Palestinian Refugees Act to Save Jerusalem’s Lifta Village from Destruction
Tuesday, 29 March 2011 16:35 Shadi Rohana, Alternative Information Center (AIC)
“This is not just a construction plan- they want to erase our memory,” architect and Lifta refugee Nasser Abu-Lel told local and international media today [29 March] in East Jerusalem regarding the Israel Land Administration’s plan to build a luxurious residential and commercial zone on the remains of his village in West Jerusalem.
“The Israeli plan targets what remains of the houses we were forced to leave in the Nakba of 1948; the stones and walls that echo the daily life of our own parents, before the Zionist gangs forced them to leave.”
The proposed decade-long project, which the Israeli Land Administration now wishes to implement (plan number 6036), was issued following Jerusalem Municipal approval of the construction of 268 housing units, one hotel and a number of community institutions on the site of the Palestinian village of Lifta. Following the court petition to save Lifta that was submitted by various organizations Lifta refugees on 6 March, the Israeli court issued a temporary injunction on selling lots on the site.
The press conference this morning to protest the plan was organized by the Sons of Lifta Society, an organization that gathers refugees from Lifta and their descendents in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Speakers at the conference included the Mufti of Jerusalem Muhammad Hussein, Fatah’s Jerusalem Affairs Liaison Hatim abd al-Qader, representatives from the Sons of Lifta Society and refugees from the village, as well as Attorney Sami Arshid, who represented Lifta refugees and other organizations at court.
Arshid told reporters that his petition to the court was the culmination of work done on the ground by various Palestinian and Israeli organizations, architects, planners and other individuals since approval of the plan by the Jerusalem Municipality. “Our goal was modest and simple,” Arshid said, “we claimed in court that these lands and house have owners and they are still alive, whether in East Jerusalem and the West Bank or in exile, and that if Israeli law prevents them from fulfilling their property rights at this moment, this should not mean that the law is to consider their property rights as gone forever.”
Regarding the decision to go to an Israeli court to prevent the demolition of Lifta, Arshid said: “the decision was not easy. The Israeli law regards Lifta’s lands and buildings as ‘absentee property,’ something Palestinian refugees everywhere cannot accept. However, we managed to overcome this challenge by basing our demands on historic property rights.”
Yacoub Odeh from the Land Research Center and himself a refugee from Lifta, spoke about the measures already taken to save his village. According to Odeh, Lifta refugees in Palestine and exile are already contacting international bodies, including UNESCO, the EU and UNRWA, calling on them to protect Lifta’s land and houses. “It is our right to return to our land, rebuild our village and plant trees for the next generations, not those who wish to come here from abroad to build villas and hotels on our land. We will continue to hold on to our right as people of Lifta and as Palestinians; we are an integral part of the Palestinian people and Lifta is an integral part of Palestine.”
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Lifta society is organizing a press conference on Tuesday 29th about the current situation on Lifta. As well as a march to Lifta on the 1st of April.
Press Conference:
Date: Tuesday 29/03/2011
Location: Ambassador Hotel - Sheikh Jarrah
24 March 2011
A court case is pending concerning the future of Lifta, a Palestinian village which is located both in West and East Jerusalem. Lifta has been targeted by the Israeli Land Authority for the development of a Jewish luxury residential/commercial neighbourhood. The plan will lead to the destruction of the place. The court ruling will decide whether the refugees of Lifta, who were forced to the leave the village in 1948, can keep their property, heritage, culture and memory. The people of Lifta have obtained a freeze on the processing the call for tender, through a petition, to the central court.
On the 6th March, Attorney Sami Arshid submitted a petition on behalf of Lifta Society and Jerusalem activists and Urban planners to object to the unlawful sale of the property of the Lifta refugees to the private sector. On Monday the 7th, Israeli Judge Yigal Marzel issued a temporary injunction ordering the Israeli Land Administration to freeze publication of the results of the tender to sell off plots of land. If these plots do get sold off new construction begins it will be impossible to preserve the history, heritage and culture of the people which will be lost forever under a wave of new construction.
A whole village is running the risk of losing its property and the people of Lifta need as much support as possible in order to save the village and raise the profile of their case and prevent the loss of their village forever.
