Israeli Authorities Demolish Canadian-Funded Community Center

by Faisal Kutty

Israeli municipal workers, protected by soldiers and a police helicopter, razed to the ground a Palestinian community center, partly funded by Canada, in the Old City of Jerusalem on Aug. 27.

The pre-dawn demolition was cited by some observers as another example of renewed Israeli intransigence. Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat was quoted in the Toronto Star as stating that the demolition “has started the war on Jerusalem.” He also warned Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that there will be no Palestine without Jerusalem.

Canadian Arabs and Muslims called on their government to condemn the destruction. The government response has fallen short of this demand, but Canada is insisting that Israel provide an explanation. “We spoke to the [Israeli] Foreign Ministry today and indicated that we were disturbed to find that our money and the work of the community had been reduced to nothing,” said a spokesperson for the Canadian embassy in Tel Aviv.

David Viveash, Canadian chargé d’affairs in Tel Aviv, rushed to the scene as soon as he received the news. Viveash told reporters he “went to the community center and saw what was left of it—rubble.”

The center had received $41,000 in financial assistance from the Canadian embassy in Tel Aviv. According to Rodney Moore, foreign affairs spokesperson in Ottawa, the center contained the only playground of its kind for the Arab children of the walled Old City of Jerusalem.

Viveash said the center received help from the Canada Fund, which funds projects for needy Palestinians, because there was no other source of assistance for the residents. “We don’t hesitate to support projects in East Jerusalem…because no one else does,” Viveash said. He added that the situation is really desperate in Arab East Jerusalem because the city does not offer much help.

The Israelis maintain that the structure was illegal. According to the Consulate General of Israel in Toronto, “The building in question was constructed without a permit.” The explanation is not accepted by Arab and Muslim groups in Canada.

Numerous Palestinian homes and buildings have been destroyed by Israeli authorities since the occupation began in 1967. According to the Canadian Arab Federation, in most of the cases the lack of “construction” or “renovation” permits was the justification advanced by Israel.

Some observers believe this is part of Israel’s strategy to take over Jerusalem. They allege that Palestinians are generally denied permits or have to wait extremely long periods to receive approval. By contrast, they claim, Jewish settlers require only a rubber stamp to take over Palestinian lands and build settlements. For instance, observers point out that on the day the center was destroyed, Israeli authorities approved a 1,806-unit housing project in the West Bank for Jews.

Nor does the Canadian government accept the Israeli argument that the building lacked proper approval. Moore, the foreign affairs spokesperson in Ottawa, told the Washington Report that the action is “regrettable and provocative” and is not “conducive to create an atmosphere of confidence required to resolve the sensitive issue of the status of Jerusalem.”

An End to the Double Standard

The Canadian Arab Federation, the Toronto-based advocacy group, called on the Canadian government to: condemn the action; demand a full explanation; and to call on Israeli authorities to put an end to the double standard with respect to issuance of construction/renovation permits.

The demolition has exacerbated the already tense situation in East Jerusalem. The Palestinians repeatedly have stated their intentions to make East Jerusalem the capital of a future Palestinian state. Israel claims the whole city as its capital. No major country recognizes Israel’s claim.

Some analysts predict that the destruction of the center will serve to fuel and intensify the battle over Jerusalem during the coming months. “They are idiots to have started the Jerusalem battle,” said Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.