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Jerusalem Peace & Security Forum
Political Arrangements Discussed at Jerusalem Forum
Written by Dr. Nurit Hirschfeld, secretary general, UPF-Israel
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Jerusalem, Israel—On May 28, 2015, the Jerusalem Peace and Security Forum, in cooperation with the department of Middle East studies students’ association at Hebrew University, organized a discussion on the “Outlines for Political Arrangements to Ensure a Long-term Stability in Jerusalem.”
Mr. Nadav Shragai, an Israeli author and journalist, who is also a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, a leading research institute specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy, opened the discussion. Mr. Shragai spoke about the status quo on the Temple Mount, which was informally created after the 1967 Six-Day War. He stated that the status quo that was shaped 48 years ago has since fundamentally changed, elevating the status of the Muslim side and depriving Jewish religious rights. (To learn more about the status quo on the Temple Mount and to read Mr. Shragai’s arguments on the topic, please visit: http://jcpa.org/article/status-quo-on-temple-mount).
The second speaker was Mrs. Naomi Tsur, an environmentalist, politician and former deputy mayor of Jerusalem. Mrs. Tsur talked about the urban fabric of Jerusalem and how it can contribute to the success of political arrangements in the future. She said that public spaces in Jerusalem are used as daily meeting points for people working in all sectors, groups and religions. "In terms of urbanism, it does not matter where a border between the two city sides will be drawn, as long as it [does] not harm the daily life of all the city residents, both Jews and Arabs, and their shared reality—which is a fact and a reality in Jerusalem,” concluded Mrs. Tsur.
Professor Eliezer Glaubach, president of the Jerusalem Peace and Security Forum and former city councilor of Jerusalem, emphasized the need to strive and promote political agreements that benefit both Israel and the Palestinians. Professor Glaubach said that the Saudi Peace Initiative can be used as a blueprint for these agreements. "As Israelis as well as Palestinians wish for [peace settlements], peace settlements in the Holy Land is [indeed] possible," he said. Professor Glaubach recommended finding solutions to the "internationalization [of] the Holy Basin" and determining the capitals of West and East Jerusalem, within a framework of a comprehensive political settlement in the Middle East.
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