Jerusalén (Continuación)

President Donald J. Trump on 6 December 2017 declared U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, breaking decades of precedent even while saying the U.S. was not “taking a position of any final status issues”.

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Has President Trump endorsed Israel’s position on the status of Jerusalem?

Not precisely, although many are understanding it that way. In policy terms, a central question is what President Trump recognised as Israel’s capital. Was it West Jerusalem, thereby leaving open the possibility that East Jerusalem would be the capital of a future state of Palestine? Was it present-day municipal Jerusalem within its unilaterally expanded borders, thereby essentially pre-empting the final status of the city? Or was it some third variant? His statement was not clear.

On the one hand, Trump specifically cited the Jerusalem Embassy Act as the basis of his decision, which refers to the “undivided” Jerusalem that Israel considers to be under its sovereignty.…  Seguir leyendo »

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En déclarant Jérusalem capitale d’Israël, Donald Trump s’engage dans une voie diplomatique hasardeuse et rompt avec les politiques de ses prédécesseurs. Voté par le Congrès en 1995 en dépit de la vive opposition du président Clinton, le transfert de l’ambassade américaine à Jérusalem a, en effet, jusqu’ici toujours été reporté.

Si cette annonce suscite tant de réactions et de craintes internationales et notamment palestiniennes, arabes et musulmanes, c’est qu’elle touche à la dernière ligne rouge pour les Palestiniens, et conforte les politiques de colonisation de l’ensemble de la ville de Jérusalem. Le nombre de colons a en effet été multiplié par trois depuis 1994.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Faisant suite à sa promesse de campagne, Donald Trump a reconnu officiellement Jérusalem comme la capitale de l’Etat d’Israël et annoncé que l’ambassade américaine, installée jusque-là à Tel-Aviv, y serait transférée dans les meilleurs délais, sans toutefois indiquer de date précise. Cette déclaration entérine une loi votée par le Congrès le 23 octobre 1995.

Depuis, les médias se font l’écho des réactions des pays arabes, musulmans, des représentants palestiniens, tant ceux de l’Autorité palestinienne que du Hamas, ainsi que de la communauté internationale. La colère, la stupéfaction, le désespoir, l’incompréhension, le mécontentement, sont relevés dans toutes les capitales, ainsi qu’à l’ONU, où le secrétaire général, le Portugais Antonio Guterres, a exprimé son vif désaccord.…  Seguir leyendo »

Palestinians protested President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Credit Mohammed Saber/European Pressphoto Agency

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President Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration is making a radical break with nearly 70 years of official United States policy and with the international community: He is recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

This decision will be interpreted by Palestinians, Arabs and the rest of the world as a major provocation. It will cause irreparable harm to Mr. Trump’s own plans to make peace in the Middle East, and to any future administration’s efforts, as well. It will also undermine the United States’ own national security. The president should reconsider this decision immediately.

Since Israel was established in 1948, the United Nations and the United States, like most countries, have refused to recognize any country’s sovereignty over Jerusalem, a city holy to Muslims, Jews and Christians.…  Seguir leyendo »

Palestinian demonstrators in Bethlehem’s Manger Square on Tuesday. Credit Musa Al Shaer/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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While President Trump has followed in few of his predecessors’ footsteps, his administration has done the expected in at least one respect: It has undertaken a Middle East peace initiative in its first year. Most recent administrations have done the same, and all have failed. Will Mr. Trump do any better?

The specifics of the initiative are still being hammered out, but some elements are clear. Most administrations start with modest proposals to build trust between the parties and then, when these efforts have bred mutual suspicion and disappointment, they propose a framework for an agreement just as the process moves toward collapse.…  Seguir leyendo »

What Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel means for the Middle East

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Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and start preparations for the US to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city, has the potential to further inflame tensions across the Middle East.

Although this is not an unexpected move – Trump expressed his intention to do so during his electoral campaign – the decision breaks with years of precedent.

Trump’s decision to move the embassy means he will not follow his predecessors by renewing a waiver on the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which required the embassy to eventually be moved from Tel Aviv.…  Seguir leyendo »

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La perspective d’une déclaration unilatérale par les Etats-Unis d’une reconnaissance de Jérusalem comme capitale d’Israël, puis d’un transfert de l’ambassade américaine dans la ville doit nous inquiéter. D’une part parce que ces décisions risquent de mettre le monde arabe en émoi, déclenchant un nouveau cycle de violences dont personne, aujourd’hui, ne peut prédire l’amplitude et les conséquences. D’autre part, parce que, en agissant de la sorte, la plus grande puissance du monde risque fort de contribuer à conforter davantage Israël et le judaïsme dans une perception idolâtre – et dangereusement erronée – de sa relation à la terre, à la « sainteté » et à l’histoire.…  Seguir leyendo »

Palestinians in Rafah protest on 6 December against US plans to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

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Every time it seems Donald Trump cannot outdo himself, he does it again. Now he has announced that his administration will recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, reversing nearly seven decades of American policy. This step will have multiple negative ramifications, many impossible to predict.

