Among the Jewish people’s highest and most sublime goals are “Jerusalem” and “peace.” Contrary to the perception of some, not only are these goals not mutually exclusive, but the fulfillment of each complements the other.
Israel’s full sovereignty over the united holy city of Jerusalem is the only route by which true peace in the region can reign. To take any other path is to invite Arab aggression, lead to a weakening of Israel’s sovereignty throughout the country, and even subjugate hundreds of thousands of Arabs to unwanted rule (according to survey results).
As the 2015 election campaign begins to wind down, KeepJerusalem urges every Zionist party to demonstrate clearly its belief that Jerusalem, complete and united under Israeli sovereignty, is a total imperative for the Jewish people. Each party should also have a plan, with a significant amount of detail, to ensure that Jerusalem actually remains that way.
For some parties, this is not quite the case. Labor/Zionist Union, for instance, has given mixed signals. Co-leader Tzipi Livni, who has been involved in negotiations for the division of Jerusalem in the past, said recently at the Western Wall: “Standing here at this holy place, we [Labor leader Yitzchak Herzog and Livni] commit that in every situation, it will remain ours, it will remain the people of Israel’s and under Israeli sovereignty.”
Herzog himself said, “Tzipi and I are committed to preserving Jerusalem our capital, to guaranteeing its future and preserving this holy place.”
Paying careful attention to their words, one comes away with a sense that the two of them are committed to keeping the Western Wall but not necessarily to a “united and complete Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty.”
In fact, a member of their joint list of Knesset candidates – Yossi Yona, who has a better than fair chance of entering the Knesset, according to recent polls – said straight out something very different: “We will be willing to discuss the subject of the division of Jerusalem.”
To further confuse the question of where Herzog stands on Jerusalem, consider what he told a gathering of student supporters in Hebrew University in late January: “Jerusalem must be united; no one disputes this. The development of Ir David [the City of David] is an important project, since it strengthens and confirms the Jewish people’s clear bonds with Jerusalem… [However], not every Arab neighborhood that today belongs to Jerusalem must continue to be part of Jerusalem. The city is very tense, and the fact that Netanyahu places it in the spotlight only causes it harm.”
He was likely referring to the prime minister’s remarks after a recent terrorist stabbing. Netanyahu said it occurred “just weeks after Livni – Labor’s hidden candidate for prime minister – said once again that she was willing to consider dividing Jerusalem.”
Further, Livni criticized a government decision a few months ago to build homes for Jews in Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem liberated in 1967, and, Netanyahu said, “[Herzog] said he would divide Jerusalem.”
Yair Lapid, on the other hand, head of the Yesh Atid party, appears to be fairly consistent in his support for a united, Israeli Jerusalem. Just two weeks ago, at a large gathering of supporters in the capital, he was applauded when he said, “Jerusalem will never be divided, and this subject must not even be placed on the agenda.”
He also said, “The left wing has told us for years and years that there will never be an arrangement with the Palestinians if we don’t give up on the Right of Return – but we did not give up, and they did. The same thing will happen with Jerusalem.”
The Jewish Home party presumably supports the cause whole-heartedly – though it does not refer to it directly on its website. It instead links to a previously publicized plan by Jewish Home leaders that mentions Jerusalem: “Israel will take the initiative and will fortify its vital interests: Security for Gush Dan and Jerusalem, protection for the settlement enterprise, and sovereignty over sites of Jewish tradition. The world will not recognize our sovereignty there just as it does regarding the Western Wall, the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ramot and Gilo, or the Golan. The world will get used to it in time.
KeepJerusalem recommends that the parties state in detail how they propose to ensure that Yerushalayim remains united and Israeli. To this end, the following points must be made and expanded upon:
Our rights to and bonds with our Eternal Capital and Holy City: These must be publicized, emphasizing that Jerusalem was the capital of a Jewish state for the better part of a millennium – but never once of an Arab, Muslim, or any other country. Jews all over the world have always prayed, and continue to pray, for Jerusalem many times each day. It is not mentioned even once in the Koran. The Palestine Liberation Organization’s original covenant of 1964 did not even mention the city.
Demographics: The population of Jerusalem has been overwhelmingly Jewish for nearly 150 years. Nearly as many Jews as Arabs live in what is known as eastern Jerusalem.
Legal Rights: A former president of the International Court of Justice in the Hague has said that Israel has a better claim to Jerusalem than its Arab neighbors. The San Remo resolutions, accepted by the League of Nations and then by the United Nations, recognize the Jewish people’s historic rights to Jerusalem and give us “title” to the holy city under international law.
Security: Giving Jerusalem neighborhoods over to PA control will whet terrorist appetites and will geometrically increase Jewish exposure to Arab gunfire and similar dangers.
Demographics: The division of Jerusalem is liable to lead to the exodus of tens of thousands of Jews from the city, as well as the move of a similar number of Arabs to the Israeli side of Jerusalem.
Sanctity of Holy Places: History has shown that this is maintained only under Israeli sovereignty.
Future Plans: To ensure the city remains whole and Jewish, steps must be taken, beginning now, in the above spheres, as well as in construction and neighborhood development (both Jewish and Arab), tourism, education, economics, and PR and diplomacy.