To the trustees of the JNF,
We are writing to ask you to halt the eviction of the Sumarin family in Silwan, East Jerusalem, scheduled for Monday 28th November.
Himnuta, a company registered in Israel, in which the JNF has a 99% shareholding, and whose Chief Executive David Lazarus, is the Chief Financial Officer of the JNF in Israel, are pursing an eviction order against the 12 person Sumarin family which has been living in the house since before 1967.
As Jews who care passionately about Israel's survival as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people, we believe the eviction is both morally and politically problematic for three reasons:
1) Despite the fact that, under Israeli law, it has been ruled by the courts that the house belongs to Himnuta, the family have been living in the property since before 1967 and if the eviction goes ahead there is a very high moral cost involved, making a 12 person family (including 5 children) homeless. Furthermore the eviction will be considered illegal under international law.
2) The eviction has the ability to inflame an already volatile neighbourhood, and the transfer of a property into the hands of Himnuta for the purposes of replacing a Palestinian family with a Jewish family within a Palestinian neighbourhood is likely to exacerbate tensions and spark a new round of violence.
3) The policy of 'Judaising' Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem makes the possibility of sharing Jerusalem in a final status agreement a harder goal to achieve. Without a shared Jerusalem there will not be a two-state solution, which threatens the character of Israel as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people.
Many people within the British Jewish community, across the generations, donate money to the JNF, often in memory of a loved one, or on the occasion of a family celebration. We, the undersigned, who are active members of the Jewish community in the UK, join with partners in Israel and Jews in other diaspora communities, in asking you as trustees of the JNF in the UK, to do everything in your power to ensure this eviction does not place.
Yours Sincerely,
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
December 9, 2011
November 25, 2011
One hundred signatures reached. The pressure on the JNF is building.
Reached 100 supporters
November 24, 2011
8 Comments
Living in that house for decades. Shameful to try and throw them out.
STOP THE EVICTION. This is wrong on every level.
The JNF should be better than this. Dont ruin this families life.
This makes me ashamed as a jew. Leave the sumarin family alone.
Has anyone seen the reports on Silwan? Absolutely heartbreaking stuff.
See BBC documentary The Settlers Billionaire Backer
Do not evict Sumarin Family!
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To the trustees of the JNF,
We are writing to ask you to halt the eviction of the Sumarin family in Silwan, East Jerusalem, scheduled for Monday 28th November.
Himnuta, a company registered in Israel, in which the JNF has a 99% shareholding, and whose Chief Executive David Lazarus, is the Chief Financial Officer of the JNF in Israel, are pursing an eviction order against the 12 person Sumarin family which has been living in the house since before 1967.
As Jews who care passionately about Israel's survival as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people, we believe the eviction is both morally and politically problematic for three reasons:
1) Despite the fact that, under Israeli law, it has been ruled by the courts that the house belongs to Himnuta, the family have been living in the property since before 1967 and if the eviction goes ahead there is a very high moral cost involved, making a 12 person family (including 5 children) homeless. Furthermore the eviction will be considered illegal under international law.
2) The eviction has the ability to inflame an already volatile neighbourhood, and the transfer of a property into the hands of Himnuta for the purposes of replacing a Palestinian family with a Jewish family within a Palestinian neighbourhood is likely to exacerbate tensions and spark a new round of violence.
3) The policy of 'Judaising' Arab neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem makes the possibility of sharing Jerusalem in a final status agreement a harder goal to achieve. Without a shared Jerusalem there will not be a two-state solution, which threatens the character of Israel as the democratic homeland of the Jewish people.
Many people within the British Jewish community, across the generations, donate money to the JNF, often in memory of a loved one, or on the occasion of a family celebration. We, the undersigned, who are active members of the Jewish community in the UK, join with partners in Israel and Jews in other diaspora communities, in asking you as trustees of the JNF in the UK, to do everything in your power to ensure this eviction does not place.
Yours Sincerely,
Updates
Reached 500 supporters
December 9, 2011
November 25, 2011
One hundred signatures reached. The pressure on the JNF is building.
Reached 100 supporters
November 24, 2011
8 Comments
This eviction goes against Jewish core Values. This is not politics, this is about humanity. Treat your neighbors as you want to be treated.
Living in that house for decades. Shameful to try and throw them out.
STOP THE EVICTION. This is wrong on every level.
The JNF should be better than this. Dont ruin this families life.
This makes me ashamed as a jew. Leave the sumarin family alone.
Has anyone seen the reports on Silwan? Absolutely heartbreaking stuff.
See BBC documentary The Settlers Billionaire Backer
Do not evict Sumarin Family!
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This eviction goes against Jewish core Values. This is not politics, this is about humanity. Treat your neighbors as you want to be treated.