Day 13 of the Delegation: USPCN’s Final Day in Palestine

Day 13 of the Delegation: Our Final Day in Palestine

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For our final day in Palestine, we first visited Grassroots Jerusalem, where we learned about its multifaceted mapping project that tracks the history and current needs of Jerusalemite communities. The long-term goal is to connect organizations with the people, so that they can work together on common issues they face in the city.

Next, the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem gave us a lively presentation on the history and current conditions of the people of Al-Quds (“Jerusalem” in Arabic). We learned some shocking statistics, such as the fact that Israel currently controls 88% of the land of East Jerusalem, and has settled 215,000 Israeli Jews there. This illegal transfer of foreigners onto occupied land was facilitated by a law passed by the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in 1980, declaring all of Jerusalem the “united capital of Israel.”

The goal of Israel’s current policies is to shift the demographics of Jerusalem so that 80% are Israeli Jews and only 20% Palestinians. Right now, Palestinians make up 40% of the population.

In addition to policies regarding land expropriation, we learned of the myriad ways used by Israel to force more Palestinians out of Jerusalem. For example, the state has implemented a very expensive system of permits for building and house repair, which make them nearly impossible for Palestinians to secure. To get permission to build 100 square meters in Jerusalem, a Palestinian family would have to pay 40,000 U.S. dollars and wait many years, with the vast majority of applications ultimately being denied. This forces many Palestinians to build without permits, which puts their homes at risk to be demolished.

The Israelis have also instituted a curriculum change for the Palestinian schools of Jerusalem, forcing them to adopt the same curriculum that Israel uses in 1948 Palestine. This new system places an increased emphasis on the Hebrew language, and removes all mention of the Palestinian people and the settler colonial aspect of Israel’s existence.

These policies by Israel are coupled with increasing political repression against the Palestinians and their organizations inside Jerusalem. In fact, since 2000, nearly 40 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and institutions have been shut down by the Israeli government.

As we left Al-Quds today, these policies of ethnic cleansing and zionization of the city weighed heavy on our hearts and minds. But as all of our friends across Palestine told us, “fe amal,” there is hope.

In Al-Quds, we saw hope in all of the young people who, even with the increasing impossibility of survival, still resist the Israelis at every turn. No law, no gun, or no level of repression has been able to break them, as was demonstrated this past year in the massive uprisings around the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In every act of resistance, no matter how small, our people are reminding the Israelis, and the world at large, that Jerusalem is, and always will be, Palestinian.

Until liberation & return,

USPCN
June 14, 2018

P.S. Look out for one last delegation report coming tomorrow, on our day in the Palestinian refugee camps of Amman, Jordan.