Ignoring East Jerusalem is a capital crime
Mr Wilcox’s letter is spot on in pointing out the hypocrisy and indeed lack of assertiveness vis-a-vis political Islam’s intransigence so ubiquitous among Western leaders and in mainstream media outlets.
While President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital goes a long way towards correcting a grave injustice, it is not clear on the crucial issue of Jerusalem being still a de facto divided city, although there are no physical boundaries.
Those of us who have been there know there is Western Jerusalem which, together with the holy Jewish sites and the Old City, must be re-
cognised as Israel’s capital. However, such recognition has been sadly lacking until Trump’s latest speech. But there is the eastern side of the city, backward and very different in character, with an overwhelming Arab population.
Despite Israeli officials’ demagogical declarations on Jerusalem as “Israel’s united capital”, this is an illusion. East Jerusalem is Muslim and Arab. This is a fact and must be taken into account. While a majority there secretly wish to stay in Israel for purely economic reasons, they would likely vote to join a Palestinian state if given the chance.
Last, but definitely not least, is the issue of the city’s holy sites - Christian, Jewish and Muslim.
Israel provides free worship rights under its protection at every single
one of them. Just by way of comparison: during 1948-1967, when the city was under Jordanian rule, not only was the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, off limits to Jews, it was also desecrated and used as a garbage dump.
Andy Leitner
