Jewish Settlement in Christian Quarter of Jerusalem Stirs International Protest
Episcopal News Service. April 26, 1990 [90109]
Religious and political leaders around the world have joined a firestorm of protest against the Israeli government that was ignited when a Jewish settlement was established in the Christian quarter of Jerusalem's Old City.
The settlement, established by 20 Jewish fundamentalist families on Good Friday eve, shattered a long-standing, unwritten agreement concerning living arrangements in the Old City. After initial denials, the Israeli government was forced to admit that it had secretly channeled almost $2 million through a Panamanian-registered company to help fund the settlement.
The four-building complex occupied by the settlers is not far from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, traditionally believed to be the burial site of Jesus, and is owned by the Greek Orthodox Church, which has sued to have the settlers removed from the buildings. The matter is pending resolution by the Israeli Supreme Court.
Responding to the unprecedented move, leaders of the 10 Christian denominations in Jerusalem, Israel, and the occupied territories have announced that all Christian shrines in the Holy Land would close on Friday, April 27, to protest the Israeli government's financing of the Jewish settlement. Muslim religious authorities said they will join the protest by closing Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem on the same day, despite the fact that Friday is an Islamic holy day.
The Anglican bishop in Jerusalem, Samir Kafity, joined the other Christian leaders in demanding "that the Israeli authorities effect the immediate removal of these settlers and secure the property for its legitimate owners, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate."
In an April 24 letter, Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning, of the Episcopal Church, repeated the concerns of Bishop Kafity, urging President Bush to "convey your displeasure to the Israeli government over this latest outrage and your concern that in providing American funds we free Israeli resources for such irresponsible use." Browning also conveyed his displeasure regarding the events surrounding the settlement to Secretary of State James Baker and Senators George Mitchell (D-Maine), Robert Dole (R-Kansas), and Alan Simpson (R-Wyoming), as well as to House Speaker Thomas Foley.
The Bush administration called the settlers' actions "insensitive and provocative" and described Israeli government involvement as "deeply disturbing." The present furor comes in the wake of President Bush's March statement that sought Israel's assurances that newly arriving Soviet Jews would not be settled in East Jerusalem, which the president characterized as "occupied territory." The Israelis took Arab (East) Jerusalem, including the Old City, from Jordan during the 1967 war.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir answered the international criticism by insisting, "It is the right of Jews to live everywhere, and to purchase or rent property in all parts of the land of Israel, and especially in Jerusalem." Shamir and his supporters in the right-wing Likud party are currently locked in a struggle with the Labor party over control of the next government. Likud has long supported the "Greater Israel" concept, which calls for Israeli sovereignty over all of what was historic Palestine, including Jerusalem.
Jewish groups in the United States fear that the current controversy may have serious repercussions for continuing U.S. support of Israel. Israel is currently seeking a $400-million emergency aid package from the United States for the housing of immigrating Soviet Jews. The Bush administration is now expected to insist on rigorous Israeli guarantees that such aid not be spent in the occupied territories.
Both by design and unwritten tradition, the Old (Walled) City is divided into four districts, or quarters: Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Armenian. Since the 1967 war, Israel has built a number of strategically situated settlements in Jerusalem in an effort to separate Palestinians in Jerusalem from those in other parts of the occupied territories, and thus solidify its claim to sovereignty over the whole of the city. None of the previous settlements, however, were situated in the city's politically sensitive walled section, although Ariel Sharon, a prominent Likud leader and former defense minister, provoked controversy a year ago by renting a house in the Muslim quarter.
The new settlement has stirred long-held Christian and Muslim fears that Israeli settlement activity will eventually push them out of Palestine.