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Last update - 23:47 12/06/2007 The battle over settling Silwan simmers By Meron Rapoport The battle for Jerusalem is currently taking place in an especially hazardous dirt lane, at the end of such a steep incline that, if one does not take it with the right speed, there is a danger that the car's engine will die halfway up. The residents of this lane have already belonged to the sovereign state of Israel for 40 years and a few days. They have been paying taxes and municipal rates, but this - how shall we put it? - is not quite evident. It is difficult even to say that this lane is neglected, because that phrase would indicate that there was a time when it was taken care of and that this had only recently come to an end. That is not the case with this lane in the Silwan quarter of Jerusalem: the hands of the authorities, or so it seems, have never touched it. Four years ago, a brand new, shiny seven-story building plunked itself down here, in the heart of this lane, alongside Palestinian houses whose lower-level apartments are built into the earth, partly due to the ban on building higher than two floors in this neighborhood. The building's Jewish residents call it Beit Yehonatan. They are affiliated with the Ateret Cohanim association that acquired the land, funded the construction and settled the residents in the apartments. The Arab neighbors do not call it by any name. Their children, who come home from school in a group, say they are afraid of it and of the armed guard who stands at the gate and has his hand on the trigger. The guard is disappointed, in his words, because there is "no action" in this neighborhood. No one throws stones and no one hurls Molotov cocktails. "I wish they would," he says. The Palestinian children are convinced that his name is Rambo, but his real name is Baruch. The Palestinian youths are afraid, and also a little bit jealous, of the children of the seven Jewish families that live in Beit Yehonatan. These children, they say, pointing to the top of the building, must surely have a playground up there, because they never go down to play in the lane. In fact, they never leave the building. They just get into the car that waits for them outside the building in the morning, go to school and come back in the afternoon. They don't go to the grocery store or walk around the neighborhood. We have never spoken to them, the children say. Advertisement "I am afraid," says Jawaher. "I am afraid," says Zena. "I am not afraid," says Majed, the youngest in the group, short and stubby. "I know their language; I say to them ma nishma [what's new?] and they answer beseder [everything's okay]." The adults keep mum about their Jewish neighbors. "They mind their business and we mind ours," says one of the women. All of them have heard the rumor that the court has instructed the Jews to leave the house, but they are skeptical. They have good reason. Beit Yehonatan was set up without any permit. Even if a permit had been requested, it would not have been granted because the neighborhood's master plan mentions limiting buildings in this part of Silwan to two stories, while Beit Yehonatan has seven. Four years ago, municipality inspectors identified the illegal building in the area. Two years ago, they pasted a warning on the doors of the Jewish residents to the effect that their building was illegal. The residents ignored this notice. More than a year ago, they were convicted by Jerusalem's court for local affairs of illegally using the land. Four months ago, the court stated that they must vacate Beit Yehonatan and have it sealed by April 14 of this year. This date has passed, and they are still there. If Beit Yehonatan is vacated, it would be the first time a Jewish building has been evacuated since Jewish settlement in the city's eastern part began after 1967. And Beit Yehonatan is not merely some building - in terms of Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, seven families is a big number. By comparison, after more than 20 years of concentrated effort and millions invested for acquisitions and attempted acquisitions, there are fewer than 30 families living in the City of David. A similar number live in the Muslim quarter of the Old City. The "fall" of Beit Yehonatan will be perceived as a real blow to the settlers in East Jerusalem. No less, and perhaps even more, than dismantling a large outpost in the West Bank. There is no argument about the fact that the residency of seven Jewish families in Beit Yehonatan is illegal. The Jewish residents did not really take the trouble to help the inspectors from the Jerusalem municipality or its legal adviser, Yossi Havilio, to arrive at the truth. They refused, for example, to tell Havilio's aides which body was in fact responsible for setting up the building. One of them said in his testimony to the court that he had approached the "representative of the lessor" after he received a warning that his residency in the building was not legal. But he was told he did not have to respond to the questions of the municipal building inspector. What the residents did not say was that Ateret Cohanim was involved up to its neck in setting up this building. The organization handled all the dealings with the Palestinians who sold the land, and it sent a representative of its own, Ami Deri, to oversee the building process. Deri sent regular reports to the association about how the construction was coming along. According to these reports - one of which is addressed personally to Mati Dan, who heads Ateret Cohanim - the payments were made to the Palestinian contractor who built the building. Today, that contractor, Mohammed Maraga, says he did not install the necessary reinforcements and the building actually constitutes a danger to the public. It is difficult to disagree with him. In his report, Deri says that he merely "looked" at the building. Maraga says he did so with binoculars from a nearby hill. He was afraid of actually going to Silwan. In any case, it is unlikely that he was able to ascertain whether the proper materials