Emek Shaveh: 2021 A Year in Occupied East Jerusalem Archaeology

https://mailchi.mp/alt-arch.org/2021-the-year-that-was

Dear friends, 2021 was a dramatic year. In April, the violence in Jerusalem spread to Gaza and to mixed cities inside sovereign Israel. In June, a new government was sworn in replacing that of Benjamin Netanyahu, for the first time in twelve years. The conflagration last spring had begun at Damascus Gate demonstrating the extent to which the gate, historically significant as a major gateway to the Old City, has also become a symbol of the Palestinian national struggle. A combination of increased security presence at Damascus Gate and urban development projects in the area surrounding it have contributed to mistrust regarding Israel's intentions and a fear that the ultimate motive is to change the demographic, cultural and national identity of the place which has been at the center of Palestinian life in the city for generations. In analyses of the causes igniting the protests, heightened Palestinian frustrations at increased Israeli restrictions on the right to inhabit their historic and cultural spaces was paramount. South of the Old City, in the Valley of Hinnom and Peace Forest, new projects led by the settlers of the Elad Foundation are continuously appearing, most notably the Center for Ancient Agriculture, where early agricultural methods are simulated on land controlled by the Nature and Parks Authority, some of which is privately owned by Palestinians. The center masquerades as a museum for ancient agricultural methods when in fact it is displacing the very Palestinians who have preserved the historical character of the place for centuries.

Entrance to the Elad Foundation's Center for Ancient Agriculture in the Valley of Hinnom

The battle at the High Court over the cable car should be concluding within the next few weeks. A dramatic statement by the Minister for Transport, Merav Michaeli, last month saying the cable car would be of no transport value to the city challenges the very rationale used to justify the project to begin with. In Silwan, the excavation of the "Pilgrim's Route", the 500-meter tunnel running the length of Wadi Hilweh road, has continued as have the underground excavations in the Old City between the Western Wall and the Via Dolorosa. In the West Bank, ancient sites have become a common casus belli by the settlers who level accusations of destruction and antiquity theft against the Palestinians on a regular basis. A series of Knesset discussions on Area C had concluded with a decision last January by then Minister of Heritage Rafi Peretz to transfer 24 million shekels to settler councils in the West Bank for strengthening the apparatuses for surveillance of Palestinians on their own lands. At the same time, sites associated with biblical stories are increasingly targeted by the settlers as places that should come under full Israeli control such as Tel Sebastia.

This past year, our work on heritage sites in Israel's mixed cities met the headlines as rifts exacerbated by attempts to change the demographic and cultural profiles of these cities contributed to Arab-Jewish violence last spring. The state of neglect that characterizes these cities' minority heritage sites mirror policies of marginalization of the Arab communities. But this did not lessen our surprise to learn that Israel's Ministry for Heritage does not fund conservation for non-Jewish heritage sites as a matter of policy, an admission that was issued last summer following our petition to the High Court of Justice together with Arab Culture Association.

For Emek Shaveh, the events of 2021 posed increased challenges but also opportunities. Like other organizations working in the field of human rights we are seeing less and less benefit from our legal actions as the courts are more likely to accept the position of state agencies or strike compromises that leave little room for improvement on the ground, as in the case of Nabi Aner in the West Bank. A notable exception is the ongoing case of the Jerusalem cable car before the High Court, where last March the court ordered the State to prove that the approval process for this highly controversial plan did not contravene principles of good governance or entail the presentation of misleading information. This year also marked the return to physical tours after a period during which our tours went online due to the pandemic. A campaign to tell the story of developments in the Muslim Quarter and Damascus Gate culminated at the end of the year with a series of tours for the Israeli public. In terms of public impact, we feel we have made a real difference in publicizing and shaping a discourse on the cable car and on the state of minority heritage sites inside Israel. Our work in Lod, Ramleh and Ashdod has yielded new partnerships with local Arab and Jewish activists and council members. Our tours for the general public and civil society organizations in the mixed cities have attracted hundreds of participants eager to learn about these cities' untold histories and to find out how they can contribute to a campaign aimed at safeguarding and preserving minority heritage. Our social media posts in Hebrew have become a space for debate between those who feel that heritage is a zero sum game with implications for sovereignty and those who think Israel ought to cultivate its diverse heritage in its entirety.   The change of government also presents new opportunities. Although the presence of a strong pro-settler contingency in the government does not leave much scope for radical policy change, the fact that several relevant ministries are headed by members of the center-left parties means that we have opportunities for targeted lobbying on specific issues, as in the case of the cable car.

Finally, we are happy to introduce you to our new Executive Director, Alon Arad, who will be replacing Yonathan Mizrachi who has headed Emek Shaveh for over twelve years. Alon is a graduate of the Department of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University where he worked with Professor Rafi Greenberg, one of the founders of Emek Shaveh. Alon has worked in a strategic consulting company specializing in crisis management. He believes that advancing policies based on safeguarding heritage sites and preventing their exploitation for political gains in tandem with educational programs devoted to enhancing appreciation for the rich history of this region can promote values of equality, tolerance and peace between the different peoples who share this land.

We would like to thank you for following our work and supporting us from afar, whether you have participated in an online tour or have taken one of our tours in person, whether you have written to us or simply follow our work. Emek Shaveh has, over the years, relied primarily on financial support from various state donors, however, due to shifting priorities we are hoping to transition our funding base to one which reflects communal involvement. At the moment, contributions are processed through Paypal, however we will be transitioning soon to a system that will enable tax deductable contributions.  Your contribution would be extremely helpful to ensure our ongoing work to safeguard the land's multicultural heritage and the rights of minorities to that heritage and to a life free of prejudice. To support us please click the "support Emek Shaveh" button below.

From all of us at Emek Shaveh, wishing you a healthy, happy and peaceful 2022.   Share Tweet Forward Support Emek Shaveh We invite you to follow Emek Shaveh on facebook, twitter and instagram