When people hear the term "East Jerusalem" they think of a old, rundown section of Jerusalem teeming with Arabs. They don't think of the fancy apartments and homes in Beit Chanina, nor of Jews and Jewish History. The labeling of Ramat Shlomo as "East Jerusalem" makes people think its an enclave, like the Jewish buildings supported and protected by the Ir David, City of David Foundation.
Now just to clarify before the clarification, Jews have the right to live and build in any neighborhood in Jerusalem and any part of the Land of Israel. Anyone who says otherwise is supporting anti-Jewish apartheid, immorally discriminating against Jews. The fact that Jews are forbidden to live as Jews in various countries in the Middle East is contrary to the accepted norms of civil rights, and I don't understand why there aren't international protests against this. Can we credit latent antisemitism?
Now, I'm just curious. Do you know where Ramat Shlomo is? Next to which Jerusalem neighborhood is it adjacent?
Basically, Ramat Shlomo is in the middle of a forest in what was once considered "no man's land." Between 1948/9 and 1967, it was pretty much ignored by both Israel and Jordan.
It's located between Ramot, Ramat Eshkol and French Hill accessed by a new road. Nobody lived there before Ramat Shlomo was built. I wish I had some pictures to show you.
Again, I'm going to repeat that there is a terrible housing shortage in Jerusalem. Prices are sky high, and that's the reason many people have been forced to leave the city. Especially under former mayor Ehud Olmert, luxury housing projects especially in the center of the city were approved. The apartments are used mainly as vacation and "future" aliyah homes for wealthy Jews who visit on occasion.
We need many more housing projects for ordinary Jewish families and singles. The Israeli Government has been terribly slow about building and approving such projects. Part of it is that they're kowtowing to foreign pressure, like the present situation with the United States. We must do what's best for us and build.
8 comments:
i fully agree with your clarification and prognosis. i've tried to fight these details on the internet myself. but you can be sure in general that our non-arab opponents do not appreciate these fine distinctions. the best we can hope for is to get them to understand that jerusalem, no matter how we define it geographically is off the table.
Yoni, thanks
Today I took some pictures from the road of the sign to Ramat Shlomo and the forest. G-d willing I'll post them.
Batya: For the life of me I couldn't figure out why people (medi etc.) referred to the Old City of Jerusalem. What, then, was the new city?
I watched a documentary on PBS and they said the "new city" was the result of Jewish expansion of the Old City.
Are these expanded cities or neighborhoods in Jerusalem what the media means when discussing East Jerusalem?
It's crazy. Try as I might to stay informed newspeak/terms get introduced again and again.
Also, I think the nature of the neighborhoods could be clarified in the English translations of the names of the neighborhoods were given.
keli, the "old city" is the walled in city. That's very old, though the walls aren't exactly where they were in Biblical times.
There are many newer neighborhoods built outside the walls, the first was built about 150 years ago.
i peeked at that map, near Mitzpe Yericho lies "Mitzpe Brat."
WTF??
HCP, I have no idea. It was very hard to find a decent map online. I'm not sure when this is from.
I now see that the source is arij.org, applied research in jerusalem or similar, an anti israel palestinian site. Or should I say, balestinian. Which is a hint at what it maight be, mitzpe prat (as in nofei prat). As a few other places on these maps, this is a figment of their imagination.
any other info on their maps should therefore be taken with a grain of salt
It was all I could find which showed neighborhoods.
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