Jerusalem is at the Heart of the Palestinian Cause
By Elsa Rassbach and Mustafa Bargouti
Nation of Change
March 23, 2012
http://www.nationofchange.org/jerusalem-heart-palestinian-cause-1332509427
Every year on March 30th Palestinians around the world
celebrate Land Day, which commemorates a general strike
and marches in 1976 against Israeli land appropriation,
an event that was a pivotal event in bringing about
Palestinian national unity. This year Palestinians
throughout the Middle East and in the Diaspora will
commemorate Land Day by calling attention to the
dangers facing Jerusalem.
The Israeli government has long denied most
Palestinians - whether Muslim or Christian - access to
Jerusalem, even to visit holy sites. The organizers of
the Global March allege that through methods of ethnic
cleansing, Israel has been forcing Jerusalem's
remaining Arab inhabitants out, thus endangering the
multi-religious, multi-ethnic character of the city
that is the intended capital of Palestine.
On March 30th, the Palestinians will attempt to get as
close to Jerusalem as they can: whether at the borders
of Lebanon and Jordan, at checkpoints in the West Bank,
or at the Erez crossing in Gaza. There will also be a
demonstration in Jerusalem itself. The Palestinians
will be joined by supporters from five continents. An
eminent Advisory Board includes the Nobel Peace
Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mairead Maguire.
Solidarity vigils and actions are also planned on March
30th at Israeli Embassies and other locations in sixty
cities around the world.
The Palestinian coalition organizing this Global March
to Jerusalem is perhaps unprecedented in its breadth.
Equally unprecedented is the Israeli campaign against
the March, which has included faux Websites and
Facebook pages to mislead participants regarding
gathering places. After seventy supporters from India,
Malaysia, Pakistan, and other Asian countries visited
Iran on their way to Lebanon to join the March, the
Israeli press alleged that the March is directed from
Iran and that violent "clashes" with Israeli forces are
planned.
Among the most outspoken Palestinian supporters and
organizers of the Global March is Dr. Mustafa
Barghouti, 58, the well-known nonviolence advocate. As
General Secretary of the Palestinian National
Initiative, Dr. Bargouti played a key role in recent
attempts to bring Hamas and Fatah together. He is
medical doctor educated in the former Soviet Union, the
US and Jerusalem; he founded and leads Palestinian
Medical Relief society, which provides health care in
the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In 2005 Dr. Bargouti ran
for presidency of the Palestinian National Authority
and won 19% of the vote. He resides in Ramallah in the
West Bank.
You have joined with Palestinians from many
different political perspectives and many
places in the world to call for a Global
March to Jerusalem. What is this
initiative about?
It's an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
It will take place on Land Day, March 30th, a day that
symbolizes the unity of Palestinians in the struggle
for freedom and dignity and against theft of their
land. We hope to bring to the world's attention the
very grave violations that Israel is committing against
Jerusalem. Both the UN and The International Court of
Justice hold that annexation of East Jerusalem, which
is part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, is a
violation of international law.
But there is illegal Israeli confiscation of
Palestinian land throughout the Occupied Territories
and also within Israel. Why the focus on Jerusalem?
Jerusalem is at the heart of the Palestinian cause.
East Jerusalem should be the capital of the Palestinian
state. If Jerusalem is lost, the whole concept and idea
of Palestinian statehood is lost, and the possibility
of peace is lost. And Jerusalem is an important place
for all of humanity, a holy place for Muslims,
Christians, and the Jewish people. It should be the
place where peace begins.
Today in Jerusalem you see the Israeli system of
segregation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing in the
sharpest possible way. If a Palestinian man from
Jerusalem marries a woman in Ramallah, only sixteen
kilometers away, he will not be able to live with her.
The Israelis will never grant her the right to move to
Jerusalem, but if he moves to Ramallah, he will lose
his ID and his residency permit in Jerusalem. And the
permit may be withdrawn for political reasons as well.
Though I was born in Jerusalem and worked there as a
medical doctor for fifteen years, after I ran for
president in 2005, the Israeli Army thereafter has
refused to allow me in. Most Palestinians including
Christians and Moslems, also cannot enter.
But any Jewish person from anywhere in the world who
decides to immigrate to Israel, whether from Siberia or
the United States, will immediately be granted the
right to live in Jerusalem or anywhere else in the
Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Jerusalem is accessible to every Jewish person. It
should be accessible to everybody. Many Jewish people
from Israel and other parts of the world agree and are
participating in and even organizing the Global March.
Among the demands of the March is "the right of
return." Why would Palestinians who live in historical
Palestine support such a demand?
This demand means a lot to us, too, because there are
huge numbers of refugees living in Gaza and West Bank
who are denied access to the place they were forced to
leave. Even Palestinians living in Israel who carry
Israeli citizenship are not allowed to return home to
their villages in Israel like Iqrit and Kafr Bir'im.
The right of return is a right recognized by
international law under a special UN resolution, 194.
We do understand that its implementation will have to
be negotiated, but the right itself has to be
respected.
Last year on May 15th, Nakba Day and also Israeli
Independence Day, Israeli soldiers killed dozens and
wounded hundreds of unarmed Palestinians who tried to
cross over the borders of Lebanon and Syria. Could the
Global March lead to a repeat of such violence?
The March will be an act of peace, an act of
nonviolence, and that's why Palestinians everywhere are
united in supporting it. It reflects the consensus of
Palestinians today on adopting nonviolence totally. We
know that Israel is capable of terrible violence. All
the organizers in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and
Israel/Palestine are aware of this risk. We hope that
the U.S. and the European countries will pressure
Israel not use violence against our nonviolence.
Elsa Rassbach is a filmmaker and journalist.
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