# We Witness Silwan As Jews, we must bear witness to the persecution of Palestinian families in Silwan. These families are being persecuted in the name of Judaism by the State of Israel and in cooperation with Jewish non-governmental organizations. Jewish identity has been weaponized to forcibly transfer Palestinians from Silwan and to dispossess them of their homes and property. If the State of Israel is allowed to implement its policy goals in ancient Jerusalem / Silwan, it will destroy the Palestinian neighborhoods of Silwan and dispossess the families who live there. On the ruins of their homes, the state plans to erect religious-nationalist oriented theme parks and some housing compounds for Jewish settlers. *The site below is "**I witness Silwan**" , a website by Silwan residents about their creative artistic resistance to dispossession from their homes in the holy city:* <iframe src="https://www.iwitnesssilwan.org/" width="100%" height="600"></iframe> --- ## Why Witness? ## Isaiah: The Prophet of Silwan [[Shared/Isaiah/Isaiah - The Prophet of Silwan|Look above on this page]] for our exploration of Isaiah's struggle against family evictions in the 8th century BCE. We will explore the persecution of Palestinian families in light of the prophet Isaiah's struggle against family evictions in ancient Jerusalem, Silwan of today. By following in the footsteps of the prophet, we acknowledge our powerful Jewish connection to this place. But for the prophet that connection is not a pretext for dispossessing Jerusalem's families from their inheritance. The opposite is the case: The religious meaning of Jerusalem requires protecting the people on the bottom of the social hierarchy. Isaiah channels the voice of YHVH, whose eyes are on the families whose plots – homes and farming land – were being absorbed into wealthy estates. Since these plots were the foundation of their subsistence, dignity and freedom, once their inheritances disappeared into the growing estates/compounds, they found themselves destitute and completely dependent upon the social elite. That class, meanwhile, at least from the prophet's perspective, was preoccupied with gratifying its desires. It abandoned justice and the poor to their own devices. ## Home Demolitions and Family Evictions ### Batan Al-Hawa ![[Ir Amim Map Batan Al-Hawa.jpg]] *This is my summary mostly based on a report by Ir Amim and Peace Now: [Broken Trust: State Involvement in Private Settlement in Batan al-Hawa, Silwan](https://www.ir-amim.org.il/en/node/1947)* Many Jewish and Arab residents of Jerusalem live today in homes which were owned before 1948 by people who fled (or were expelled) from one side of the border to the other. Jordan housed Arab refugees in homes previously owned by Jews. Israel housed Jewish refugees in homes previously owned by Arabs.  Despite the fact that Jewish and Arab residents share the same circumstances, they face very different legal realities. Arab families are being evicted from their homes so that Jews can recover property lost in 1948. But Jews are protected from evictions because the law does not allow Arabs to recover lost property. Two laws in particular create this double standard: The Absentee Property Law of 1950 (which annulled Arab ownership of pre-1948 properties) and the Legal and Administrative Matters Law of 1970 (which returns pre-1948 properties to Jews).  The result is that Arabs become refugees twice: First when they lost their property in 1948 and again today when evicted from their homes. Jews, in stark contrast, receive double compensation: First, when they moved into homes previously owned by Arabs (as compensation for the property they lost in 1948); Second, when they reclaim their original properties by evicting Arab families. Batan al-Hawa is a Palestinian neighborhood in the heart of Silwan with a population of almost 10,000. Roughly 85 Palestinian families (consisting of over 700 individuals) in Batan al-Hawa face forced evictions and settler takeover of their homes – - Since 2001, the Ateret Cohanim organization has been working to transform the center of Batan al-Hawa into a large Israeli settlement.  - The primary tool used to realize settlement plans in Batan al-Hawa is the forced eviction and removal of Palestinian families who have lived in the neighborhood for decades. - The legal claims are based on the argument that the title to the area was held by the Benvenisti Trust – a Jewish trust active in the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The land in question covers an area of 5.2 dunams (1.3 acres) and is currently home to some 85 Palestinian families in Batan al-Hawa, almost all of whom face eviction.  - Ateret Cohanim are not the heirs of the Benvenisti Trust. However, the state intervened in 2001 to enable the appointment of representatives of Ateret Cohanim as trustees, thereby granting them control of the trust. They then proceeded to advance eviction claims against the families.  - In parallel, the state sold the Benvenisti Trust (controlled by Ateret Cohanim) additional tracts of land without tender and without the Arab residents currently living on the plots being afforded an opportunity to purchase them.  - Since October 2014, there has been a dramatic escalation in the pace of Israeli settlement in Batan al-Hawa. The total number of Palestinian families at risk of losing their homes as the result of these combined actions exceeds one hundred.  - As stated, the evictions are ostensibly justified as the return of properties to their rightful owners. But if the issue was the right to property, which is a universal human right, then Arab and Jewish residents in the same circumstances would face the same legal reality. Since only Arabs are evicted, and only Jews receive double compensation, clearly the policy is predicated on discrimination and not the return of property.    <iframe width="600" height="712" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qcxH9fW-xqg" title="Zuheir a-Rajabi won’t bow to settlers’ takeover of Batan al-Hawa" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> ## Wadi Hilweh ("The City of David") More coming soon. You can start [here](https://www.ir-amim.org.il/sites/default/files/Silwanreporteng.pdf). ### Al-Bustan You can start [here](https://us20.campaign-archive.com/?u=6a7a435a1c6d7fa55daae8d58&id=d760cdd7c4) and [here](https://www.btselem.org/jerusalem/national_parks_al_bustan_garden_of_the_king).