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Beit Yonatan is an apartment building owned by Ateret Cohanim and located in the Silwan neighborhood just outside the Old City of Jerusalem. The building has been the subject of many issues and debates between Jews and Arabs in Israel.
Beit Yonatan is a 7-story apartment building located in Silwan and named after Jonathan Pollard, a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst convicted of spying for Israel who was formerly incarcerated in the U.S. [1] The building stands out due to its greater height relative to surrounding structures and the 6 story Israeli flag draped down the side. [2]
Ateret Cohanim, the building's owner, has taken on the mission of moving Jewish families and life to areas around East Jerusalem, especially those previous included in the City of David, including Silwan. [3]
The building was built without permits in 2002, [4] and opened in 2004. [5] Ateret Cohanim, through an intermediary had both Beit Yonatan built and another building purchased, under the auspices of being used as Muslim apartment buildings, however just before opening revealed they were for Jewish residence. [6]
In the early morning of 1 April 2004, 11 families moved into Beit Yonatan, with the help of Israeli security. [3]
The Israeli government provides security for the structure despite the residents defying the eviction notice. [7] Due to security concerns the first floor of the building is set up as a security office, and the playground for the kids is located on the roof. [7]
In January 2010, Eli Yishai the Internal Affairs Minister of Israel, authorized the district planning commission to legalize the Jewish ownership of the building. In order meet the requirements, the residents agreed to move two floors down, out of the illegal addition. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat stated that he would uphold to court order to evacuate and seal Beit Yonatan, however this never materialized. [1]
In May 2010, the Jerusalem District Court rejected an appeal to allow the building's residents to remain. [8]
In July 2010, the residents of Beit Yonatan once again appealed to the court stating they had new evidence that could alter the court's decision. [9]
In December 2010, Ateret Cohanim agreed to drop their case to have Arabs living in the Yemenite synagogue Ohel Shlomo, in order to allow the residents of Beit Yonatan to remain. The eviction notice for Beit Yonatan, also included the eviction of these residents, [10] and 200 other illegal Arab structures in Silwan.
In January 2011, Yehuda Weinstein, the Attorney General of Israel, ordered that Beit Yonatan be evacuated and sealed, per the court order, despite Barkat's resistance to fulfill the order. [11]
On 13 August 2014, the Knesset held a meeting to discuss the security of the residents of Beit Yonatan. [12]
In March 2011, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at Beit Yonatan, and the residents returned fire. [13]
In May 2011 [14] and June 2012, [15] Molotov cocktails were once again thrown at Beit Yonatan, causing no damage or injuries.
On 16 September 2014, three were arrested for throwing rocks at Beit Yonatan. [16]
Emmanouil Skopelitis was, under the name Irenaios, the 140th patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, from his election in 2001, when he succeeded Patriarch Diodoros, until his dismissal in 2005, when he was succeeded by Patriarch Theophilos III.
Beit El or Beth El is an Israeli settlement and local council located in the Binyamin Region of the West Bank. The Orthodox Jewish town was settled in 1977-78 by the ultranationalist group Gush Emunim. It is located in the hills north of Jerusalem, east of the Palestinian city of al-Bireh, adjacent to Ramallah. In September 1997, Beit El was awarded local council status. The head of the local council is Shai Alon. In 2021 its population was 5,681. Its current population is 6,500 residents.
Ateret Cohanim, also Ateret Yerushalayim, is an Israeli Jewish organization with a yeshiva located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It supports the creation of a Jewish majority in the Old City and in Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Notable alumni of the yeshiva include Rabbi Nissan Ben-Avraham and Rabbi Eyal Karim.
Shlomo Chaim Hacohen Aviner is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi. He is the rosh yeshiva (dean) of Ateret Yerushalayim and the rabbi of Beit El, an Israeli settlement. He is considered one of the spiritual leaders of the Religious Zionist movement.
