Silwan Evictions February 2012

How it Unfolded

Background In early November 2011, the media reported that a Palestinian family was being evicted by Himanuta, a JNF subsidiary, from Silwan. You will find it is a

HUFFINGTON POST The JNF: Planting Trees or Uprooting Families? Posted: 11/23/11 03:42 PM ET Follow Remember dropping pennies into those blue JNF boxes in your synagogue and JCC growing up? In a few days from now, on November 28th, the JNF, under the guise of "Himnuta," will use the pennies dropped into those blue boxes towards the expulsion of a Palestinian family, the Sumarin family, from their home in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. expulsion You will find it is a

Palestinian family given two weeks to vacate East Jerusalem Home A 12-member Palestinian family has been ordered to vacate its house in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan within two weeks. The party behind the eviction is Himnuta, a subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund, which has been trying to get the Sumarin family to leave since Himnuta claims the house where the Sumarins are living actually belongs to it. The custodian general confiscated the house from its original owner under the Abandoned Property Law about two decades ago and transferred it to the Development Authority, a state agency. Not long afterward, in the early 1990s, the Development Authority made a deal with Himnuta under which Himnuta received Palestinian land and houses in Silwan in exchange for land near Wadi Ara that the JNF transferred to the state.

Rabbis For Human Rights launched a petition against JNF. They circulated it by: Facebook Twitter Listservs A phone campaign You will find it is a

AT JNF-US we received: s Phone calls Questions from donors Postings on Facebook and Twitter

OUR INITIAL RESPONSE 1.Was short 2.Chided Rabbis for Human Rights for handling things in an unmenschlichkeit way 3.Explained why we leased to Elad– so they could perform archaeological excavations 4. KKL-JNF has no rights, control or responsibility in this issue at all. This would be as if we leased the land to someone who built a shopping center and one of the storeowners didn’t pay rent to the developer. 5.Then put it squarely between Elad and the family. It is strictly between the Sumarins and Elad, not KKL-JNF. Elad, as the one who has full legal rights over the entire area, has exercised the due process of the legal system of Israel. The problem is, we were wrong. These were not the facts You will find it is a

Then it was announced that the court date was postponed indefinitely. Our secondary response after conferring with KKL’s lawyer was longer and included: A retraction based on public responsibility: KKL’s position has always combined safeguarding the land rights of the Jewish People while taking into consideration the rights of minorities in Israel. By doing so, KKL and Himanutah are allowing for peaceful negotiations without the time constraints of the courts. We know this situation will be resolved amicably. Then we added more details: We described how we came to own the piece of land in Silwan – eager to help the Arab village of Kfar Kara grow, we swapped land we owned with the ILA. KKL engages in land swaps with the ILA always with the understanding that ownership of the land it receives is clear. This case was no different. You will find it is a

We kept the reason for the land swap in A long, legal conflict over the question of this land’s ownership ended in Israel’s Magistrate court ruling unequivocally that the Somrin family’s claims of rights to this land were without foundation and that they needed to vacate the property. Then went emotional: We understand the emotional impact of the situation and expect an equitable solution for all parties. All efforts are being made to reach a resolution where the Jewish people retain their land resources and sensitive political dynamics are not exacerbated and human circumstances considered compassionately. You will find it is a

Forward.com JNF Board Member Quits Over Evictions Seth Morrison Says Clearing Out Palestinians Hurts Peace Some of my earliest Jewish memories involve dropping spare change in the Jewish National Fund’s iconic little blue boxes. I was proud that my money would help plant trees in Israel. The JNF, I knew, was making the desert bloom. As an adult, I became a member of the organization’s Washington, D.C., board and moved from donating extra nickels to raising thousands of dollars for JNF. Now, I regret to announce that this week I have resigned my board position and am severing all ties with the organization. You will find it is a

JNF-US CEO Russell Robinson wrote him a letter which we circulated as a response to the Forward article. The letter called on him to work from within not against.

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Then the eviction was called off and it quieted down…. ….Until a few weeks ago with the announcement of another eviction, scheduled for Feb 28. JTA received an anti-JNF op-ed from Rabbi for Human Rights. They asked if we’d like to respond and we did. Both were published at the same time.

JTA: Op-Ed: The campaign against JNF is misplaced By Russell Robinson · March 1, 2012 In it he: Made the case for a Jewish State of Israel Called Rabbi Jill Jacobs out for not getting the facts straight Cited the Israeli courts and democracy in action as the final arbiter He received great praise from our donors You will find it is a

JTA: Op-Ed: JNF should plant trees, not uproot families By Jill Jacobs · March 1, 2012 In it she:  Said JNF should stop evicting Palestinians from their homes  Equated it with the future of the democratic soul of the country  Put JNF at fault for the lack of peace  Warned people against being fooled by the “good work” JNF does  Called on JNF to stop policies that set up a roadblock to peace

JTA: Op-Ed: The campaign against JNF is misplaced By Russell Robinson · March 1, 2012 In it he: Made the case for a Jewish State of Israel Called Rabbi Jill Jacobs out for not getting the facts straight Cited the Israeli courts and democracy in action as the final arbiter He received great praise from our donors You will find it is a

Aftermath: We concluded that: Short answers are best Must stick to the facts; take emotion out of it Should never answer for the Israeli government or another organization Most Importantly: We need to be prepared– must be given a heads-up Need an understanding of the issues so we can decide what answer is best Unified response for all JNF-KKL offices to use so we speak the same language Understand this is not just a media issue but more importantly a donor issue With a 24-hours news cycle, answers must be turned around quickly You will find it is a