Western press misrepresents Jerusalem property dispute

Sheikh Jarrah in Jerusalem

This week the UK newspaper The Guardian published an editorial claiming that 'Israel had plans to evict hundreds of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.' This kind of misrepresentation is par for the course in the western media, where due process in Israeli courts has become a pretext to twist the facts and demonise Israel.

Furthermore, the editorial states: "Under Israeli law, Jews who can prove a title from before the 1948 war can claim back properties in the city. This cannot be justified when no similar law exists for the Palestinians who lost their homes. "

The issue of lost property ownership is a lot more complex than meets the eye. This issue demands a comprehensive solution for refugees created on both sides of the conflict - Jewish as well as Arab. Meanwhile Arab Israelis internally displaced by the conflict have been able to obtain compensation.

 Hundreds of thousands of Jews, scapegoated as Zionists in Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Libya , Yemen, etc, and evicted from their homes have never had compensation or restitution for millions of dollars worth of lost property and assets. 

No Jews have been able to recover land and property lost in the West Bank to the Jordanian occupation in 1948. The property came under the control of the Jordanian Custodian of Absentee Property.  Jordan frequently leased or sold Jewish-owned land to Jordanian citizens. The Israeli government has not wanted to open this particular can of worms.

 Jerusalem is the only place in the Middle East where Jews are now in a position to claim restitution. But the rights of the existing Arab tenants remain protected under Israeli law as long as they have been paying rent, which  in the Sheikh Jarrah case they have not.

This long-running property dispute is simply a pretext for Hamas, acting as a proxy for Iran, to stoke a major crisis.

Breaking the silence on Jewish property rights