Oct 15, 2020
The partnership between Himnuta (a shady proxy of the JNF/ KKL) and ELAD (the right wing settler organisation leading the City of David archaeological park development) had seemed so stable: like-minded Zionists, collaborating happily on their project to Judaize East Jerusalem.
All was going well, until a powerful international coalition began to form around preventing the Sumarin family’s eviction from their home, which sits in close proximity to the City of David – for some, an inconvenient reminder of the Palestinian presence and claim on the land.
This international coalition has gained momentum around the family and has shaken the union of JNF and ELAD. It’s a story with much to relish for the principled onlooker.
The Chair of the board of Himnuta, Matityahu Sperber, sent the Head of the JNF KKL, Daniel Atar, a message: “ In recent months a broad public cry has arisen on the subject at hand (eviction of the Sumarin family), in an unprecedented way concerning the KKL-JNF’s activities.” Sperber added that he was concerned about the campaign’s impact, potentially harming relations with the leaders of many Jewish organisations, including the Reform movement – maybe even reducing the JNF’s fundraising abilities.
The reader will notice that the illegality of the eviction, the violation of basic human rights and the simple issue of humanity didn’t impinge on Mr. Sperber’s thinking.
Troubled by the campaign’s strength, Himnuta’s board, with the support of JNF KKL leader Daniel Atar, decided to call a halt to the eviction. Himnuta, we are told, will now consider a freeze on the legal proceedings and will also replace the lawyer who has represented both Himnuta and Elad to date.
It was this decision that made the sparks fly. Elad objects to any halt in the removal of the Sumarin family. Elad’s director and founder, David Be’eri, has gone so far as to threaten legal action against named individuals in Himnuta if it chooses to operate against Elad’s interests. He argues that Himnuta handed over the Sumarin family home to Elad, fully and completely, including the authority to handle all the legal proceedings – “irrevocably”.
And Elad is in a strong position. In the 90’s it was given the contract to develop the City of David archaeological park, now a major tourist attraction. It has the backing of the State of Israel, not to mention multi-millionaires like Roman Abramovich who have poured millions into the Elad ethnic cleansing project.
Elad is excavating the site relentlessly, casting aside evidence of layers of history and Palestinian residence in the city, chasing the dream of a glorious Kingdom of David to justify the Judaization of this richly mixed city.
Emek Shaveh is a group of archaeologists who oppose the politicisation of their academic discipline. Its director, Yonathan Mizrachi, said, “Elad realised long ago that archaeology is the strongest ticket they have to justifying Jewish settlement.”
Now that Himnuta seems to be weakening in the face of international opposition, a real tussle lies ahead. It’s tempting to sit back and enjoy the fireworks, but campaigners recognise that the Sumarin family’s eviction is not a one-off and now is the time to redouble the pressure on JNF and Elad.
After all we know for sure that hundreds of other Palestinian families in East Jerusalem are threatened with the same fate as the Sumarins. So too are thousands of Palestinians across the entire West Bank, as Israel relentlessly drives forward its scheme to annex (de facto, if not de jure) the whole of historic Palestine.
Sep 22, 2020
The owner of Chelsea football club, Roman Abramovich, has donated over $100,000,000 to Elad, the right-wing settler organisation, dedicated to Judaising East Jerusalem – a process which translates into ethnic cleansing. The Sumarin are the high-profile family at the heart of the current furore, but there have been many before and will be many after them facing eviction, unless the JNF (operating through its shady subsidiary, Himnuta) and Elad are stopped.
We know East Jerusalem is illegally annexed; we know the plan is to get rid of the Palestinian inhabitants and develop the City of David theme park. We also know that the forced evictions, the planting of Jewish colonisers in the homes of local Palestinians and the ethnic cleansing are all illegal under international law. Now we know that Britain, a safe harbour for oligarchs and money launderers, gives a home to the man who makes this possible by his generous donations.
This BBC documentary spells it out. Please watch and write to your MP, urging them to sign EDM529. If you’re a football fan, ask the Football authorities if a man like Abramovich is a “fit and proper” person to own a major UK club.
Aug 10, 2020
(Above: Activists from Free Jerusalem and All That’s Left blockaded the entrance to KKL-JNF headquarters in Jerusalem on the day of the Sumarin Family’s court hearing)
Yesterday (05/08/2020) the Israeli Supreme Court stayed the eviction of the Sumarin family from their home in Silwan, occupied East Jerusalem, declaring it will debate whether to hear their appeal against a Jerusalem District Court verdict which gave a green light to their eviction. The Associated Press reported in July that the “Absentee Property Law” being used to evict the Sumarin family may be seen as a test case and extended throughout the West Bank if Israel’s annexation plans proceed, offering Palestinians a grim model for a post-annexation future.
The Sumarin family have been subject to a long attempt to force them from the family home in which they have been living, dating back long before 1967, when Israel annexed East Jerusalem in violation of international law.
The eviction attempts have been spearheaded by Himanuta, a subsidiary of the Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF). The KKL-JNF has been central to the ongoing dispossession of the Palestinian land.
In 1989, KKL-JNF initiated a move whereby the Custodian for Absentee Property, established by the Israeli state in 1950, declared the house absentee property. This deemed it abandoned without the family’s knowledge and despite members of the family living in the home. Following this, the property was transferred to KKL-JNF along with a host of other Palestinian properties in Silwan.
Immediately after taking over the home’s ownership, the KKL-JNF filed an eviction suit against the Sumarin family in 1991. The lawsuit was dismissed but KKL-JNF appealed and continued the proceedings repeatedly for nearly 30 years.
On June 29th, 2020 the family lost an appeal in the Jerusalem District Court, which gave the green light for their eviction. The family, with support from an international network of activist, crowdfunded to submit an appeal to the Supreme Court. The court’s declaration that it will hear the appeal temporarily delays the eviction.
An international campaign, led by the Sumarin family and including Jewish Israeli groups, has developed to prevent the eviction. In the UK, human rights campaigners have spoken out prominently against the eviction. A cross-party group 69 MPs has signed Early Day Motion 529, which condemned the eviction. In Jerusalem, on the day of the court decision, activists from “Free Jerusalem” and “All That’s Left” chained themselves to the entrance of the JNF-KKL headquarters: nine protesters were arrested.
Stop the JNF UK, the UK branch of the international campaign to Stop the JNF, said: “We are pleased that the Sumarin family have been given some temporary reprieve by this decision. The unjust eviction of the family, indicative of the widespread discrimination Palestinians in East Jerusalem face, must not take place.”
