JEWS PROTEST AT SYNAGOGUE HOSTING ISRAELI CABINET MINISTER
NEWS RELEASE
A quiet residential street in northwest London witnessed unusual scenes on Tuesday (May 11) as orthodox Jews opposed to Israeli claims of sovereignty over Jerusalem clashed with supporters of a member of the hard-line Israeli government.
Benny Begin, founder of the extreme right Herut current in Israeli politics, was the keynote speaker at the Hendon United Synagogue where a group of Zionist organisations were celebrating Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem.
According to Begin, "Jerusalem must remain under the exclusive sovereignty of the State of Israel… We must be constantly on the alert against ideas of internationalisation."
This unilateral Israeli annexation is marked on May 12 by a national holiday, Yom Yerushalayim, but is recognised by no serious nation. Israel’s capital is Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem
About 20 members of Jews for Justice for Palestinians, the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (J-BIG), the International Solidarity Movement, Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine and the anti-Zionist rabbis of Neturei Karta, mounted a vigil outside the synagogue to defend equal access for people of all faiths to the holy city.
They were among 24 Jewish, Christian, Muslim and other organisations who issued a protest statement in advance of the meeting.
“Disgracefully, this deeply divisive, political event is organised in the form of a religious service,” said Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, one of the protest organisers.
“Our anger is directed not against Jews or Judaism, but against an Israeli government that glorifies Israel's illegal annexation of East Jerusalem and revels in the ethnic cleansing of the city.
NOTE TO EDITORS:
- The full protest statement with list of signatory organisations appears below.
- A flyer advertising the celebration which is the subject of the protest can be viewed at https://zionist.org.uk/index.php?id=39
CONTACTS:
Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi (J-BIG) – 07759 024659
Sally FitzHarris (LibDem FP) 07771 785001
STATEMENT FROM JEWISH, CHRISTIAN AND MUSLIM ORGANISATIONS AND OTHERS CONCERNED ABOUT THE STATUS OF JERUSALEM
“Jerusalem must remain under the exclusive sovereignty of the State of Israel… We must be constantly on the alert against ideas of internationalisation.”
So says Benny Begin, MK (member of the Israeli parliament) and senior government minister, who will be the keynote speaker on May 11 at a London celebration of Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem.
This occurred in 1968, a year after Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip and the Syrian Golan Heights.
Begin, son of the late former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, peddles the myth of an exclusive biblical Jewish right to Jerusalem although its holy sites are revered by millions of Christians and Muslims as well as Jews.
“We all know that no other nation or religion has a better claim to Jerusalem than we do,” he told Israel National News in February this year.
This unilateral Israeli annexation is marked on May 12 by a national holiday, Yom Yerushalayim, but is recognised by no serious nation. Israel’s capital is Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem.
In 1980 United Nations Resolution 478 denied Israel’s claim to East Jerusalem and instructed member states to withdraw their diplomats from the city. The UN Security Council, with U.S. support, declared the Israeli annexation of greater Jerusalem as "null and void," the same language used in reference to Iraq's takeover of Kuwait.
Today in defiance of international law, Israeli authorities continue their ethnic cleansing of East Jerusalem, destroying Palestinian homes as part of their stated aim to “Judaise” the city. The illegal settlement building continues.
Obsessed by their selective reading of the Bible as tribal myth and dogma, Likud–Herut UK, One Jerusalem, the Jewish National Fund, the Zionist Federation, Ner Yisrael Community and the Hendon United Synagogue plan a celebration in London on May 11.
We call on all who are genuinely concerned for the residents of Jerusalem, Palestinian or Israeli, to join us in condemning this event and the attitudes it glorifies
Endorsed by:
Action Palestine
Amos Trust
Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine
British Committee for the Universities of Palestine
Brighton and Hove Muslim Women
Dundee Trades Union Council
Friends of Al-Aqsa
Friends of Sabeel – UK
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions - UK
Jews Against Zionism
Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods
Jews for Justice for Palestinians
Just Peace Leicester
King College London Action Palestine
Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights
Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine
Liverpool Friends of Palestine
Muslim Public Affairs Committee
Neturei Karta
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Scottish Friends of Palestine
Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Tower Hamlets and Jenin Friendship Association
Waltham Forest PSC
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