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Mr. President, would you divide New York?
By Nadav Shragai
Tags: Jerusalem, George Bush 

If Ehud Olmert as we knew him when he was mayor of Jerusalem could speak to U.S. President George W. Bush, he would almost certainly say the following: "Mr. President, Ehud Olmert may be prime minister today, but his mandate is limited. Neither the Jewish people worldwide nor the citizens of Israel have authorized him to negotiate over Jerusalem, the Old City and the Temple Mount. No one authorized him to restrict construction in the city's new neighborhoods. Even during the Camp David negotiations with the Palestinians in 2000, it was agreed that they would continue to exist and develop. We built Har Homa, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I, to prevent the Arabs of Bethlehem from overflowing into Jerusalem. We must complete this process. Don't hinder us from doing so.

"Look at the map, Mr. President. Look at what is happening even now: Construction of the separation fence north of the city caused tens of thousands of Arabs to flock to Jerusalem, and they are beginning to settle in Jewish neighborhoods. Consider how many Palestinians will flock to the Israeli side of the fence when additional Palestinian neighborhoods are severed from Israeli Jerusalem under the agreement that you and Prime Minister Olmert are discussing.

"I circulate through these neighborhoods. Their residents are very worried by the possibility that they will become border neighborhoods, that they will come under fire from the Palestinian side as happened to residents of Gilo seven years ago after Israel transferred Beit Jala to the Palestinian Authority.
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"Mr. President, do you know what happened in Jerusalem the last time it was divided, in 1948? About one quarter of its Jews left - more than 25,000 people! They weren't willing to live in border neighborhoods and be exposed to rifle and machine-gun fire. Today as well, the Palestinians have rifles and machine guns. And today, even if an agreement is signed, many Palestinians will be motivated to continue to fight, especially over Jerusalem. Many of them have never given up the dream of returning to their former homes in the western part of the city. Many are unwilling to give up even an inch of the Old City, the Temple Mount, the Western Wall. In their view, terror was and remains a legitimate tactic.

"Division will expose some 200,000 Jews, who live a mere few dozen or few hundred meters from Arab neighborhoods, to this terror, to this fire, just as happened in Gilo. Would you agree to divide New York and hand part of it over to a foreign government that hesitates to fight elements such as Hamas, Hezbollah or Bin Laden because it views them as brothers?

"It pains me to say this, Mr. President, but Prime Minister Olmert is pulling the wool over your eyes. Check for yourself what Arab residents of East Jerusalem really want. Ask your experts what has happened to the Christians and their holy sites under Palestinian Authority rule - how many Christians have abandoned the PA and fled to South America? What will happen to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, to hundreds of other churches and to Judaism's holy sites if the PA controls Jerusalem?

"As mayor, I remember then prime minister Ehud Barak and his public security minister, Shlomo Ben-Ami, handing the Temple Mount over to Palestinian security forces for a mere few hours, as an experiment. Do you know what a panic occurred in the Old City? Look for yourself at the photographs taken then: Jews fleeing the Western Wall as showers of stones and rocks were hurled down at them from the Temple Mount. What an embarrassment!

"Would any other country in the world give up the right to pray at its holiest site, the Temple Mount, as Israel has done, out of respect for members of another faith who also pray at that site? And in exchange - look at how the Palestinians 'respect' our holy sites: Joseph's Tomb, Rachel's Tomb ...