Lifta Society
Cell phone no: 0522 872840
Press Conference:
Date: Tuesday 29/03/2011
Location: Ambassador Hotel - Sheikh Jarrah
24 March 2011
A court case is pending concerning the future of Lifta, a Palestinian village which is located both in West and East Jerusalem. Lifta has been targeted by the Israeli Land Authority for the development of a Jewish luxury residential/commercial neighbourhood. The plan will lead to the destruction of the place. The court ruling will decide whether the refugees of Lifta, who were forced to the leave the village in 1948, can keep their property, heritage, culture and memory. The people of Lifta have obtained a freeze on the processing the call for tender, through a petition, to the central court.
On the 6th March, Attorney Sami Arshid submitted a petition on behalf of Lifta Society and Jerusalem activists and Urban planners to object to the unlawful sale of the property of the Lifta refugees to the private sector. On Monday the 7th, Israeli Judge Yigal Marzel issued a temporary injunction ordering the Israeli Land Administration to freeze publication of the results of the tender to sell off plots of land. If these plots do get sold off new construction begins it will be impossible to preserve the history, heritage and culture of the people which will be lost forever under a wave of new construction.
A whole village is running the risk of losing its property and the people of Lifta need as much support as possible in order to save the village and raise the profile of their case and prevent the loss of their village forever.
Lifta Society
Cell phone no: 0522 872840
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Erasing Palestine from Lifta
Sophie O’Brien reports on the judaization of Lifta, the last remaining Palestinian village inside the Green Line - Palestine Monitor,19 March 2011
The Israel Land Administration (ILA) has put a plan in place which would see land in the village of Lifta, a former Palestinian village situated on the north-west edge of Jerusalem sold to private developers. A plan which would see Palestinian history completely stripped from the village.
The ILA plan calls for amongst other things, the building of 212 housing units exclusively for Jews, a luxury hotel, a shopping mall and a museum. In objection to these building plans, a large petition has been signed by various activists, NGO’s and descendents of Lifta and submitted by Attorney Sami Arshid. As a result of this petition a temporary injunction was issued by Judge Yigal Marzel on the 7th of March ordering the ILA to freeze publication of results for tender which would see plots of land sold off to these private developers.
Over 500 Arab villages were depopulated or demolished during the 1948 war by the ruthless colonial Zionist forces. Lifta is an exception in this respect as it is ‘The only village which remains as it was before 1948,’ Daphna Golan asserts, a Professor of Law at the Hebrew University and organiser of the petition to save Lifta. Whilst on the surface the plan is sold as a rejuvenation project bringing life to an otherwise ‘abandoned’ village, Golan is adamant that it is primarily a political venture. ‘It is a building plan geared towards erasing the past,’ she asserts. In other words, serving to continue the process of judaization of the land, a policy which aims to eradicate Palestinian history, memory and presence.
Most of the original buildings and houses still remain somewhat intact in Lifta, a village which dates back to biblical times. For Yacoub Odeh, a former Lifta resident, a human rights activist and a central figure in the Save Lifta campaign, this is bitter sweet. He speaks of his memories of living in Lifta with great fondness. It is tainted however with the reality that he no longer has any right to live in the village from which he was forcefully removed by the pre-state Zionist terrorist gangs working under the auspices of the Zionist movement. ‘I remember the bakery where I went with my mother to eat bread with olive oil and zatar, it was delicious…I will never forgive those who stole our history and our memory,’ he says.
Lifta was one of the first villages occupied before the 1948 war and the creation of the Israeli state. Its proximity to Jerusalem meant that it was of great strategic importance to the Zionist movement; Yacoub explain, ‘Whoever controlled Lifta controlled Jerusalem.’ In refutation of Zionist claims that depict the pre-state Zionist movement as a heroic, pioneering enterprise, Yacoub describes how the Muslim and Christian inhabitants of Lifta were evicted from their homes through the use of brutal, racist tactics. ‘They bombed the homes of twenty people…but the Jews were allowed to stay.’ The terrorising of the Muslim and Christian inhabitants of the village ‘achieved the Zionist goal of ethnic cleansing,’ Yacoub continued. After 1967, Jewish immigrants were moved into the houses of those who had been forcefully removed. It is the descendents of these families who remain the sole inhabitants of Lifta today.
The ILA plan to redevelop the village of Lifta is symbolic for the reason that it nullifies the possibility of the Palestinian refugees who once lived there of ever returning to their homes. For Yacoub, this is the greatest injustice. The Israeli Law of return grants Jews from around the world the possibility to ‘return’ to their ‘homeland’ and gain citizenship. The original inhabitants of Lifta are, however, not awarded with this option, ‘I was evicted from my house 63 years ago and I don’t have the right to return,’ Yacoub said.
