Residents of east Jerusalem shared their hopes, how they see the future

Last month, the rumor about a Palestinian man named Walid Abu Tayeh running for a seat on the city council and for mayor of Jerusalem made headlines. Although his candidacy aroused much interest among Jerusalemites, particularly among the Jewish residents, many had never heard of him before.  

Meanwhile, in a candid conversation with In Jerusalem, several Arab residents of east Jerusalem neighborhoods shared what bothers them, what their hopes are, and how they see their future and that of their children in the city. 

They also expressed their opinions regarding Abu Tayeh’s candidacy. With the exception of one of the participants, no one knew him. To the question of whether they would consider voting for him, they all answered in the negative.

The group, consisting of four men and one woman, are members of parents’ committees in different settings, with the common denominator being that they are parents of children with special needs. They asked to remain anonymous “so that we can speak completely freely.” The conversation lasted over three hours, during which a number of topics surfaced, with the focus being daily life in east Jerusalem, with an emphasis on education.

“Our personal status is not easy. Almost every one of us has a different citizenship or residency status,” began Shaher (not his real name). “Jordanian citizens can fly abroad from Ben-Gurion or Jordan in a respectable manner. Those who only have Jerusalem residency must travel to Jordan and can only fly from there. Why inconvenience us like that? Fifty-six years that Israel has been here, and the status of a large part of us is not settled.”

They all agreed that they have seen a change for the better in the physical aspect of east Jerusalem with the implementation of the government plan to improve the infrastructure. 

“Yes, there are now more good, modern schools that provide good education,” said Nawal (not her real name), “and this also applies to special education. It’s just a shame that it took so many years. We organized ourselves as a parents’ committee, and we had to establish a committee for every special education school, and then an organization that coordinates all the committees in order to have representation in front of the municipality and all the authorities.”

Among the issues that required the committee’s attention was the maintenance of the special education schools: “They need special cleaning [methods] At first this was not available to us, and we had to fight for it,” she added. 

The issue of transportation for students with special needs also caused concern and required mobilization and an appeal to the media. 

“There were drivers who dropped off children on the road, not right at the entrance to their homes as should have been the case. And regarding children who lived in homes with limited accessibility – who was responsible for their safety? Nothing was guaranteed and regulated. At the beginning, we did a lot of fieldwork. We went up in front of school administrations, and sometimes the media helped. It was difficult.”

Ibrahim (not his real name) mentioned the lack of enrichment programs beyond regular school hours. 

“We had to fight; nothing was simple. Today the situation is much improved, and many of the things we fought for are now being granted by the municipality and the Education Ministry.”

All participants in the conversation said that in spite of 56 years of Israeli presence in Jerusalem, only a small minority of Arab Jerusalemites will vote in the upcoming municipal elections. 

“It’s not necessarily because of political pressure from our side. First of all, it’s because we don’t really believe that we have influence. We don’t really believe in politicians, from all sides. In general, we are satisfied with the current mayor [Moshe Lion]. He has cleaned up our neighborhoods, but we still have a severe lack of building permits.”

Unclear status of neighbors beyond security border

Another issue that worries the residents of east Jerusalem is the unclear status of the neighborhoods beyond the security barrier. 

“We know that the construction there is not safe, but you can’t find a decent apartment at a decent price,” said Abdel (not his real name). 

“Some of us, or our adult children, have apartments there, and they are constantly worried that one day Israel will retreat from there, and we will be left without frameworks for our children who have special needs. Who will take responsibility?”

As mentioned, with the exception of one of the participants, Abu Tayeh’s candidacy is unknown, nor does it arouse any support or enthusiasm. 

“Mayor Moshe Lion is fine; we don’t need an Arab who won’t be able to do anything because the government will probably stop him or refuse to give him budgets.”

Asked about their prime need, they all agreed on the answer: “Permits. We need building permits. And to stop the demolition of houses when people build without permission because they have nowhere to live. What will it help us to build good schools if we, the parents, have nowhere to live?”

Lion responded to In Jerusalem’s request for comment on this issue, saying, “The municipality demolishes illegal construction in all parts of the city, including on the western side. It is important to respect the law and public order to enable the proper development of Jerusalem.”

REFERRING TO the growing trend among the younger generations of Arab Jerusalemites to leave the country, Ibrahim said that one of his sons had moved to Canada “because he doesn’t see any future for him here.”

The four others said that while there are young, educated Arab Jerusalemites continuously moving abroad, it’s not necessarily permanent. 

“As long as they are single or newly married, the good conditions, the money, the distance from the stress here keeps them there: America, Canada, Sweden. But once they have children, they come back. Because keeping traditions and avoiding cases of intermarriage with non-Muslims abroad matters more to them, as well as feeling that they have a duty to preserve the Palestinian presence in the city.” ❖