"Mr. President, I am admittedly only a mayor, but what I said to then prime minister Barak in 2000, I am saying now to you, and to Prime Minister Olmert: 'It's dangerous. It's irresponsible. Life in this city will become hell, for Jews and Arabs alike.' Please explain this to the prime minister of Israel."
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  1.   wrong question its washington which is 80% black 08:41  |  victor hardman 07/01/08
  2.   Nadav Shragai: shall we steal your properties... 08:44  |  Dutch Dirk 07/01/08
  3.   Nadav Shragai * * * * * A 5 star column . Kudos! 08:53  |  Klaudia 07/01/08
  4.   Dear Mr Shragai 08:56  |  George Bush 07/01/08
  5.   um, no, nadav, that grimace is him sniggering 08:56  |  Rowan Berkeley 07/01/08
  6.   Mr. Bush Responds 09:01  |  Mark of Lewiston 07/01/08
  7.   The nightmarish results of dividing Jerusalem 09:01  |  Shalom Freedman 07/01/08
  8.   Dividing Jerusalem would annoy the Jews? 09:07  |  Natallie Durson 07/01/08
  9.   Good Example of Arabs Sharing Land is Darfur! 09:34  |  Mark Hamil 07/01/08
  10.   Yeah but the point is in between the lines 10:07  |  Jasmine Murphy 07/01/08
  11.   Deviding Jerusalem? 10:08  |  regdi 07/01/08
  12.   1 Victor 10:32  |  Mark of Lewiston 07/01/08
  13.   this guy overflows with coprolites! (2nd try) 10:38  |  eric 07/01/08
  14.   Would Bush give back Texas to Mexico?? 10:48  |  Zev 07/01/08
  15.   At least it should never be played with as the political prize. 10:50  |  TonyL 07/01/08
  16.   What an imbecilic essay 10:54  |  Richard Silverstein 07/01/08
  17.   Mr.Shragai you have shrugged off the largest planned ethnic 10:57  |  lakshmi 07/01/08
  18.   More to the point, would he divide Baghdad? 11:14  |  Natallie Durson 07/01/08
  19.   What an idiotic article, Nadav needs to move to undivided NY 11:23  |  Joe 07/01/08
  20.   DIVISION IS IMORAL!! ONE STATE NOW 11:30  |  Jadd 07/01/08
  21.   JERUSALEM IS JEWISH 11:43  |  Iskander 07/01/08
  22.   Olmert is Warned" `Talk About Jerusalem - Break the Law` 12:10  |  Joseph E . 07/01/08
  23.   # 3 Klaudia 12:15  |  Joseph E . 07/01/08
  24.   #12are you sure you want to ask the question 12:23  |  victor hardman 07/01/08
  25.   #18 nutullie and more garbage on one point you are right 12:26  |  victor hardman 07/01/08
  26.   Dutch Dirk - you ALREADY stole Shragai`s properties... 12:26  |  Jeroen de Jager 07/01/08
  27.   dividing Jerusalem 12:56  |  Mihaeli Feldmann 07/01/08
  28.   Pals are against the Fence but for a divided Jerusalem 13:44  |  AliciaYasmeen 07/01/08
  29.   to Zev #14 - No, Bush would not 14:25  |  zeev 07/01/08
  30.   Richard Silverstein 14:34  |  Jasmine Murphy 07/01/08
  31.   eric :while the palestinians HAVE NO RECOURSE 14:45  |  Jasmine Murphy 07/01/08
  32.   why divid NYC? give it all back to the indians! 15:19  |  crazy George 07/01/08
  33.   And no gave Abbas permission 15:57  |  Steve 07/01/08
  34.   Klaudia, # 5 15:57  |  Claude 07/01/08
  35.   No. 14 Zev 16:02  |  Steve 07/01/08
  36.   Jasmine #30- misrepresentative... 16:04  |  Teresa-Maria (Tess) 07/01/08
  37.   Rome is burning my friend 16:47  |  Mickey SouthLebanon 07/01/08
  38.   isn`t 1/2 of NYC already under zionist occupation? 16:58  |  Liberate NYC! 07/01/08
  39.   NYC #38 17:38  |  FOX 07/01/08
  40.   Washington DC not divided!! under complete zionist occupation! 17:44  |  Free DC NOW! 07/01/08
  41.   Mr.Shragai..What Would We Do Without Your Articles? ISAY THIS: 18:31  |  Kathy 07/01/08
  42.   30 Jasmine Murphy,re:Richard Silverstein,I did not see any racism 19:25  |  lakshmi 07/01/08
  43.   what an imbecilic response from Silverschwein 19:37  |  Elvis Scudbubble 07/01/08
  44.   Make Jerusalem an International city 19:39  |  Chris Linthwaite 07/01/08
  45.   Jerusalem is Israel? s capital 20:04  |  KUTW 07/01/08
  46.   Great article 20:07  |  KUTW 07/01/08
  47.   Shragai breaks my heart with his silly arguments 20:08  |  Tosefta 07/01/08
  48.   Nadav Shragai: example of Israel`s racist terrorist occupation 20:16  |  anti-racist 07/01/08
  49.   Lacksmi I`ll explain to you 20:17  |  Jasmine Murphy 07/01/08
  50.   41 Kathy 20:21  |  KUTW 07/01/08
  51.   2. Dutch Dirk: stealing properties 20:23  |  KUTW 07/01/08
  52.   48. anti-racist: pal occupation 20:31  |  KUTW 07/01/08
  53.   The core of the matter 20:33  |  KUTW 07/01/08
  54.   44. Chris Linthwaite: Make your capital an internacional city 20:36  |  KUTW 07/01/08
  55.   wrong questions Nadav!!! it will only lead to wrong answers! 20:50  |  Sinalco 07/01/08
  56.   # 19 Joe--Mr.Sharagai is Not An idiot .But you Sure Are Discredit 20:52  |  Kathy 07/01/08
  57.   54. sorry KUTW no country in the world accept J`lem as capitol 20:54  |  guess why? 07/01/08
  58.   Give them an inch?? 20:54  |  Blogowitz 07/01/08
  59.   East New York isn`t illegally occupied 20:58  |  peacelover 07/01/08
  60.   to KUTW #52 20:59  |  zeev 07/01/08
  61.   Nadav Shragai, are you talking about a flock of sheep or civil 21:03  |  Smadar 07/01/08
  62.   JEWISH JERUSALEM = ZION 21:09  |  Iskander 07/01/08
  63.   # 52 KUTW..Jerusalem is Our One and Only Holy City.. 21:09  |  Kathy 07/01/08
  64.   to KUTW #53 21:10  |  zeev 07/01/08
  65.   57. guess why? 21:11  |  KUTW 07/01/08
  66.   Re 21:13  |  LL 07/01/08
  67.   Re: 21:19  |  LL 07/01/08
  68.   # 48 anti-racist.--Disputes In Racial Terms Conjuring Inanities 21:23  |  Kathy 07/01/08
  69.   to Blogowitz #58 - right you are 21:31  |  zeev 07/01/08
  70.   57. guess why?: No other country would 21:43  |  KUTW 07/01/08
  71.   Actually Mr Guess why, you`re talking about a CapitAl city 21:44  |  teacher 07/01/08
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