be supported; they must be called
upon to take up the struggle of Jerusalem.
For the first time in the history of this conflict, there are
Palestinians who were elected from the district of Jerusalem to a
democratically elected Palestinian representative council. The
legitimacy and moral rights of these people to act on behalf of
Palestinian interests should not be underestimated or compromised.
Their right and duty to act on behalf of Jerusalem is more
legitimate and more powerful than the head of any traditional
aristocratic Jerusalem family who was not elected by anyone.
Palestinian Jerusalemites must take up the challenge of getting
elected to the Israeli Jerusalem municipality. They do not have to
compromise their opposition to Israeli sovereignty in the city to
do that. In fact, they can run under the title of "Two Jerusalems"
or "Palestinian Jerusalem" or any other appropriate title. They can
adopt a platform which calls for Palestinian sovereignty in
Jerusalem. They can stand under a flag of United Jerusalem, One
City, Two Capitals. Palestinians in Jerusalem must vote en masse
for their party. Ten Palestinian representatives in the Jerusalem
municipality will change the face of the council forever. It is
true that they will not be part of a ruling coalition in the
municipality, but they will hold key seats in important committees,
such as the budget committee and the planning committee. They will
have the power and legitimacy to turn every city council meeting
into an international forum debating the future of Jerusalem. While
the political future of Jerusalem will not be determined in the
municipal council, the fact that at least one-third of the council
will be composed of Palestinian Jerusalemites can have a deep
impact on the political consciousness of the entire city, on the
peoples of Israel and Palestine and in the world at large.
Political boycott in Jerusalem has played itself out. There is
nothing to be gained and a lot to be lost by not playing the
political game. The Palestinian opposition to political
participation has cost too much and it must change.
Palestinian Jerusalemites in every village and neighborhood in
Jerusalem must enlist in the struggle by creating locally based,
democratically organized and elected representatives and bodies, so
that they can play an active role in preventing further Israeli
expansion, and in order to determine for themselves the nature and
character of their own Jerusalem. No one can stop local committees
and councils from organizing and holding elections. Once elected,
there is a moral legitimacy inherent within the democratic process
which grants power and strength and, with that, political will to
lead a struggle.
Before It Is Too Late
The Palestinian political leadership must also take real action to
ensure that, once Jerusalem does come to the negotiating table,
there will remain something to negotiate. Palestinians have not
fully exploited every avenue of existing mechanisms for building
and planning Palestinian-owned land in Jerusalem. They have not
organized campaigns against Israeli plans. They have not
filibustered the local or regional planning boards with objections
to new Israeli building schemes. They have not engaged in their own
planning" and building schemes. To a very large extent the future
of Jerusalem is being determined every day on the ground and in
small rooms by planners in Israel. The Palestinians have not
effectively engaged in this process and, by not doing so, they have
removed themselves from some very significant opportunities to
protect their Jerusalem.
Large quantities of vacant land suitable for housing are available
in most of the villages, but under existing patterns of land
ownership and building, this vacant land cannot be used. It is
necessary to chart legal and administrative schemes to solve this
problem. A collation of solutions that have worked elsewhere should
be made now for analysis and organized decision-making. It should
be further remembered that undeveloped land is an easier target for
expropriation than developed land. The PNA, with the help of money
from the Arab and Muslim world, must provide financial resources to
enable communities to plan, construct and develop. It is time that
an effective East Jerusalem development company be established
which could take on this task. This should not be an arm of the
PNA, which could limit its actions. It could be a venture of
representatives of neighborhood resident groups, together with
private sector companies which have interests in development.
Many more constructive suggestions have been proposed and can be
presented to the leadership and to others who are interested. The
key, though, is action. Each passing year leaves us with less and
less to negotiate until, eventually, it will perhaps be too
late.
This Israeli government is moving swiftly away from real peace. It
is moving without hesitation to turn our hopes for true peace into
anecdotes of forgotten history. Declarations can be impressive, but
new neighborhoods are more impressive. Unilateral Israeli actions
are a formidable force to confront, but, together, we can be more
powerful. Perhaps they have strength and power which should not be
underestimated, but we have the force of truth. The battle for
Jerusalem which was declared by Arafat is a battle for peace. It is
a battle which must be waged together, sometimes with very
different tasks for the different forces, but we must concentrate
our efforts together to ensure that, in the end, we will win a
United Jerusalem, One City, Two Capitals.