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August 15, 2008
East Jerusalem tensions
Two recent attacks by local men add to fears.
RHONDA SPIVAK
A joint operation of the Israeli Security Agency (the Shin Bet) and the Israeli police has uncovered the existence of a cell of four East Jerusalem Palestinians with links to al-Qaeda. The four men had been in the process of collecting material to conduct a terror operation. Two of them, both students at the Hebrew University, were indicted on July 18 for their suspected connection to the international terror organization.
On July 22, four days after the indictments, an East Jerusalem Palestinian terrorist, Ghassan Abu Tir, attacked pedestrians with a bulldozer. He was mimicking an earlier terrorist act by another East Jerusalem Palestinian, Husam Taysir Dwayat, who drove a bulldozer into a bus before running over pedestrians, leaving three Israelis dead and scores wounded on July 2.
Since there are virtually no Jews walking the streets of East Jerusalem, the shopkeepers with whom I spoke assumed that I was a Christian Canadian. They were at pains to explain that the bulldozer rampages were isolated acts, not representative of seething tensions between Arabs and Jews in the city.
As Eyas Sbeah, a moneychanger on Salah-A-Din Street said, "The Palestinian who drove the bulldozer [in the first attack] did what he did because his Jewish boss did not give him money he owed him. He was mad at his boss and wanted to damage the bulldozer, not so much the people." Sbeah added, "There are no tourists in East Jerusalem because the minister of tourism of Israel has terrorized everyone and made them afraid to come here, even though things are much cheaper than in West Jerusalem."
Although Sbeah complained about the situation under Israeli rule, he added, "Life is worse in Syria or Jordan. There's a better standard of living here. I'd rather live here than Syria or Jordan." He said, "Israel doesn't like to give Jordanian Palestinians visas to visit because they try to stay here, since wages are higher."
"The East Jerusalem man on the bulldozer [in the first attack] was a crazy man. He was a criminal," said Nedal Khales, who runs a cosmetics store in the neighborhood. Khales, who lives in an Arab village in Israel, said he doesn't want there to be a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, as he wouldn't be able to get from his home to his shop. "[Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas can't do anything for me. I am Israeli. I like my country." But, Khales complained, "Tourism is no good here," and that he has to send his son to learn dentistry in Ukraine, because Israeli universities are too expensive.
Elsewhere on Salah-A-Din Street, however, there are signs of growing extremism. Wael Jolani, who lives in East Jerusalem, sells silver charms with a map of all of Israel, including the West Bank and Gaza, with a Palestinian flag over it. "I sell a lot of these charms to students. They are very popular," he said. He showed me another one, which says "Freedom for Palestine" in Arabic over the entire map of Israel and the territories.
Down the street, Amal Al-Natshah sells the same charms, as well as similar key chains made from olive wood. In the Arab market in the Old City, other shopkeepers sell these items, as well as T-shirts that say "Free Palestine" over the entire map of Israel. Nowhere do I find anyone selling items with a map of only the West Bank and Gaza marked as Palestine.
"I don't expect Israel to give back any land. Why should they?" said Jolani. "They don't have to, so they won't.... It is human nature." When I pointed out that Israel did give back Gaza, he laughed. "Of course they did, there are a lot of bellies to feed in Gaza, but Israel didn't really give Abbas anything. Every Palestinian who tried to travel between the West Bank and Gaza couldn't do it without an Israeli looking up his ass to see what he has there. This happened even to ministers in Abbas' government."
Despite political extremism, there are some business contacts between Israeli Jews and East Jerusalem Arabs. In one East Jerusalem shop, I saw a Charedi (ultra-Orthodox Jew) sitting behind the counter talking with the Arab owner. The two refused to speak with me or be photographed.
"The Charedi you saw in the Arab shop was probably a supplier," said Naiyf, a 42-year-old Arab from East Jerusalem. "Charedi Jews and Arabs to lot of business together in East Jerusalem. Things work out when we don't mix in religion and politics. Then we can get along."
Although East Jerusalem Arabs are able to vote in Israeli elections, most do not. Naiyf, however, said that he voted last time.
"I voted for Yachad, Yossi Beilin's [left-wing] party," he said. "I didn't vote for an Arab party because I thought that a Jewish party would have more influence." Naiyf said he hopes that the Old City of Jerusalem will be internationalized. "If we keep on fighting, no one will be able to live in Jerusalem."
Rhonda Spivak is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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