Successive Israeli governments have to date managed to maintain an unstable status quo whereby all the so-called ‘final status’ issues have been left up in the air. Yacoub asserts that the right of return is prerequisite for peace, ‘Without the right of return, there will be more killing and more blood.’
Further evidence that the ILA plans are aimed at seizing the identity and completing the Judaization process of the last remaining Palestinian village can be seen in the details. There are plans to build a museum which Yacoub asserts will showcase a purely Jewish recollection of the history of Lifta, ‘Surely it will not mention the Palestinian people; they see with one eye only.’
Furthermore, the cemetery where many former Palestinian residents of Lifta have been buried has been designated as public land in the plan, thus creating the possibility that it may in the future be removed for the purposes of further building.
The village of Lifta is significant for the reason that it reminds us of a time when Muslims, Christians and Jews lived harmoniously on the land. In this sense, Golan asserts that ‘It should be used as a place where Jews and Arabs can meet to acknowledge their shared history.’ If the ILA plans are approved, it will therefore be removing a powerful symbol of reconciliation. More ominously, the ILA plans which are portrayed as being devoid of any political significance are in fact a painful reminder that the colonial Zionist enterprise is still thriving.
Sophie O’Brien reports on the judaization of Lifta, the last remaining Palestinian village inside the Green Line - Palestine Monitor,19 March 2011
The Israel Land Administration (ILA) has put a plan in place which would see land in the village of Lifta, a former Palestinian village situated on the north-west edge of Jerusalem sold to private developers. A plan which would see Palestinian history completely stripped from the village.
The ILA plan calls for amongst other things, the building of 212 housing units exclusively for Jews, a luxury hotel, a shopping mall and a museum. In objection to these building plans, a large petition has been signed by various activists, NGO’s and descendents of Lifta and submitted by Attorney Sami Arshid. As a result of this petition a temporary injunction was issued by Judge Yigal Marzel on the 7th of March ordering the ILA to freeze publication of results for tender which would see plots of land sold off to these private developers.
Over 500 Arab villages were depopulated or demolished during the 1948 war by the ruthless colonial Zionist forces. Lifta is an exception in this respect as it is ‘The only village which remains as it was before 1948,’ Daphna Golan asserts, a Professor of Law at the Hebrew University and organiser of the petition to save Lifta. Whilst on the surface the plan is sold as a rejuvenation project bringing life to an otherwise ‘abandoned’ village, Golan is adamant that it is primarily a political venture. ‘It is a building plan geared towards erasing the past,’ she asserts. In other words, serving to continue the process of judaization of the land, a policy which aims to eradicate Palestinian history, memory and presence.
Most of the original buildings and houses still remain somewhat intact in Lifta, a village which dates back to biblical times. For Yacoub Odeh, a former Lifta resident, a human rights activist and a central figure in the Save Lifta campaign, this is bitter sweet. He speaks of his memories of living in Lifta with great fondness. It is tainted however with the reality that he no longer has any right to live in the village from which he was forcefully removed by the pre-state Zionist terrorist gangs working under the auspices of the Zionist movement. ‘I remember the bakery where I went with my mother to eat bread with olive oil and zatar, it was delicious…I will never forgive those who stole our history and our memory,’ he says.
Lifta was one of the first villages occupied before the 1948 war and the creation of the Israeli state. Its proximity to Jerusalem meant that it was of great strategic importance to the Zionist movement; Yacoub explain, ‘Whoever controlled Lifta controlled Jerusalem.’ In refutation of Zionist claims that depict the pre-state Zionist movement as a heroic, pioneering enterprise, Yacoub describes how the Muslim and Christian inhabitants of Lifta were evicted from their homes through the use of brutal, racist tactics. ‘They bombed the homes of twenty people…but the Jews were allowed to stay.’ The terrorising of the Muslim and Christian inhabitants of the village ‘achieved the Zionist goal of ethnic cleansing,’ Yacoub continued. After 1967, Jewish immigrants were moved into the houses of those who had been forcefully removed. It is the descendents of these families who remain the sole inhabitants of Lifta today.
The ILA plan to redevelop the village of Lifta is symbolic for the reason that it nullifies the possibility of the Palestinian refugees who once lived there of ever returning to their homes. For Yacoub, this is the greatest injustice. The Israeli Law of return grants Jews from around the world the possibility to ‘return’ to their ‘homeland’ and gain citizenship. The original inhabitants of Lifta are, however, not awarded with this option, ‘I was evicted from my house 63 years ago and I don’t have the right to return,’ Yacoub said.
