(Commentary) Jonathan Tobin - Israel this week celebrated Jerusalem Day, the anniversary of the unification of the city in 1967 according to the Jewish calendar, when Israeli troops routed the Jordanian occupiers of the eastern, northern, and southern parts of the town, and of the Old City. In June 1967, the barriers that had divided Jerusalem since the 1949 armistice were torn down, and the Jewish people were reunited with their holiest places, from which they had been barred during that period. This is the first Jerusalem Day since President Barack Obama made it clear that a repartition of the city has become one of America's priorities in the Middle East. Though the city has been Israel's capital since 1949, Obama's is the first administration to state explicitly that the Jewish presence in the parts of the city that the Jordanian occupiers vacated in 1967 is illegal and to actively oppose the building of Jewish housing even in existing Jewish neighborhoods. Though more than 200,000 Jews live in the eastern, northern, and southern sections of the city, which the media routinely incorrectly labels "East Jerusalem," U.S. diplomats have made it clear to the Israelis that any building that goes on in these neighborhoods of the capital is a "provocation." By turning the building of Jewish housing in the city's Jewish neighborhoods into an international incident, Obama has made it impossible for the Palestinians to demand anything less than the eviction of the Jews from the city. Although there was never any chance that the Palestinians would accept any peace deal under any circumstances, Obama's ultimatum about freezing housing projects in Jerusalem has certainly ensured that peace is further away than ever.
2010-05-14 08:48:52Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive