Silwan

Silwan, or "Kfar Shiloah," ( _he. כפר השילוח; _ar. سلوان) is a Palestinian neighborhood of 45,000, adjacent to the Old City of Jerusalem, extending along the Kidron Valley and running alongside the eastern slopes of Jabal Al-Mukaber.

Geography

Historically, Silwan was located on the eastern slope of the Kidron Valley, near the outlet of the Gihon Spring at the Pool of Siloam, opposite the City of David. The villagers took advantage of the arable land to grow vegetables for market in Jerusalem. [ Cyclopaedia of Biblical , Theological and Ecclesistical Literature, John McClintock, Harper and Brothers, 1889, p. 745] Nineteenth century travelers describe it as verdant and cultivated, ["Handbook to the Mediterranean: Its Cities, Coasts and Islands," Robert Lambert Playfair, John Murray, Albemarle Street, London, 1892, p. 70.] ["Biblical Geography and History," Charles Foster Kent , 1911 , p. 219] and perched on a steep, slippery scarp cut into hillside. [ "The Holy Land and the Bible: A Book of Scripture Illustrations", Cunningham Geikie , 1888 , New York, James Pott & Co. Publishers p.558] Today Palestinian herders still graze their goats on the hillsides.Fact|date=June 2008

History

Numerous rock cuttings, steps and caves show the site has a long history of habitation, also by hermits. [ [http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/S/SILOAM%3B+SILOAH%3B+SHELAH%3B+SHILOAH/ Bible Encyclopedia entry: Siloam] International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.] Silwan residents say that the construction of the village originated with the arrival of the Rashidun Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab. According to local legend, the Greek proprietors of Jerusalem were impressed by the humble majesty of the Caliph as he entered on foot while his servant rode in on camel, and presented him with the key to the city.Jeffrey Yas. [http://www.jerusalemquarterly.org/details.php?cat=2&id=76 "(Re)designing the City of David: Landscape, Narrative and Archaeology in Silwan"] ; "Jerusalem Quarterly," Winter 2000, Issue 7] The Caliph thereafter granted the wadi to "Khan Silowna," an agricultural community of cave dwellers living around the valley spring.

Silwan is mentioned by the Arab writer and traveller al-Muqaddasi. In 985, Muqaddasi, wrote as follows: "The village of Sulwan is a place on the outskirts of the city. Below the village of ´Ain Sulwan (Spring of Siloam), of fairly good water, which irrigates the large gardens which were given in bequest ("Waqf") by the Khalif ´Othman ibn ´Affan for the poor of the city. Lower down than this, again, is Job´s Well (Bir Ayyub). It is said that on the Night of ´Arafat the water of the holy well Zamzam, at Makkah, comes underground to the water of the Spring (of Siloam). The people hold a festival here on that evening." [Muk., 171. Quoted in Guy le Strange: "Palestine under the Moslems", 1890, p. 221.]

In 1834, during a large-scale peasants' rebellion against Ibrahim Pasha, [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-242896/Jerusalem#320040.hook Jerusalem (Israel) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia ] ] thousands of rebels infiltrated Jerusalem through ancient underground sewage channels leading to the village of Silwan. ["Jerusalem in the 19th Century: The Old City" Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, Part II, Chapter One: Ottoman Rule, pp. 90, 109, Yad Ben Zvi Institute & St. Martin's Press, New York, 1984]

A traveler to Palestine in 1883, T. Skinner, wrote that the olive groves near Silwan were a gathering place for Muslims on Fridays. ["Jerusalem in the 19th Century: The Old City" Yehoshua Ben-Arieh, Part II, Chapter Two: The Muslim Community, p. 133, Yad Ben Zvi Institute & St. Martin's Press, New York, 1984]

Yemenite Jewish settlement

In 1882, a group of Jews arrived from Yemen. Initially, they lived in tents. Later, when the rainy season began, they moved into the ancient burial caves on the east side of the valley. [ Messianism, Holiness, Charisma, and Community: The American-Swedish Colony in Jerusalem, 1881-1933, Yaakov Ariel and Ruth Kark , "Church History," Vol. 65, No. 4 (Dec., 1996), p. 645] In 1884, the Yemenites moved into new stone houses built for them on the eastern slope of the Kidron, north of the Arab village, by a charity called "Ezrat Niddahim." This settlement was called Kfar Hashiloach or the Yemenite Village. Construction costs were kept low by using the Shiloach as a water source instead of digging cisterns. An 1891 photo shows the homes on an otherwise vacant stretch of hillside. [ Photo can be found in “Documents of the Dream, Pioneer Jewish photographers in the Land of Israel, 1890-1933,” Vivienne Silver-Brody, Magnes Press, JPS, Philadelphia,1988, p. 40 ] An early 20th century travel guide writes: In the “village of Silwan , east of Kidron … some of the fellah dwellings [are] old sepulchers hewn in the rocks. During late years a great extension of the village southward has sprung up, owing to the settlement here of a colony of poor Jews from Yemen, etc. many of whom have built homes on the steep hillside just above and east of Bir Eyyub,” [ "Cook's Handbook for Palestine and Syria" , Thomas Cook Ltd., 1907, p. 105]

The Yemenite Jews left Silwan during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine and Arabs moved into the vacated buildings. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Silwan was annexed by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. [ [http://www.alt-arch.org/timeline.html From Shiloah to Silwan - An Alternative Archaeological Tour of Ancient Jerusalem ] ] It remained under the Jordanian rule until 1967, when Israel captured the Old City. Until then, the village had delegates in the Jerusalem City Council.

Urban growth

In the twentieth century, Silwan grew northward towards Jerusalem, expanding from a small farming village into an urban neighborhood. Modern Arab Silwan encompasses old Silwan (generally to the south), the Yemenite village (to the north), and the once-vacant land between. Today Silwan follows the ridge of the southern peak of the Mount of Olives to the east of the Kidron Valley, from the ridge west of the Ophel up to the southern wall of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif.

New Jewish settlement

On maps issued by the Israeli government and organizations, part of what Palestinians and others consider to be Silwan is labeled City of David (Ir David in Hebrew). Since Israel gained control over East Jerusalem in 1967, Jewish organizations have sought to re-establish a Jewish presence in Silwan. In 1987, the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations wrote to the Secretary-General to inform him of Israeli settlement activity; his letter noted that an Israeli company had taken over two Palestinian houses in the neighborhood of al-Bustan after evicting their occupants, claiming the houses were its property. [ [http://domino.un.org/unispal.NSF/3822b5e39951876a85256b6e0058a478/44ddc2496c28e0af052567f400544c98!OpenDocument "Letter dated 16 October 1987 from the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General"] UN General Assembly Security Council] Settlement expansion has increased since 1991. [ [http://www.mathaba.net/0_index.shtml?x=591356 Elad in Silwan: Settlers, Archaeologists and Dispossession] ] [ [http://apjp.org/silwan/ Architects and Planners for Justice in Palestine] ] Wadi Hilwe, an area of Silwan close to the western wall of the Old City, wherein lies the neighborhood of Al-Bustan, has been a focus of Jewish settlement.

ElAd, a settlement organization [Yigal Bronner. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/01/archaeologistsforhire "Archaeologists for hire: A Jewish settler organisation is using archaeology to further its political agenda and oust Palestinians from their homes"] ; "The Guardian," May 1, 2008] [Ori Kashti and Meron Rapoport. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/944951.html "Settler group refuses to vacate land slated for school for the disabled"] ; Haaretz, 15/01/2008] [ [http://otherisrael.home.igc.org/silwan.html "The Other Israel:" America-Israel Council for Israeli-Palestinian Peace newsletter] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/feb/26/diggingintotrouble The Guardian] ] which Haaretz says promotes the "Judaization" of East Jerusalem, [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/926322.html Meron Rapaport on ElAd] ] and the Ateret Cohanim organization, are working to increase Jewish settlement in Silwan in cooperation with the Committee for the Renewal of the Yemenite Village in Shiloah. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=411060 11 Jewish families move into J'lem neighborhood of Silwan - Haaretz - Israel News ] ] In 2003, Ateret Cohanim set a precedent in the neighborhood, building the seven-story Beit Yehonatan development (named after Jonathan Pollard) without a permit; four years later, the courts ordered the eviction of the tenants, [Meron Rapoport [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/869813.html "The battle over settling Silwan simmers"] Haaretz, June 12, 2007] but after a few months the city of Jerusalem approved the construction retroactively. [ [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/134748 "Jerusalem Approves ‘Beit Yehonatan’ in Shiloach"] Arutz Sheva, October 15, 2007] Building on ongoing housing construction in conjunction with archaeological excavation, in 2008 the Jerusalem municipality began "the process of approving a plan for a new housing complex, including a synagogue, in the heart of the Arab neighborhood of Silwan". [Akiva Eldar. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/983289.html "Plan to put synagogue in heart of East Jerusalem likely to be approved"] ; Haaretz, May 20, 2008]

Housing demolition and squatters

In the 1980s, "Haaretz" reports, the Housing Ministry "then under Ariel Sharon, worked hard to seize control of property in the Old City and in the adjacent neighborhood of Silwan by declaring them absentee property. The suspicion arose that some of the transactions were not legal; an examination committee...found numerous flaws." In particular, affidavits claiming that Palestinian homes in the area were absentee properties, filed by Jewish organizations, were accepted by the Custodian without any site visits or other follow-up on the claims. [Meron Rapoport. [http://news.haaretz.co.il/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=530047&contrassID=1 Land lords] ; Haaretz, January 20, 2005] Under the cover of the Absentee Property Law, and indirect land sales, settlers have seized Palestinian homes while their occupants were still living there. [Joel Greenburg. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E6D9143AF93AA35755C0A96E958260 "Settlers Move Into 4 Homes in East Jerusalem"] ; New York Times, June 9, 1998] In other cases, the Jewish National Fund has signed protected tenant agreements with ElAd , allowing the settler group to engage in construction without going through the tender process. [Meron Rapoport. [http://www.peacenow.org/readings.asp?rid=&cid=2567 "The republic of Elad"] ; Haaretz, April 23, 2006]

In 2005, the Israeli government stated that it would demolish 88 Palestinian homes in Al-Bustan neighborhood. [http://www.jmcc.org/new/05/jun/jeru.htm "Jerusalem Municipality plans to demolish 88 homes in Silwan"] ; "Al Ayyam Newspaper," June 1, 2005] No municipal court has ever ruled that any of the Palestinian homes slated for demolition were built illegally or without permits. Today 50 Jewish families live in the area, [ [http://www.fmep.org/reports/vol14/no4/07-settlement_timeline.html Foundation for Middle East Peace on Silwan settlement] ] some in homes acquired from Palestinians who claim they did not know they were selling their home to settlers, [Meron Rapoport [http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=14364 "The Mohammed Maraga tapes about Ateret Cohanim"] ; Haaretz, June 9, 2006] some in Beit Yehonatan, and some squatting in homes from which Palestinian families were evicted. [http://www.rhr-na.org/news/israeli-supreme-court-intervenes-silwan Rabbis for Human Rights] ]

According to the Zionist left-wing organization, Rabbis for Human Rights, ElAd has "created a method of expelling citizens from their properties, appropriating public areas, enclosing these lands with fences and guards, and banning the entrance of the local residents...under the protection of a private security force." [ [http://www.rhr-na.org/news/rhr-israel-defends-citizens-silwan RHR statement] ] The Israeli organization Ir Amim expresses concern that "Jewish presence in the heart of Palestinian centers in East Jerusalem creates facts on the ground that may hurt the possibility of any future peace agreement....Ir Amim is also concerned that the presence of security forces in Palestinian neighborhoods will be increased in order to provide security for Jewish settlers. This presence cannot improve the already tense atmosphere in the area." [ [http://www.ir-amim.org.il/Eng/?CategoryID=196 Ir Amim's Position] ]

Archaeological excavation

ElAd is the exclusive sponsor of the 'City of David' digs, featuring excavation of the ancient Silwan aqueduct tunneling around and under the Old City. [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gqKLsrw_vAzHpA0MubslDP55VLgg "Secret tunnel unearths new Jerusalem conflict"] ; AFP, March 26, 2008] Israeli archaeologist Yoni Mizrachi says the Israel Antiquities Authority relies on ElAd for funding and has given control over the archaeological sites in Silwan to ElAd; According to Mizrachi, 'Ir David' is "one of the few sites operated by private organisations and it is the only one run by a right-wing organisation." In an Op-Ed for "The Guardian," Palestinian rights activist Yigal Bronner (faculty of the University of Chicago), says of the Israel Antiquities Authority: "the same government agency that in 1997 warned against handing over the site to the settlers is now Elad's happy subcontractor." [Yigal Bronner. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/may/01/archaeologistsforhire "Archaeologists for hire: A Jewish settler organisation is using archaeology to further its political agenda and oust Palestinians from their homes"] ; The Guardian, May 1, 2008]

Islamic-era skeletons discovered in the course of excavations were removed from the site without informing the Muslim authorities and have since disappeared. [Meron Rapaport. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/988803.html "Islamic-era skeletons 'disappeared' from Elad-sponsored dig"] Haaretz, June 1, 2008] ElAd has been accused of conducting archaeological digs on Palestinian properties. [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/964131.html Haaretz on Rabbis for Human Rights arrest] ] According to the London Times, "Jewish settler groups are digging an extensive tunnel network under Muslim areas of Jerusalem's Old City while building a ring of settlements around it to bolster their claim to the disputed city in any future peace deal." [James Hider. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3463264.ece "Settlers dig tunnels around Jerusalem"] ; The Times Online, March 1, 2008] Elad began the City of David tunnels without applying for a permit from the Jerusalem municipality. [Meron Rapoport. [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/821774.html "City of David tunnel excavation proceeds without proper permit"] ; "Haaretz," February 5th, 2007] As of April 2008, the Israeli High Court had issued a temporary order staying further construction. [ [http://www.imemc.org/article/53566 "Israeli High Court orders an end to excavations in Silwan"] ; IMEMC, March 18,2008]

References

External sources

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRNAJCHxa7w "Digging for Trouble" Youtube video on Archaeology in Silwan]
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1170359776737&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull Former mayor Teddy Kollek's visit]
* [http://stopthewall.org/photos/947.shtml Photos] of Silwan and new Jewish building in the area, including map, from "Stop the Wall: The grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign"
* [http://flickr.com/photos/east_jerusalem/page5/ More photos] of Silwan
* [http://www.kibush.co.il/datapage.asp?lang=1&section=2&yr=2005&mn=6 List of articles] about Silwan displacement and settlements
* [http://www.alt-arch.org/timeline.html Alternative Archaeology tours] from Shiloah to Silwan
* [http://www.alt-arch.org/timeline.html Alternative Archaeology timeline]
* [http://www.ir-amim.org.il/Eng/?CategoryID=198 Ir Amim: For an Equitable and Stable Jerusalem with an Agreed Political Future]