It’s Jerusalem Day in Israel. Word that the Obama plan for peace in the Middle East includes making the Old City an international zone is bringing derision from all sides. I’m actually wondering if Obama is truly that stupid, and tone-deaf, that he thinks offering the 1948 partition plan in 2009 would be a step forward—although this isn’t the 1948 plan, exactly. Because in 1948, the Palestinians didn’t get the eastern half.
The revised plan is also said to call for east Jerusalem to be made the new state’s capital – with the Palestinian Authority’s flag waving over it official institutions and the UN banner waving over the Old City and places sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
I’m of the opinion that this is not the official plan. Or if it is, it will not have this in the final version. But in the meantime, let’s hear from the Palestinians what they think about this:
“The Palestinian position on these issues is very clear,” explained another PA official. “We insist on the right of return for all refugees on the basis of United Nations resolution 194, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with all of East Jerusalem, including the Old City, as its capital.”
Uh-huh. Now let’s hear from some Israelis. Shimon Peres:
“Geographically, Jerusalem has no distinction; no river runs through it, there is no beach nearby and the mountains surrounding are not extraordinarily high. But there is no city in the world with a historical wealth to match Jerusalem, both political history and spiritual history.”
“Holy to half of humanity, Jerusalem is religiously open to all faiths and its spiritual sovereignty is God’s alone,” the president said.
[…] “Jerusalem was, and remains Israel’s capital. Israel never had a different capital and Jerusalem has never been the capital of another people. Fierce battles took place here, more than anywhere in the world. The city charmed rulers who wanted control of it, it drew in peoples who wanted to force the city to serve their purposes. Legions sieged its walls, and the Jewish people had to defend its spirit as well as its alleyways time after time. At times Jerusalem almost met its undoing but it remained the inextinguishable hope of the Jewish people, which pledged ‘never to forget thee, O Jerusalem.'”
Peres also spoke of the pluralism the city enjoys under Israeli rule: “When Jerusalem was in non-Jewish hands, Jews were not allowed to pray at the holy places, while under Jewish rule, it is open to all faiths and all forms of prayer.”
“Jerusalem is the beating heart of the Jewish people. Jerusalem is a symbol. Jerusalem is protected by the current government and previous governments’ clear policy. We will never give up Jerusalem. Never.”
“Unified Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Jerusalem always has been and always will be ours and it will never be divided again,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to the sounds of roaring applause.
“I stand here today… saying what I said in my visit to the US: Jerusalem will never be divided again. Only Israeli sovereignty over the city would ensure the freedom of religion for the three faiths, and it is the only thing that can guarantee that all minorities and congregations could continue living in it,” he said.
Posession is nine-tenths of the law, they say. Israel will not give up Jerusalem. Today, the song below will pervade the Israeli airwaves and gatherings.
Naomi Shemer, via Ofra Haza, on why Jerusalem will never be taken again:
Thank you. Such a lovely song and a fantastic singer … such a tragic death.