T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights today denounced the Israeli Government’s plan to construct 5000 new homes in West Bank settlements and in East Jerusalem. These plans, T’ruah asserted, exacerbate egregious violations of international law and defy Jewish legal principles that demand care for non-Jews living among Jews, and that forbid interference with another person’s land, property, or livelihood.
On Tuesday night, the Israeli Government announced it would “move forward immediately” with settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition provided details of thousands of new settler housing units and laid out intentions to revive plans to establish the Kedem Center in the Silwan, East Jerusalem and the Mount Scopus Slopes National Park between Isawiyah and A-Tur in East Jerusalem.
The Kedem Center is a visitor compound with connections to Elad, an ideological settler organization which manages the adjacent City of David archaeological park in the midst of a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem.
There is widespread opposition to the Mount Scopus Slopes National Park by Palestinian residents of Isawiyah and A-Tur, especially after the Israeli press released a recording of an Israel Nature and Parks Authority official saying that that the primary intent behind the creation of the park is to limit the possibilities for growth and expansion for these two neighborhoods.
“As Jewish leaders who love Israel and its people, we recognize that settlement expansion is harmful to achieving a just and secure future for Israelis and Palestinians,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah. “We urge Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop the expansion of settlements immediately and work towards ending the occupation for the benefit of Israelis and Palestinians alike.”