1 ‫עמוד‬

Palestinians
Jerusalem's
Stopevicting from
refugees Jaffa duringthe 1948 war, tion" of East Jerusalem, not only is an iconic group. Intellectuals,
blue
Untie this and his fathertraded in his U.N. refugee collar people, Jews, Arabs, old,young
throughthe expansionof settlements,
knot in the card, which guaranteed him basic sup- which Benjamin Netanyahu,defying representing thousands of people.
Israeli-Pal- port,for the rightto move into the house President Obama, refuses to freeze,but This is permanent reality."
the U.N. Reliefand Works Agency and a!so dubious
throughlegally removal of Untie this knot in the nearlyhopeles
estinian Jordan were building on vacant land. In Palestinians from other Jerusalem Israeli-Palestiniantangle and many
and
tangle return for finishingthe house, the Gh- neighborhoods likeSilwan, justdown others could be untied as well. The

many oth- James wai familywould get the legaldeed. the slopefrom the old city. demonstrators are not interested in be■
Three generations of the Ghawi fam- That other key Arab neighborhoods, ingvalorized as championsof vibrant
ers could Carroll ilyhad lived there ever since until likeAbu Dis, have been cut offfrom Je- Israelidemocracy.Instead, theylook tc
be untied lastAugust,when an Israelicourt rusalem by the so-calledsecurity ba !‫־‬rier be bolstered by the broader world
ordered them out. They had no deed be- to
points an even largerquestion againstthe once-marginal figureswho
as well
cause, he told me, "the Jordan govern- whether, as far as the current Israeli have more and more power in Israel.
JERUSALEM For months now,
every ment would not put itin our name until government is concerned, the hard-won (The ForeignMinistryis headed by the
Fridayseveral hundred Israelisgather we had proper plumbing, and then the consensus that the promisedPalestinian far-rightAvigdorLieberman. This
here in Sheikh Jarrah, neighborhood 1967 war broke out." Jordan's authority state would have itscapital
in East Jeru- week, his deputy snubbed five U.S. con■
in Arab East Jerusalem, to stand in vi- ended. salem no "This willstop
longerapplies, gressmen while TzipiLivni,the opposi
gilas protestagainst the eviction of One of the organizers of the protestvi- any peace agreement,"Benninga told tion leader,warned "The Jewish state
Palestinian familiesfrom homes they gil, Zvi Benninga, 24-year-old Israeli me. has been taken hostageby the ultra-or-
have lived in for decades. In August, medical student and Jemsalernite, told The weekly demonstrations are be- thodox parties.")criticalstage has
seven families about 50 people, in- me, "It is so blatant because theywere mg led by younger Israelis, although been reached, with the government-en■
eluding 35 children were forced out expelled for second time by Israel veterans of the Israelipeace camp have couraged status quo showing up as dis-
of theirhomes, and immediately re- firstin ,8491
and now again." shown up, too including prominent aster in the making,as much for Israel
placedby eightfamilies of Jewish Is- The protestengages several critical is- figures likethe novelistDavid Gross- as for Palestine.
raelis,members of extremist settler sues.The government evictions depend man, the philosopher Moshe Halbertal, Jamalat Ghawi, mother of four,told
groups. The Palestinians have been liv- on cloudyquestions of pre-1948 owner- and the literary criticSidra DeKoven me from her placein the ad hoc tent
ingin tents across the street from their shiprights,which in most of Israelhave Ezrahi. "J Street,"the American Jewish across the street from her house, "I feel
house ever since. Six other nearbyfam- been simplydeleted.Equivalent enforce- lobbyinggroup, has sent petition of frustrationand anger, and worry for
ilieshave received eviction notices. ment of "absentee property" laws else- support signedby Americans.
000,01 my children.They dream of their house
spokewith one of the evicted fa- where in Israelwould lead to evictions of Today,Avrum Burg, the former speak- at night.
They are terrified.They have
thers,Fouad Ghawi, who had lived in tens of thousands of Jewish Israelis. er of the Israeli Knesset,
is here to sup- no idea where they are going." Today,
the house since when he was
,4591 .8
He The evictions also raise the
larger portthe evicted families.When asked they are not alone.
and his familywere Palestinian questionof Israel's"creepingannexa him what the meant,
vigil he said, "This BOSTON GLOBE