Beit HaShalom, or the Rajabi House, also known as Beit HaMeriva, is a four-story apartment building located in the H-2 Area of Hebron.
Silwan or Siloam is a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, on the southeastern outskirts of the current Old City of Jerusalem.
In 2009, clashes between Muslim Palestinians and Israeli police erupted on September 27, 2009, and continued to late October. Violence spread through East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank, and included throwing of Molotov cocktails and stones at Israeli security forces and civilians. Israeli police responded with arrests of rioters and sporadic age-based restriction of access to the Temple Mount. Several dozen rioters, police and Israeli civilians have been injured.
Ir David Foundation or City of David Foundation, commonly known as Elad [El'ad] is a Jerusalem-based, Israeli settler association which aims to strengthen the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, and renew the Jewish community in the City of David, which is also part of the neighborhood of Silwan. The foundation works to achieve its goals by tourism, education, archaeological excavations and obtaining homes in the area to establish a Jewish presence.
The Old Yemenite Synagogue, known to its congregation as Beit Knesset Ohel Shlomo, is a restored synagogue from the nineteenth century Yemenite Village, the Kfar Hashiloach neighborhood in the Jerusalem district of Silwan.
Ma'ale HaZeitim is a Jewish Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem, located on the Mount of Olives, near the Palestinian neighborhood of Ras al-Amud. In 2010, its inhabitants numbered some 250 people belonging to 50 families. In 2011 it was projected to house 110 families and eventually merge with the new settlement of Ma'alot David, designed to replace an old police station across the street from Ma'ale HaZeitim, which would make them become the largest Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. By 2016 Ma'ale HaZeitim was housing about 90 families and the adjacent project, now called Ma’alot David, had 23 housing units. In 2017, construction started on a community center, which will include two synagogues, a kindergarten, a higher learning institution, a library and an event hall, all overlooking the Temple Mount.
Yonatan Yosef, is a Jerusalem rabbi, a former spokesman for Jewish settlers in Sheikh Jarrah, and right-wing activist for the Judaization of East Jerusalem. A member of Jerusalem city council since 2018.
This is a Timeline of events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict during 2016.
The Sheikh Jarrah controversy, which has been described as a "property/real estate dispute" by the Israeli government and its supporters, and as an "expulsion", "displacement" or "ethnic cleansing" event and a matter of international law by Palestinians and their supporters, is a long-running legal and political dispute between Palestinians and Israelis over the ownership of certain properties and housing units in Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem. The evictions are considered a contributory cause of the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.
Batn al-Hawa is a residential neighborhood inside the village of Silwan, which is located south of the al-Aqsa Mosque, outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. The neighborhood or Mount Batn al-Hawa, which is an extension of the Mount of Olives, and is located in the eastern corner of Jerusalem; It is separated from it by the Silwan Valley, which connects to the Kidron Valley at the same point, and is known by the Jews as "Har Hashishit" or "The Flood Mountain.
Palestinian displacement in East Jerusalem is the transfer of Palestinian residents from the city due to Israeli policies aimed at an Israeli-Jewish demographic majority. Many Palestinian families in East Jerusalem have been affected by "forced relocation processes or been involved in lengthy legal procedures to revoke an eviction order." According to OCHA, between a third to a half of East Jerusalem's houses do not have permits, potentially placing over 100,000 Palestinian residents of the city at risk of forced displacement and forcible transfer as a result of demolitions.
Al-Bustan is a well-watered area and neighbourhood located to the south of Wadi Hilweh in the Silwan area of East Jerusalem, and currently consists of more than 100 Palestinian homes. The area is the subject of a controversial proposed Israeli development project that envisions demolishing the existing houses and creating a national park, while constructing new four-story apartment buildings around it into which the current residents would be relocated.
Wadi Hilweh is a neighborhood in the Palestinian Arab village of Silwan, intertwined with an Israeli settlement. The Silwan area of East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War and 1980 Jerusalem Law, an action not recognized internationally. The international community regards Israeli settlements as illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.