Successive Israeli governments have to date managed to maintain an unstable status quo whereby all the so-called ‘final status’ issues have been left up in the air. Yacoub asserts that the right of return is prerequisite for peace, ‘Without the right of return, there will be more killing and more blood.’
Further evidence that the ILA plans are aimed at seizing the identity and completing the Judaization process of the last remaining Palestinian village can be seen in the details. There are plans to build a museum which Yacoub asserts will showcase a purely Jewish recollection of the history of Lifta, ‘Surely it will not mention the Palestinian people; they see with one eye only.’
Furthermore, the cemetery where many former Palestinian residents of Lifta have been buried has been designated as public land in the plan, thus creating the possibility that it may in the future be removed for the purposes of further building.
The village of Lifta is significant for the reason that it reminds us of a time when Muslims, Christians and Jews lived harmoniously on the land. In this sense, Golan asserts that ‘It should be used as a place where Jews and Arabs can meet to acknowledge their shared history.’ If the ILA plans are approved, it will therefore be removing a powerful symbol of reconciliation. More ominously, the ILA plans which are portrayed as being devoid of any political significance are in fact a painful reminder that the colonial Zionist enterprise is still thriving.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Desendants of Lifta visit their ancentral home in protest to the impending crisis facing this place
On Friday 18th March, a large group of descendants of Lifta, consisting of three generations - young and old, made their way to their ancentral home. A visit, that cannot have been easy to make for many of them who now reside in east Jerusalem and beyond, was a stand of defiance by the descendants against the decision by the Israeli Land Administation to sell of the remaining lands of Lifta to private developers and proceed with the new development plan 6036. A development plan that will ultimately erase the connection between these people and the landscape that is still a visible and formidable sign of their connection to these lands. The occasion of the protest, as shown through these pictures, can only have been monumental for these people as well as a moving occasion - to be able to recount the memories of one's house or of the village way of life, showing respect to the ancestors by clearing the cemetry of wild-overgrown weeds and bushes; experiences that will remain treasured and eternally remembered. Nevertheless a stand of defiance that will continue on throughout this current on-going situation.
On Friday 18th March, a large group of descendants of Lifta, consisting of three generations - young and old, made their way to their ancentral home. A visit, that cannot have been easy to make for many of them who now reside in east Jerusalem and beyond, was a stand of defiance by the descendants against the decision by the Israeli Land Administation to sell of the remaining lands of Lifta to private developers and proceed with the new development plan 6036. A development plan that will ultimately erase the connection between these people and the landscape that is still a visible and formidable sign of their connection to these lands. The occasion of the protest, as shown through these pictures, can only have been monumental for these people as well as a moving occasion - to be able to recount the memories of one's house or of the village way of life, showing respect to the ancestors by clearing the cemetry of wild-overgrown weeds and bushes; experiences that will remain treasured and eternally remembered. Nevertheless a stand of defiance that will continue on throughout this current on-going situation.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Plans for Lifta luxury housing project temporarily halted
By Melanie Lidman - Jeusalem Post 03/09/2011
Activists want to finish historical surveys before developers buy land.
A planned luxury housing complex in the historic Arab village of Lifta at the entrance to Jerusalem was temporarily halted on Monday after the Jerusalem District Court ordered the Israel Lands Authority ordered to freeze the published tenders.
A coalition of architects, activists, and former Lifta residents petitioned the courts to halt the project until archeological surveys are finished.
The project, which was approved by the Jerusalem Municipality and the Interior Ministry’s planning committees, calls for 212 luxury apartment villas, a hotel, and a network of roads and infrastructure to support the new neighborhood.
In January, the ILA published a tender for the project, which allows private contractors to bid.
The scenic area is famous for the old stone buildings that are visible from the western entrance to Jerusalem, which were built into the steep hillside by Arab residents in the 19th century.
The petition, filed by former Lifta residents, Rabbis for Human Rights, and Jafra, a Palestinian heritage organization, calls for the courts to freeze the bidding process and the transfer of the public assets into private hands. The court granted a temporary freeze until the project goes to trial to determine if the ILA can go ahead with the bidding process.
“The problem is that the contractors are supposed to be responsible for documentation, and preservation is something that’s very far away from their interests,” said architect Shmuel Groag, a professor of architecture at Bezalel who focuses on building preservation.
