‘Justice, human rights’ at core of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

DOHA: Justice and human rights are the basic issues in Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while everyone is talking about peace, coexistence and the two-state solution, according to Micha Kurz, a former Israeli soldier and co-founder of the Grassroots Jerusalem, an online platform that connects urban and human rights activists and organisations in Jerusalem.
Kurz was delivering a lecture on the topic ‘Mobilising communities in occupied Jerusalem’ at the Georgetown University Qatar (GU-Q), hosted by GU-Q’s Center for Regional Studies (CIRS) as part of its monthly lecture series.
“When we discuss Jerusalem or Palestine, we don’t often use terms like employment, dropout rates, or what the occupation really means. So I want to focus on that so we can understand what we are talking about,” said Kurz.
He discussed the current demographic situation of Jerusalem in terms of recent political events stemming from the creation of Israel. He then detailed the socio-economic impact on Palestinian communities in light of the ongoing struggle to establish a majority benchmark of Jewish citizens. 
Detailing government policies that have shifted over the decades in response to persistent failure in meeting these demographic goals, Kurz demonstrated how the strategy of instituting check-points, then building a wall, have effectively cut off the old inner city, an economic centre, from the suburbs where displaced Jerusalemite Palestinians had been relocated. 
Combined with Israeli law that punishes Jerusalem’s Palestinian citizens by revoking their residency permits if they are gone for more than three years, the impact on Palestinians has been massive, he explained. 
“Students can’t go to school, consumers can’t do business, and over 5,000 Palestinian businesses have shut down. Unemployment is at its peak — a 75 percent poverty rate in East Jerusalem alone,” said Kurz.
He described the events of the Second World War that led to the emergence of a Jewish state and set off a demographic race.
“The first priority of the Israeli government was for Israeli neighbourhoods to grow as much and as fast as possible, with new neighbourhoods built very quickly, mostly on Palestinian farmland,” said Kurz, who was born and raised in Jerusalem.
He recounted childhood memories of counting building cranes on the city’s horizon.
The partition of Jerusalem into East and West following the 1949 War, the first time in the city’s long history of peaceful coexistence between Christians, Jews and Muslims, resulted in a major displacement of Palestinians from Jerusalem. From a population of 850,000, only 50,000 remained after the partition. 
“The other government priority was that Palestinian neighbourhoods were to be frozen.
“No Palestinian growth or new neighbourhoods since 1967. You won’t find that in a black and white law book, but you’ll find a demographic benchmark on a government website that says Jerusalem is to maintain a 79 per cent Jewish majority of the city,” said Kurz.
He concluded that it is imperative the central business district be opened back up to the Palestinian people.
“This all has to do with politics. While everyone discusses the two-state solution, peace, dialogue and coexistence, what we should be talking about is human rights and justice.”
Introducing Kurz to the audience earlier, Dr Mehran Kamrava, Director of CIRS, said, “I met Kurz while I was doing research in Jerusalem for a course I’m teaching this semester. 
“Within five minutes of speaking to him, I knew that I had to find a way to bring him to one of our Monthly Dialogue lectures. I was thrilled and delighted he agreed to come.” 
Next month’s lecture, which is open to the public, will feature CIRS Director of Research, Zahra Babar, who will discuss Arab communities in Qatar.
The Peninsula