November 19, 2014

Jerusalem attacks were presaged

editor:	Neelo Aysha Scholz

“If no one steps in to intervene, then the protesters in East Jerusalem will have no alternative to defending their dignity, and their holy places, by themselves,” was Rashid I. Khalidi’s warning in a blog post for Reuters, almost one week prior to the attack on the Jerusalem synagogue, yesterday. Five Israelis were killed and several others wounded in the terror attack on Tuesday morning in a synagogue in the western Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Nof.

Khalidi is Edward Said Professor and chair of Columbia University’s History Department in the US. His uncle, Husayn Fakhri al-Khalidi, was the last elected Arab mayor of Jerusalem. In the post, “Why Palestinians are back fighting on Jerusalem’s streets,” published on Nov 13, he highlighted Palestinian frustrations amidst escalating violence in Jerusalem, in recent weeks.

For one, the Haram al- Sharif, known to Jews as the Temple Mount is a contentious issue. “Religious activists... have openly stated that they intend… to destroy its magnificent 7th century structures — the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock –and replace them with a new Jewish Temple.”

“Even Israel’s chief rabbi lashed out at Jews attempting to pray at the site suggesting that doing so should be ‘punishable by death’ as it could desecrate the ‘holi of holies’.”

Stirring religious sentiments aside, the larger picture of living under occupation since 1967 is a backdrop not to be overlooked. He describes the overbearing injustices that Arabs live with whilst the expansion of Jewish settlements all over occupied Arab East Jerusalem — "which are a violation of international law — have been lavishly subsidized and supported by the Israeli state, backed by its oppressive security services.”

He went on to say, “The governments of the United States and European countries bear a major responsibility for leaving Jerusalemites to their fate… vast sums of tax-deductible charitable donations from the United States support the settlements in East Jerusalem.”

Read more at Reuters Blog