Dichter shuts down Husseini Foundation dinner in E. J'lem

Public Security Minister Avi Dichter ordered police last week to prevent the Faisal Husseini Foundation from East Jerusalem from holding its annual fund raiser in the city. The Palestinian politician's son says the funds were meant for sick children, but the ministry claims the event was unlawfully sponsored by the Palestinian Authority.

"For five years straight we have organized an annual feast, where people come to break the fast," says Abed al-Kadr Husseini. "We sell tickets for the event, and put the money toward charitable causes. But this year, one hour before we planned on opening the doors, we received a police order preventing us from holding the event."

Husseini says that when the police presented the organizers with the order, 240 people were already making their way to the event. "Eventually the police officers allowed us to have dinner, but they told us we were not allowed to make speeches. They even didn't allow a singer we had invited to the event to get up on stage."

In reaction to the claims, Dichter's office said the minister had issued the order "within his authority, and based on information on the case."

Husseini says he believes the order puts out two messages. "One is that Israel is too weak to allow such an event to take place in Jerusalem because it sees this event as a threat. The other message is that Israel isn't serious about future talks on the status of Jerusalem. If we cannot so much as hold social event during Ramadan, how can we ever make progress on talks on the city's future?"

The Israeli non-profit organization Ir Amim ("City of Nations") wrote to Dichter saying that "encouraging urban civilian activity in East Jerusalem is in Israel's best interest." Sarah Kreimer, the NGO's associate director, wrote Dichter to tell him that the order damaged Israel's international image.