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04 February 2009
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to State Prosecutor Moshe Lador:
Jerusalem Municipality will be forced to take action to execute all the demolition orders in the
Silwan neighborhood, contrary to the Mayor’s program to legalize construction in the area
The Municipality will seal Beit Yonatan and demolish all illegal structures; more than 200 structures have
demolition orders pending against them
In a letter sent yesterday, Wednesday,
February 3, 2010, by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to State Prosecutor Moshe Lador, Mayor Barkat said that he intends to execute
all the sealing and demolition orders pending against structures in Silwan and the King’s Valley under most vigorous
protest and harsh criticism of the plan. According to Barkat, the Municipality will act according to Lador’s directive,
despite the severe repercussions this might give rise to.
In the letter, Barkat notes that
he is forced to execute the demolition orders despite his own position and the decisions made by the Jerusalem City Council,
and despite the municipal plan being formulated for dealing with illegal construction in Silwan and the King’s Valley.
The Municipality’s program includes the possibility of adding stories to structures, a move that would add some 1,000
housing units, the regularizing of hundreds of structures built without permits, and a reduction of about 90% of the friction
surrounding construction issues, instead of executing hundreds of demolition orders, a move carrying with it great explosive
potential.
Mayor Barkat further notes in
his letter that the Municipality will start to enforce the principle of the rule of law in the spirit of a uniform enforcement
policy and without prejudice. Mayor Barkat voiced sharp criticism of the administrative failure in the work of the Municipality’s
legal counsel and the lack of uniform criteria for implementing the process of executing the demolition orders. Security sources
with whom the Mayor has consulted have expressed their position that the gamut of activities taking place in the area, including
renewed planning and enforcement, has security ramifications, and is of great political and public sensitivity that obligates
all involved to pay very careful attention and take a system-wide view.
The Jerusalem Municipality has
sought to transition to a policy allowing 4 instead of 2 stories in central Silwan, and thereby give hope to some 480 structures
for being regularized at some point in the future. It is important to note that carrying out this decision would result in
the execution of over 200 demolition orders in the neighborhood. The Mayor further writes that, “I am trying in every
way possible to warn you that the enforcement policy in the city of Jerusalem in everything having to do with Beit Yonatan
has failed miserably, been selective and lacking any real justification. The rationalizations presented by the enforcement
system do not stand the test of facts, neither when taken one by one nor as a cumulative whole.”
Submitted by Stephen Miller
to the Government Press Office / Jerusalem, Israel, Monday, December 21, 2009 – This evening, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat
personally presented plans to the Jerusalem Municipal Planning and Construction Committee to re-zone the western slopes of
Silwan to permit residential construction of up to four floors, doubling the current limit of two floors. Following the passage
of the plans this evening as official policy of the committee, they will be brought to the entire City Council for a vote,
after which they will become the official policy of the relevant planning departments throughout the Municipality of Jerusalem.
Such a re-zoning would allow
for legalized housing for about 500 families in Silwan and an addition of 500 new housing units to be issued permits, totaling
an addition of 1,000 housing units to the area. There are 71 structures with valid demolition orders in this area of
Silwan but only 10 of those currently exceed four stories in height. The Mayor’s plan provides solutions for the lack
of affordable housing in the area and allows for about 90% of the housing violations to be theoretically legalized.
Mayor Barkat remains committed
to improving the quality of life and municipal services for all residents throughout the city.
Letter to Mr. Walid Salem - Arab Palestinian Panel Member
Conference On Democracy In Palestinian Society
16 June 2009
”Shalom and good evening Walid - Thank you
very much for your comments in response to my questions today. Surely, as I explained
afterwards we do have an existential disagreement as to the fundamental problems in this continued debate. I will be doing a piece on your remarks and would like to reiterate my question again. This because
I did not get a personal answer from you today. My question was, "Do you
(perhaps you thought I meant the Arab Palestinian population - but that is incorrect,) you as an individual,
believe that the Sovereign State of
Israel has a right to exist on any portion
of this tiny patch of ground? That sir, is a 'yes' or 'no' question. That sir, in light of the history here on
this soil is where the reality of an Arab Palestinian
Sovereign State begins.