were being used. The armed guard at the entrance to the building, whose salary, by the way, is paid by the state, also admitted that "from the point of view of the law," it is forbidden for Beit Yehonatan's residents to live there. "What will happen when the residents are evacuated?" "Evacuated?" the guard said in wonder. "First all the Arabs who live here must be evacuated. After all, this is our country." That is the central point. The residents justify their serial violations of the law with one central argument: We are Jews who came to settle in an Arab neighborhood, and therefore, we must remain here, no matter what the law says. "Living in the building," said Yehoshua Brosh, one of the residents who testified to the local affairs court, "is part of upholding the religious precept of settling the Land of Israel, one of the good deeds we are ordered to do by the Bible, which defers any law opposing it." The residents' lawyer, Yehiel Gutman, said during one of the court hearings: "I am completely convinced that one hour after they vacate the building, it will be filled with life, Arab life. That is why I believe it is in the public interest that they continue living in this building." Meanwhile, Beit Yehonatan's residents are staying there. The Jerusalem municipality has agreed to grant the residents an extension, so they may appeal the ruling in the district court. The evacuation of the building has been delayed and the appeals process began this week. Municipality sources talk about heavy pressure exerted on them by Knesset members on the right as well as from Kadima, to prevent the evacuation of the building. There has also been pressure from members of the municipal council, not just those from the National Religious Party. Nir Barkat, who ran on a ticket of Jerusalem's secular public in the last municipal elections and today heads the largest opposition faction in the municipality, has also lent a helping hand. "Beit Yehonatan stands on the ruins of the Yemenite village, in the heart of the Silwan neighborhood," Barkat wrote in a letter to Havilio at the end of March, adopting one of the central arguments used by Ateret Cohanim. "There are people in Silwan who violate the building laws in broad daylight at the expense of the public interest and that of the State of Israel." For that reason, he argues, it is necessary for the municipality to intervene and establish order. But Barkat says Beit Yehonatan must be left alone. "One must try to reach a compromise, to freeze the evacuation of the residents from the building and allow them time to submit a building plan that will be approved by the municipality." Havilio refused. "This is a serious building offense by a multi-storied building without a permit," Havilio wrote in his response. "I will add that to this day, despite the fact that there was a prolonged legal process, no actual efforts were made to receive a building permit for the structure." Jerusalem municipality sources say that a preliminary plan was submitted recently for approving the building, but it was rejected outright because it was very general. It is difficult to see how the building could be approved since, as stated, in this part of Silwan it is only permitted to build two stories. Even in the new master plan for Jerusalem, which has not yet been officially approved, the neighborhood is located within an "observation area" of the Old City, and therefore, the height of the buildings is limited. It is also difficult to see how it is possible to submit building plans when the contractor who built the structure says it is unsafe. Barkat's central point and that of the attorney for the Jewish settlers, as presented in the appeal, is that the Jews are discriminated against in East Jerusalem. The illegal building of the Arabs in East Jerusalem is going on freely, they say, and the municipality is not doing anything to try and stop it. Instead, it takes to task the residents of Beit Yehonatan. The local affairs court has already rejected this claim but now it is being brought before the district court. Even if they lose the appeal, there is no guarantee that Beit Yehonatan will be evacuated. Yehoshua Pollack, the deputy mayor and chairman of the local committee for planning and construction, says that "they told him" that the final authority to seal the building, even after a decision by the district court, lies with his committee. And since this committee has an absolute majority of ultra-Orthodox members, the National Religious Party and Barkat's faction, placing it in charge of making such a decision is more or less like allowing the Yesha Council of Jewish Settlements in Judea and Samaria to decide whether or not to evacuate settlements. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Grass is greener For the cannabis-growing residents of Lebanon, recent fighting has been a blessing. Piggy bank savings Welfare Minister Herzog unveils a plan to open savings accounts for every Israeli child.   1.   Silwan *IS* ancient Jerusalem - the City of David 01:13  |  AV 13/06/07   2.   Blatant racist favoritism - where is democracy here? 01:59  |  David 13/06/07   3.   There were Jews that lived in Silwan and made friends, not enemie 02:53  |  Margie 13/06/07   4.   Jews (Yhudim) are the aborigines of Judea (Yhuda) 03:55  |  AV 13/06/07   5.   #2 David - I agree with you , mostly 04:38  |  Slibovitz 13/06/07   6.   Av # 4 05:35  |  melchizedek 13/06/07   7.   #2, Racism against Jews in E Jerusalem 06:02  |  David 13/06/07   8.   this is/was jewish land and must stay so. there is no other optio 06:22  |  ralph 13/06/07   9.   DNA tests PROVE Jews are the aborigines of Judea 06:51  |  AV 13/06/07   10.   Jews are aborigines 06:58  |  AV 13/06/07   11.   Planning Concerns 07:15  |  Ronny 13/06/07   12.   Why do you call them Settlers? 07:48  |  Tal 13/06/07   13.   How to win hearts and minds. 08:18  |  Joe 13/06/07   14.   Nir Barkat lost my vote 09:35  |  arv 13/06/07   15.   Av # 9 10:00  |  melchizedek 13/06/07   16.   David-Favoritism 23:44  |  Ed 14/05/08

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