In a move certain to court international condemnation, nine Jewish families on Sunday night relocated into the Arab neighborhood of Silwan, south of Jerusalem’s Old City, nearly doubling the total number of Jews living in the contested area.
Shortly after news of the controversial move was announced, President Reuven Rivlin criticized the development as surreptitious and potentially unsanctioned.
“It is our right to insist on building around Jerusalem, but it is our obligation to make sure that the decision is made by the authorities,” he said. “Our capital city cannot be built by stealth apartments in the dead of night.”
Noting that the area was founded by Yemenites in the 1880s, who were subsequently expelled in 1938 during Arab rioting, former Jerusalem councilman Arieh King lauded the moves as “good news from the sector of our Yemenite brothers, who this morning returned to their homes.”
“Around 80 years have passed since the Yemenites living in the Yemenite Village fled for their lives – this morning, their descendants returned to two of the properties,” he wrote on his Facebook page, referring to the homes in Silwan’s Beit Ovadia and Beit Frumkin.
“Congratulations to those engaging in this holy endeavor, I hope the rate of population growth in the Yemenite Village continues to rise,” added King.
In statement, Ze’ev Orsnstein, director of international affairs for the Elad Foundation, which acquires property for Jewish families in the City of David, denied any hand in Sunday night’s acquisitions.
“I wanted to stress that the Elad Foundation was not involved in any way in last night’s property acquisition,” said Orenstein. “The Elad Foundation operates primarily within the vicinity of the City of David, historic site of ancient Jerusalem.”
Sunday’s move brings the total of Jewish families residing in the Silwan to 17.
By Daniel K. Eisenbud