Groag was part of a group of architects that had started creating a plan for the Lifta area, which has been under consideration for development for the past 20 years.
Groag added that the process of documenting the village for historical and planning purposes was never completed, though the Israel Antiquities Authority offered to document the area. The state was reluctant to pay, said Groag, and mandated that the contractor that won the bid be required to do the documentation.
“If one of the contractors destroys something inside, no one will know, because no one knows what’s inside of them,” said Groag.
“To try and take shortcuts in the planning processes in a place that’s so sensitive and emotional will no doubt damage the preservation of Lifta,” he added.
The Society for the Protection of Nature and the Society for Preservation of Israeli Heritage Sites, however, said they had no opposition to the project, a popular hiking destination for Jerusalem residents.
“What’s happening now is the houses are getting destroyed by the passage of time,” said Isaac Schweky, the head of the Society for the Preservation of Israeli Heritage Sites.
“[The petitioners] asked us to join but I told them I’m not going to join them. If we don’t build there, won’t be anything left,” he said.
Schweky pointed out that since the area became a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes, the houses have deteriorated faster than ever. Some of the stones have been stolen, causing the buildings to crumble.
The only way to save Lifta, he believes, is to develop it.
But the petitioners claim that in addition to the environmental and historical problems the development project could create, there are political problems as well. Lifta was abandoned by its Arab residents in 1948, and is one of the only such Arab villages that was not destroyed or inhabited by Jews after the War of Independence.
“It’s an issue of how do we see our future. Do we see our future erasing the Arab side, or a future of reconciliation?” asked Daphna Golan, a lecturer at Hebrew University in human rights, who organized the various groups to file the petition.
“We should discuss these issues as opposed to erasing them. It’s part of our history, it’s part of our present. Rather than build housing for rich people, let’s keep it for future discussion for compensation.
We have to keep the past alive in order to have a dialogue.”
Attorney Sami Ershied, who filed the petition on behalf of the coalition of activists and residents, said he was “optimistic” that the courts would honor their request to halt the plan.
By Melanie Lidman - Jeusalem Post 03/09/2011
Activists want to finish historical surveys before developers buy land.
A planned luxury housing complex in the historic Arab village of Lifta at the entrance to Jerusalem was temporarily halted on Monday after the Jerusalem District Court ordered the Israel Lands Authority ordered to freeze the published tenders.
A coalition of architects, activists, and former Lifta residents petitioned the courts to halt the project until archeological surveys are finished.
The project, which was approved by the Jerusalem Municipality and the Interior Ministry’s planning committees, calls for 212 luxury apartment villas, a hotel, and a network of roads and infrastructure to support the new neighborhood.
In January, the ILA published a tender for the project, which allows private contractors to bid.
The scenic area is famous for the old stone buildings that are visible from the western entrance to Jerusalem, which were built into the steep hillside by Arab residents in the 19th century.
The petition, filed by former Lifta residents, Rabbis for Human Rights, and Jafra, a Palestinian heritage organization, calls for the courts to freeze the bidding process and the transfer of the public assets into private hands. The court granted a temporary freeze until the project goes to trial to determine if the ILA can go ahead with the bidding process.
“The problem is that the contractors are supposed to be responsible for documentation, and preservation is something that’s very far away from their interests,” said architect Shmuel Groag, a professor of architecture at Bezalel who focuses on building preservation.
Groag was part of a group of architects that had started creating a plan for the Lifta area, which has been under consideration for development for the past 20 years.
Groag added that the process of documenting the village for historical and planning purposes was never completed, though the Israel Antiquities Authority offered to document the area. The state was reluctant to pay, said Groag, and mandated that the contractor that won the bid be required to do the documentation.
“If one of the contractors destroys something inside, no one will know, because no one knows what’s inside of them,” said Groag.
“To try and take shortcuts in the planning processes in a place that’s so sensitive and emotional will no doubt damage the preservation of Lifta,” he added.
The Society for the Protection of Nature and the Society for Preservation of Israeli Heritage Sites, however, said they had no opposition to the project, a popular hiking destination for Jerusalem residents.
“What’s happening now is the houses are getting destroyed by the passage of time,” said Isaac Schweky, the head of the Society for the Preservation of Israeli Heritage Sites.
“[The petitioners] asked us to join but I told them I’m not going to join them. If we don’t build there, won’t be anything left,” he said.
Schweky pointed out that since the area became a haven for drug dealers and prostitutes, the houses have deteriorated faster than ever. Some of the stones have been stolen, causing the buildings to crumble.
