Political Scape


The Physical and socio-economic barriers present in the Sheik Jarrach site are a direct manifestation of the political aims and policies of the two competing entities in Jerusalem.
The physical separation between the two Palestinian neighborhoods and from other Palestinian centers is due to policies that exist in Israeli urban planning. The urban jigsaw puzzle of entangled Jewish and Palestinian neighborhoods is a manifestation of the Israeli desire to limit Palestinian influence in Jerusalem through demographic domination.[1] By inserting new Jewish settlements between existing Palestinian population bases, the existing Palestinian neighborhoods are unable to expand in size due to a lack of building space. This physical division also limits freedom of movement, economic transaction, and social hegemony between Palestinian neighborhoods. In the case of the Sheikh Jarrach site, the French Hill settlement coupled with the institutions on Mount Scopus completely cut off Wadi Joz and Sheik Jarrach from northern population centers and forms a physical barrier to movement and exchange between communities.
The economic disparity between the two demographic groups is again a product of biased policies on the side of the Israelis, and a dogged stubbornness on the part of the Palestinians in ignoring and resisting other policies. As mentioned before, Jewish neighborhoods enjoy a 9:1 ratio of investment from the municipality of Jerusalem[2]. This ratio is again due to the policy of encouraging the growth of the overall Jewish population while inhibiting that of the Palestinians. Without proper roads, waste and electrical systems, Palestinian neighborhoods are unable to expand economically to support a larger population base. Without proper municipal planning, it has become almost impossible to obtain building permits in a Palestinian neighborhood. A further one-third of Palestinian land has been set aside as “green space” in which all building is prohibited, further limiting population growth.[3] Palestinians are also subject to much more scrutiny from Israeli security staff, further hindering the supply of goods.
The educational rift is more a product of the Palestinian policy of refusing to recognize Israeli claims to legitimacy of rule and a general lack of co-operation. When Jerusalem was unified/conquered in 1967, Israel attempted to take all Palestinian children into the current municipal school system. Many of the Palestinian children failed at abysmal rates, mostly voluntarily. Israel eventually let Palestinians receive the Arab education they wanted to receive, but then cut much of the funding to the Palestinian schools using their non-cooperation as justification for such an act.[4] The end result is separate school systems with one supplying a much better quality of education than the other. The quality of education again effects economic demographics, creating further separation between the two population views.
After examining policies of both Israelis and Palestinians, it is inaccurate to blame segregation and hostility solely on economic, educational or social conditions as these conditions are primarily imposed by higher political or institutional/religious powers than at the neighborhood level.
[1] Hasson, S. “A Master Plan for Jerusalem.”, Jerusalem: Points of Friction and Beyond,Ed. Moshe Macoz and Sari Nusseibeh, Kluwer Law,The Hague, 2000, pg 18. ,
[2] Marshall J. Breger and Ora Ahimeir, eds., Jerusalem: A City and Its Future, Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 2002, pg 26.
[3] Ibid, pg 37
[4] Ibid, pg 107