To avoid answering that question as an individual Arab Palestinian is to avoid statehood.
Your answer in part was, 'We acknowledged that in Oslo.'
But, sir you still did not answer the question for yourself as an individual. And for me the answer is pertinent to
the truth. Because when I write my piece it will not suggest that you or any member on the panel was speaking for
anyone at Oslo or for anyone who was not at Oslo. Rather,
I wish to know if you - as an individual - believe that the Sovereign State of Israel
has a right to exist on any portion of this tiny patch of ground. While
I agree (and have been on record) that Arab Palestinians should have a Sovereign
State of their own - and the sooner the better, I do not agree that it
is in the best interest of that same population for their 'public servants' at the negotiating table to wait until 'everything
is settled in their favor'. I asked the question Walid, because I saw a disingenuous
veil. Whether that veil is based upon a lack of knowledge, or a lack of truth I do not presume to judge, nonetheless,
the veil exists! Please let me postulate that waiting for all elements to be
'perfect' before forging ahead in the pursuit of self governance is akin to the notion that one must wait until all elements
are 'perfect' for other life enhancing relationships, such as marriage and parenthood. Such a postponement is neither
desirable or based on moderate thinking. It is my hope that all Palestinian Arabs
seeking a nation state (without blaming we Jews collectively for it not happening until this moment) will in fact see their
dreams realized soon. For, surely Walid, it is not the Sovereign State of Israel
who prevents the realization of national yearning you and your brethren have expressed for so long. Rather, it
is the lack of Truth within the Arab Palestinian halls of 'authority' which has prevented the fruition of your national
yearning. When the Arab Palestinian population decides that it is more important
for them to obtain statehood than it is for the Sovereign State Of Israel to be destroyed - then and only then will your
wishes and hopes for statehood be realized. I look forward to your answer and
your further dialogue. Wishing you only good in every good deed you undertake, Aviva Lee; Journalist & Writer”
Jerusalem Festival of Light
Opening Ceremony
10 June 2009
Well it was not Depeche Mode or some other supreme “attraction”
coming out of Tel Aviv. Nonetheless, the Jerusalem Festival of Light was a spectacular
demonstration of the use of modern technology to tell a poignant – yet
simple spiritual story - a story very befitting for Jerusalem. A story which included the character of Avraham Aveinu as the solitary figure in a
dark world where light had changed from the traditional bolt of lightening symbolizing lone inspiration to the discovery of
light in this present inhabited world. From beginning to end the performance
of the male and female dance pairs demonstrated the profound Beauty in the futuristic mystical
discovery of Light Beams as an element bringing Joy and Triumph to the all encompassing Dark.
The choreography employed for the couple dance was profoundly discreet and sensual at the same time. This in and of itself is not only daring, but also very refreshing in a world which uses the stage to merely
regurgitate the vulgar in an attempt to sell tickets. Unlike the majority of
stage productions today the Jerusalem Festival of Light rose above the bar in appealing to more than just the basest of human
instincts.
From the use of the minimalist body hugging costumes to the use of balanced symmetry in the choreography the production
accomplished its purposes from the start.
And then of course the Finale in its own glorification of the essence of Light in all of the forms known to mankind since the Beginning of Time. From
the Fire Dance to the Linear Dance – one using the Primordial while the other used the Futuristic – yet both in
Time and Space with each other, represented the Unity of Truth and Beauty that can be experienced by all wanderers, individually
and collectively.
And this defines the culmination of the knowledge of the character of Avraham Aveinu as he stepped into the web of
Futuristic Light and discovered that he too could handle this mystical element. And
in that discovery Avraham formed the essence of his understanding of Truth by using the motif of a flower of red light (Judgment).
While growing in his own individual search for Beauty, the last motif which Avraham gave the mesmerized audience was the Mogen
Dovid of white light (Loving Kindness). And so the Finale and each dancer defines
the Unity of the paths – from the Ancient Search to the Contemporary Quest and how one makes a transition into another
elevation on the Ultimate Journey we humans call Life.
Welcome to Jerusalem – the holiest city on earth!
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