The only way to save Lifta, he believes, is to develop it.
But the petitioners claim that in addition to the environmental and historical problems the development project could create, there are political problems as well. Lifta was abandoned by its Arab residents in 1948, and is one of the only such Arab villages that was not destroyed or inhabited by Jews after the War of Independence.
“It’s an issue of how do we see our future. Do we see our future erasing the Arab side, or a future of reconciliation?” asked Daphna Golan, a lecturer at Hebrew University in human rights, who organized the various groups to file the petition.
“We should discuss these issues as opposed to erasing them. It’s part of our history, it’s part of our present. Rather than build housing for rich people, let’s keep it for future discussion for compensation.
We have to keep the past alive in order to have a dialogue.”
Attorney Sami Ershied, who filed the petition on behalf of the coalition of activists and residents, said he was “optimistic” that the courts would honor their request to halt the plan.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Saturday, 12 March 2011, beginning at 10:00, in the Lifta parking lot in the city entrance, Ramot Road.
For detailed directions:
Rimmon Lavi 0548020576
Daphna Golan 0548820698
...
We will meet in order to clean and preserve the village for future generations.
The village of Lifta is the last surviving Arab village of its kind, the rest having been destroyed after 1948. It is the only village that can be preserved as a witness to traditional forms of architecture and argiculture that have otherwise almost completely disappeared.
Like hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who left their homes during the war of 1948, and who have never been allowed to return to their villages, the original inhabitants of Lifta have never been allowed to return to their village. Many of them live today in East Jerusalem, but are not included, like most of us – inhabitants of Jerusalem, experts in preservation, and others – in the process of planning intended for the village.
Stop the destruction of Lifta! Stop the construction of yet another memory-effacing site of luxury and leisure!
Come with broom and trash bag, and join the cleaning and preservation of Lifta, together with the original inhabitants – today refugees – of Lifta.
For more information about the event, contact Daphna Golan 0548820698
For support, action, and donations – Ilan Shtayer, 0545-69-20-89, ilan@makinghistory.co.il
نحافظ على لفتا
يوم السبت 12 مارس آذار 2011, في تمام الساعة العاشرة صباحاً
نلتقي لكي ننظف القرية ونحفظها للأجيال القادمة
قرية لفتا هي آخر شاهد على القرى العربية التي هدمت ما بعد ال 1948 , وهي القرية الوحيدة التي يمكن الحفاظ على ما تبقى منها كشاهد على أسلوب البناء والزراعة التقليدية التي تكاد تكون امّحت
على غرار آلاف الفلسطينيين الذين تركوا منازلهم خلال حرب ال- 1948 ولم يسمح لهم بالعودة إليها, هكذا سكان لفتا, لم بسمح لهم بالعودة إلى قريتهم, ويسكن العديد منهم اليوم في القدس الشرقية دون أن يكون لهم رأي أو قول في عملية إعادة التخطيط لبلدتهم, شأنهم في ذلك شأن العديد من سكان القدس وخبراء الترميم وغيرهم.
أوقفوا عملية البناء – لفتا لن تكون "هوليلاند" الثانية
تعالوا مع مكانسكم وأكياس النفايات وانضموا الينا لتنظيف القرية وترميمها والحفاظ عليها, جنباً إلى جنب مع أهل لفتا ولاجئيها
للدعم أو النشاطات أو التبرعات – أيلان شطاير, 0545-69-20-89 , ialan@makinghistory.co.il
للمزيد من المعلومات:
عطاء دائرة أراضي إسرائيل ים/405/2010 بموجب תב"ע 6036 للفتا
رَ تقارير مهنية: נספח ארכיאולוגי - רשות העתיקות -סקר אורבאני ראשוני של מינהל השימור ברשות.
من الصحافة: רגע לפני שהשקדיות ייעלמו (دفنا جولان, هآرتس)
שומרים על ליפתא
ביום שבת 12 מארס 2011 מהשעה 10.00
נפגש כדי לנקות ולשמר את הכפר למען הדורות הבאים
הכפר ליפתא הוא העדות האחרונה לכפרים הערבים שנהרסו אחרי 1948, והוא הכפר היחיד שניתן לשמר כעדות לבנייה וחקלאות מסורתית שכמעט נעלמה.
