A banner is displayed at the entrance of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in March, 2009.
(Photo: Anne Paq/Activestills)
To whom it may concern,
My name is Ayoub Shamasneh and I live in Um Haroun, Sheikh Jarrah. My wife and I are living here with our son, Mohammed, his wife Amaal, and their six children ranging from the ages of 11 to 22 years old. We have lived in this house since 1964, it is where we built our family and raised our children. In 2009, after decades of living in our home, the Israeli General Custodian’s Office informed us that our rental’s agreement will not be renewed. They have now sued us in order to take ownership of the property via individuals whom they claim are the descendants of the original Jewish owners pre-1948. Our case has been reviewed by an Israeli court in two separate hearings and judges have refused to accept evidence we have submitted to show proof of our residence in our home since 1964. Therefore, they are claiming that we are not eligible for protected tenant status. Consequently we have been ordered to evacuate the property by 2pm on December 31st, 2012. As far as we know, the property will be handed over to a right wing settler organization that has previously taken over properties in the neighbourhood.
Now more than ever we are aware of the double standard of the Israeli law that does not lend Palestinian refugees or their children a claim to property they owned before 1948, yet allows children of Jewish Israelis to sue and evict Palestinian families from homes they have lived in for decades. As a result of this discriminatory double standard of the Israeli law we are about to lose our home and be thrown out onto the street.
Forced eviction from our home will not only be a human tragedy but also a political maneuver which aims to strengthen and expedite the settlement project in East Jerusalem, specifically in Sheikh Jarrah. Israeli Jewish settlement takeover in Sheikh Jarrah serves to interrupt the presence of a continuous and connected Palestinian community in East Jerusalem. Numerous families have already lost their homes and 30 more are living, day-to-day, under the eminent threat of eviction. Our case will set yet another precedent that will play directly into the hands of the settlement project and will be another nail in the coffin of a viable East Jerusalem.
We are turning to you, as writers, activists, public figures, artists and concerned citizens of the world, to do all that you can to call on the Israeli government to instruct the General Custodian not to evict our family from our home and thereby facilitate the agenda of extremist settlers who are destroying all chances for a peaceful and just future in Jerusalem.
Sincerely,
Ayoub Shamasneh
Editor’s Note: More on the eviction of the Shamasneh family on Mondoweiss here and from Hagit Ofran here.
Mr. Shamasneh, I’ve tried for days to come up with something meaningful to say to you, but failed.
Hang in there? Maybe next year it’ll be better? We’re all with you in spirit? All empty and impotent given what you’re going through right now.
Nobody I have written to or could write to that would be in a position to change your situation, gives a shit (Congress, Obama, Clinton). It’s heartbreaking in the extreme.
So I guess all I have is, thanks for letting us know what you are going through.
Maybe the details of your outrageous treatment by Israel will embolden a few more people to bring it up in conversation such that a few more people will be aware of the complete and unnecessary lack of humanity of the Israeli policy that afflicts you and so many other Palestinian families.
I wish I had more…
What troubles me is why there are so few responses.
Doesn,t someone care about the plight of these people? or is it that we all feel so helpless and cannot see how we can do anything.
Personally,these kinds of events spur me on to act in anyway I can to stop this monster known as “Zionism”.
Thank you for sharing this with us Mr Shamasneh.It serves to strengthen my resolve to ensure you are not alone in your battle against oppression and criminal theft.
May your God bless you and your Family.
This case is indeed an outrageous example of the double standard , whereas Israelis can claim property based on pre-1948 ownership, but Palestinians can’t.
Another angle regarding the situation in East Jerusalem was in yesterday’s Haaretz:
http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/a-surprising-process-of-israelization-is-taking-place-among-palestinians-in-east-jerusalem.premium-1.490367