Urgent action - stop home demolition in East Jerusalem

international | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Thursday September 14, 2006 15:25 by Lara Kelly - Trocaire

Middle East: Take action to end demolitions

Please send an email to the Mayor of Jerusalem demanding the cessation of home demolitions in East Jerusalem.

Ahmed Dari, who lives in Jerusalem, had his home demolished in 2003. He rebuilt in 2004, but his home is once again about to be destroyed.

Take action below, demanding that the Dari family be left in peace and that institutional discrimination against Palestinians in East Jerusalem is brought to an end.

http://www.trocaire.ie/takeaction/action2.php

Full story:

Trócaire and an Israeli partner organisation, Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) are campaigning to stop the demolition of a Palestinian family's home in East Jerusalem. The local government in Jerusalem (the Jerusalem Municipality) ordered the home of the Dari family be demolished last March, reflecting the widespread discrimination of the Municipality against Palestinian residents in East Jerusalem. Trócaire is calling on the public to demand that the local government in Jerusalem does not destroy another civilian home.

Israel illegally annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. Since then Jerusalem Municipality has practised widespread discrimination against the Palestinian residents of the city. Some 2000 Palestinian homes have been destroyed in Jerusalem and the West Bank since 1967, leaving more than 16,000 people homeless. This discrimination has also taken other forms such as preventing Palestinian residents from living in Jerusalem, expanding illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands and the construction of the Wall throughout East Jerusalem.

In 2004, at least 152 buildings (mostly family homes) were demolished in East Jerusalem by the local government (the Jerusalem Municipality). The Municipality claim that Palestinians constructing homes in east Jerusalem do not have the proper documentation to do so. However Palestinians have not been able to get this documentation since 1967 making it legally impossible for them to build a home in the city.

In 2003 the Dari family home was demolished by the Municipality. Director of Rabbis for Human Rights, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, and others, attempted to prevent the demolition of the home by standing in front of the bulldozers. Despite the protest the home was demolished.

In 2004 the house was rebuilt with support from Trócaire's partner. Now there are substantial fears that a Court Demolition Order, issued on March 6th, 2006, is about to be implemented and the new home demolished.

Rabbi Arik Ascherman made this appeal: "We have heard that the Mayor is intent on demolishing the home before Ramadan (September 23rd). There will be no plaque on the wall for saving the Dari home. But, such efforts demonstrate that our commitment to improve the world goes beyond words. What could be more holy then ending the anguish of this family, which has been going on since their first home was demolished in 2003?"

Eoin Murray, Palestine Programme Officer for Trocaire said "When I visited Ahmed Dari in August the daily suffering of the family was clear. Ahmed's wife Hanan and daughter Sufian also described how each day was spent wondering whether the police and the bulldozers would come to their new home. Anything we can do to stop this injustice and discrimination must be done."

Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR) have been a partner of Trócaire's since 2004. They aim to link the Jewish tradition of human rights with the ongoing human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. RHR brings specific human rights grievances to the attention of the Israeli public and puts pressure for change on the appropriate authorities. Trócaire's support for this group is an important component of our work, which seeks to ensure that human rights are respected, international law is upheld and a just and lasting peace is found in the region.