כמו מאות אלפי פלסטינים שעזבו את בתיהם במהלך המלחמה ב 1948 ומעולם לא הורשו לחזור, גם תושבי ליפתא מעולם לא הורשו לחזור לכפרם - ורבים מהם חיים היום בירושלים המזרחית אך לא שותפים כמו רובנו תושבי ירושלים, מומחי שימור ואחרים בתהליך התכנון המחודש של הכפר.
עצרו את הבנייה -ליפתא לא תהייה הולילנד שנייה.
בואו עם מטאטא ועם שקית לאשפה והצטרפו לפעילות לניקיון ושימור הכפר ליפתא יחד עם ילידי ופליטי ליפתא
לתמיכה, לפעולה ולתרומות – אילן שטייר, 0545-69-20-89, ilan@makinghistory.co.il
למידע נוסף:
מכרז מינהל מקרקעי ישראל ים/405/2010 על פי תב"ע 6036 לליפתא.
דוחות מקצועיים עיינו: נספח ארכיאולוגי - רשות העתיקות -סקר אורבאני ראשוני של מינהל השימור ברשות.
מן העיתונות: רגע לפני שהשקדיות ייעלמו (דפנה גולן, הארץ)
לפרטים והרשמה
דפנה 0548820698
רימון לביא 0548020576
For detailed directions:
Rimmon Lavi 0548020576
Daphna Golan 0548820698
...
We will meet in order to clean and preserve the village for future generations.
The village of Lifta is the last surviving Arab village of its kind, the rest having been destroyed after 1948. It is the only village that can be preserved as a witness to traditional forms of architecture and argiculture that have otherwise almost completely disappeared.
Like hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who left their homes during the war of 1948, and who have never been allowed to return to their villages, the original inhabitants of Lifta have never been allowed to return to their village. Many of them live today in East Jerusalem, but are not included, like most of us – inhabitants of Jerusalem, experts in preservation, and others – in the process of planning intended for the village.
Stop the destruction of Lifta! Stop the construction of yet another memory-effacing site of luxury and leisure!
Come with broom and trash bag, and join the cleaning and preservation of Lifta, together with the original inhabitants – today refugees – of Lifta.
For more information about the event, contact Daphna Golan 0548820698
For support, action, and donations – Ilan Shtayer, 0545-69-20-89, ilan@makinghistory.co.il
نحافظ على لفتا
يوم السبت 12 مارس آذار 2011, في تمام الساعة العاشرة صباحاً
نلتقي لكي ننظف القرية ونحفظها للأجيال القادمة
قرية لفتا هي آخر شاهد على القرى العربية التي هدمت ما بعد ال 1948 , وهي القرية الوحيدة التي يمكن الحفاظ على ما تبقى منها كشاهد على أسلوب البناء والزراعة التقليدية التي تكاد تكون امّحت
على غرار آلاف الفلسطينيين الذين تركوا منازلهم خلال حرب ال- 1948 ولم يسمح لهم بالعودة إليها, هكذا سكان لفتا, لم بسمح لهم بالعودة إلى قريتهم, ويسكن العديد منهم اليوم في القدس الشرقية دون أن يكون لهم رأي أو قول في عملية إعادة التخطيط لبلدتهم, شأنهم في ذلك شأن العديد من سكان القدس وخبراء الترميم وغيرهم.
أوقفوا عملية البناء – لفتا لن تكون "هوليلاند" الثانية
تعالوا مع مكانسكم وأكياس النفايات وانضموا الينا لتنظيف القرية وترميمها والحفاظ عليها, جنباً إلى جنب مع أهل لفتا ولاجئيها
للدعم أو النشاطات أو التبرعات – أيلان شطاير, 0545-69-20-89 , ialan@makinghistory.co.il
للمزيد من المعلومات:
عطاء دائرة أراضي إسرائيل ים/405/2010 بموجب תב"ע 6036 للفتا
رَ تقارير مهنية: נספח ארכיאולוגי - רשות העתיקות -סקר אורבאני ראשוני של מינהל השימור ברשות.
من الصحافة: רגע לפני שהשקדיות ייעלמו (دفنا جولان, هآرتس)
שומרים על ליפתא
ביום שבת 12 מארס 2011 מהשעה 10.00
נפגש כדי לנקות ולשמר את הכפר למען הדורות הבאים
הכפר ליפתא הוא העדות האחרונה לכפרים הערבים שנהרסו אחרי 1948, והוא הכפר היחיד שניתן לשמר כעדות לבנייה וחקלאות מסורתית שכמעט נעלמה.
