East Jerusalem Tour

On Monday we toured East Jerusalem and visited the “City of David”. This area has been fought over for centuries. Who lived their first? Who should live there now? Whose land is it? Did King David even exist? These questions have created vicious turmoil between the Palestinians and the Israelis since the “war of independence” or “al-Nakba.” The only difference is that the Israelis emerged with a land to call their own and the Palestinians over sixty years later are still striving for that same goal.

We received a tour of East Jerusalm from the Ir Amim organization. Prior to this tour, I had not seen or visited any Palestinian towns or neighborhoods and I had not seen the barrier firsthand. We drove around and outside my window I saw trash, broken roads, no sidewalks, etc. Who chooses to live this way? The Palestinians in East Jerusalem are either Israelis citizens or residents of Israel. Regardless of their status, they should be provided with the same benefits from the government as those living in West Jerusalem. If the Israelis government does not want the responsibility to provide for their citizens or residents than they should relinquish the territories to a government that will provide the necessities for survival.

Below I attached a picture of the barrier and graffiti on the barrier. The moment I saw the barrier the first question that came to mind was, "Who would want to live next to this? A constant reminder of occupation"