Jerusalem is the most important of the so-called final status issues that have been repeatedly deferred during the Israel-Palestine negotiations because of their extreme sensitivity. Trump has ploughed into this imbroglio like a bull in a china shop, zeroing in on the most complex and emotional issue of all those connected to Palestine.

Jerusalem is undoubtedly the most important aspect of the entire Palestine question.…  Seguir leyendo »

Palestinian Muslims wave a national flag and flash the victory gesture in front of the Dome of the Rock in the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, in the Old City of Jerusalem on July 27. (Ahmad Gharabli/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images)

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The recent tensions in Jerusalem triggered very significant online engagement among the Muslim public sphere. Global digital political engagement trends through two weeks of the Temple Mount clashes give us three main insights on the future of foreign policy and social media.

First, Arabic hashtags, rather than English ones, were shared most widely, driving the digital expression of the Al-Aqsa crisis. This gives us some insight on the role of digital language, as well as local versus external agenda-setting diffusion in digital crises. Second, countries with already high levels of digital political activity (instead of the origin point of incidents) tend to dominate and even lead online agenda during global crises.…  Seguir leyendo »

Israeli forces take at the gates of Al Aqsa Mosque. Photo: Getty Images.

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Given the absence of a comprehensive and viable political solution between Israel and the Palestinians, and the complete lack of trust between the two sides, a large scale confrontation is more a matter of when and not if. The situation in Jerusalem is especially fragile – any interference with the long-standing status quo on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, especially one that is not coordinated with all interested sides, would lead to the eruption of violence in the city and well beyond.

So it was careless of Israel, in the wake of the shooting of two Israeli policemen by three Israeli Palestinian militants at the Lions’ Gate, to apply collective punishment on Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank, and to introduce metal detectors at the entrance to the Al-Aqsa mosque.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Palestinian man argues with Israeli border police Sunday near newly installed metal detectors at a main entrance to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City after security forces reopened the site. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images)

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Last Friday, three Palestinian citizens of Israel shot and killed two Israeli police officers stationed outside the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary, a site holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews. Though not an exceptionally spectacular attack, it’s threatening to send shock waves throughout the region. The three assailants were pursued back into the compound and killed in the ensuing gun battle. Israel’s response was swift: a full closure of the Temple Mount to Muslim worshipers, barricades throughout the Old City and heavily armed security on every corner.

It was only the third time in 50 years that Israel had closed the Temple Mount during Friday prayers, upsetting a status quo in place since Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967.…  Seguir leyendo »

Israeli policemen stand guard as Palestinian men take part in Friday prayers outside Jerusalem's Old City, on 14 July 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

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What do we know about the attack and how unusual was it?

On Friday 14 July 2017, three Palestinian citizens of Israel attacked and killed two Israeli-Druze policeman who were guarding one of the entrances to Jerusalem’s Holy Esplanade – known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount. The police then pursued the attackers, killing all three inside the compound. So far there has been no evidence of the attackers’ political affiliations; the police claims they have none. All three came from Um al Fahem, an Arab city in northern Israel known historically for the strong presence of the more militant, “northern” branch of Israel’s Islamic Movement.…  Seguir leyendo »

El Muro de las Lamentaciones, en la imagen, es el único vestigio que queda hoy del Segundo Templo de Jerusalén, erigido por Herodes y destruido por Tito durante la primera guerra judía. Fuente: National Geographic.

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Cuesta creer que después de cincuenta años de la reunificación de la ciudad de Jerusalén se continúe hablando de volver a dividirla. En Europa hay quienes lo consideran una solución salomónica. Al parecer no conocen cómo se vivía en una ciudad que estuvo dividida durante diecinueve años. Residí en la mitad oeste de Jerusalén los siete años finales de esa división, pues llegué a Israel en abril de 1960, desde Philadelphia, Pa., con una beca norteamericana para estudiar en la Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalén. Ya al comienzo de mi estancia tuve el doloroso privilegio de asistir a dos sesiones del juicio de Adolf Eichmann, pese a que el tema me devolvía a mi infancia que intentaba olvidar.…  Seguir leyendo »

An Israeli flag waves in front of the minaret of a mosque in the Arab quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City on Nov. 14. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)

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President-elect Donald Trump has set the foreign policymaking world on edge with his and his team’s repeated insistence that as president he will move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The goal: support Israel’s claim to the city as its “undivided, eternal capital.” By nominating David Friedman — who agrees with that position — to be ambassador to Israel, Trump apparently emphasizes this commitment.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has resisted resolution for decades. But Trump has insisted that “a deal is a deal” and that because he is “a negotiator,” he will be successful where others were not. In this case, presumably Trump plans to offer the Palestinians compensation to accept Israel’s claims to Jerusalem.…  Seguir leyendo »

Piedras, Templo

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El martes 18 de octubre el Consejo Ejecutivo de la Unesco votaba en París la existencia o no de vínculo entre el pueblo de Israel y los sillares y ruinas del Templo de Jerusalén. Lo mismo podía haber sometido a votación popular el vínculo entre el 3 y la serie de los números naturales. Votó que no. Lo cual es tan irrelevante como lo hubiera sido haber votado sí. El voto dirime preferencias subjetivas. La realidad no es votable. Y si un sinsentido así llega a consumarse es que, de modo apenas oculto, se está votando otra cosa. ¿Qué votó aquel día 18 el Consejo Ejecutivo de la Unesco?…  Seguir leyendo »

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La paix s’obtient à partir du moment où l’on prend conscience que lorsqu’il y a des récits nationaux en concurrence, il n’y a pas un qui gagne et un qui perd. La paix s’obtient lorsque les deux parties prennent la décision commune de créer un avenir meilleur pour tous. La première fois que je me suis assise à la table des négociations en qualité de négociatrice israélienne en chef aux côtés de mon homologue palestinien, nous avons chacun essayé de convaincre l’autre du bien-fondé historique de nos demandes respectives.

Après des discussions sans fin et des allers-retours entre la Bible et le présent, il est devenu clair que nous ne parviendrions pas à nous mettre d’accord pour déterminer quelle cause était la plus juste.…  Seguir leyendo »

A UNESCO resolution essentially denies Jewish and Christian ties to Jerusalem’s Old City, which contains sites considered holy by both religions, as well as Islam. Sebastian Scheiner AP

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There is no shortage of outrages and lies spewing forth from high places these days, but one lie that received little attention deserves close notice: UNESCO, the United Nations cultural and education body, approved a resolution that goes a long way toward denying Jewish and Christians ties to Jerusalem’s Old City.

It is a resolution that denies reality, that erases facts and, most importantly, one that marks a step against reconciliation and peace. It will serve only to embolden extremists on all sides and confirms Israelis’ fears that the international community, especially the United Nations, remains committed to an anti-Israel agenda.…  Seguir leyendo »

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La Unesco, institución dedicada a la preservación y el análisis científico y cultural de la Humanidad, acaba de aprobar una resolución en la que considera que no existe conexión alguna entre el pueblo judío y la ciudad santa de Jerusalén y su Templo. Esta semana, una mayoría de países aceptaron una resolución negando cualquier tipo de vínculo entre Israel y el pueblo judío con la explanada del Templo y el Muro Occidental (también denominado «Muro de las Lamentaciones»). Con esta votación, en los foros y organismos internacionales esa zona se denominará sólo en terminología musulmana de ahora en adelante. Esta aberración histórica es de carácter exclusivamente político ya que la Historia, la arqueología, los cronistas de todos los tiempos de la zona y la religión (tanto el judaísmo como el cristianismo) dan amplia evidencia que en ese lugar existió un Templo Judío.…  Seguir leyendo »

Judíos ultra ortodoxos cubiertos con el manto de la oración ante El Muro de las Lamentaciones de Jerusalén. ABIR SULTAN/ EFE

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El Comité Ejecutivo de la UNESCO aprobó el jueves una resolución similar a la del pasado 15 de abril, con la abstención de España, que ignoraba deliberadamente el carácter y la conexión judíos de la Ciudad Vieja de Jerusalén. Esta resolución no sólo es un despropósito en términos históricos y arqueológicos, es también un desplante contra la convivencia entre israelíes y palestinos, y un insulto a todos los judíos del mundo.

En primer lugar, la resolución se refiere al Monte del Templo solamente en su nombre árabe “al-Haram al-Sharif” —al igual que alude al Muro de las Lamentaciones, el lugar más sagrado del judaísmo, como “al-Buraq Plaza”—, pero la unanimidad académica en torno al carácter judío de Jerusalén es total.…  Seguir leyendo »