כמו מאות אלפי פלסטינים שעזבו את בתיהם במהלך המלחמה ב 1948 ומעולם לא הורשו לחזור, גם תושבי ליפתא מעולם לא הורשו לחזור לכפרם - ורבים מהם חיים היום בירושלים המזרחית אך לא שותפים כמו רובנו תושבי ירושלים, מומחי שימור ואחרים בתהליך התכנון המחודש של הכפר.
עצרו את הבנייה -ליפתא לא תהייה הולילנד שנייה.
בואו עם מטאטא ועם שקית לאשפה והצטרפו לפעילות לניקיון ושימור הכפר ליפתא יחד עם ילידי ופליטי ליפתא
לתמיכה, לפעולה ולתרומות – אילן שטייר, 0545-69-20-89, ilan@makinghistory.co.il
למידע נוסף:
מכרז מינהל מקרקעי ישראל ים/405/2010 על פי תב"ע 6036 לליפתא.
דוחות מקצועיים עיינו: נספח ארכיאולוגי - רשות העתיקות -סקר אורבאני ראשוני של מינהל השימור ברשות.
מן העיתונות: רגע לפני שהשקדיות ייעלמו (דפנה גולן, הארץ)
לפרטים והרשמה
דפנה 0548820698
רימון לביא 0548020576
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
7 March 2011
Press Release
Temporary Injunction Issued against Tender for Building Plots in Lifta Village Coalition to Save Lifta
Administrative Petition: 8661-03-11
Following a petition submitted yesterday (6 March), Judge Yigal Marzel issued a temporary injunction today ordering the Israel Land Administration to freeze publication of the results of a tender to lease plots for building in the village of Lifta. The petition was submitted by Attorney Sami Arshid on behalf of Jerusalem activists, including descendents of Lifta, the Bnei Lifta Association, Rabbis for Human Rights and the Jafra Association.
In their petition against the Israel Land Administration, the petitioners requested court intervention to prevent the transfer of assets and property in Lifta to private hands for the establishment of an exclusive real estate project and to halt destruction of the village, which represents a final testimony to the Arab villages and culture of scenery that were widespread in Israel throughout history until the early 20th century.
According to the petitioners, “in the given situation and according to which the village of Lifta is an abandoned village and its original inhabitants live as refugees at a distance of only a few hundred metres from their village, it would have been befitting to abstain from all construction in the area and certainly to prevent building that would result in destruction of the village and the complete dispossession of the rights of the original inhabitants of the place”. The petitioners further write that the “marketing of plots for building in the village of Lifta and furthermore the construction of new buildings on the village lands and in place of the existing village could thwart the ability to preserve the existing village and foil any possibility of reconstructing the historic structure of the village, and everything that is derived from this.”
The petitioners requested that the court order an annulment of the tender to sell plots in Lifta and order the Israel Land Administration to desist from any action that would damage the physical and cultural heritage of the place, until an inclusive planning process is completed that includes the area of Lifta, and which will include planning for preservation of the site in accordance with professional standards and with public participation.
A professional opinion of five senior architects and preservation and planning professionals in Israel was attached to the petition, concerning serious preservation defects in the tender. In the opinion it was determined that the ILA tender does not meet the preservation criteria accepted in Israel and throughout the world, and that full data does not exist that would permit the marketing of the plots and issuance of building permits. Authors of the opinion determine that the tender process must be frozen until completion of the detailed documentation of Lifta, preparation of a building and development plan and conclusion of a development agreement between the ILA and the Jerusalem Municipality.
For additional details:
Petitioners:
Dapha Golan: 054 8820698;
Yaacoub Odeh (from Lifta): 052 287 2840
Attorney Sami Arshid: 02 6231244
Professional opinion: Architect Shmuel Groag: 050 5922428
Press Release
Temporary Injunction Issued against Tender for Building Plots in Lifta Village Coalition to Save Lifta
Administrative Petition: 8661-03-11
Following a petition submitted yesterday (6 March), Judge Yigal Marzel issued a temporary injunction today ordering the Israel Land Administration to freeze publication of the results of a tender to lease plots for building in the village of Lifta. The petition was submitted by Attorney Sami Arshid on behalf of Jerusalem activists, including descendents of Lifta, the Bnei Lifta Association, Rabbis for Human Rights and the Jafra Association.
In their petition against the Israel Land Administration, the petitioners requested court intervention to prevent the transfer of assets and property in Lifta to private hands for the establishment of an exclusive real estate project and to halt destruction of the village, which represents a final testimony to the Arab villages and culture of scenery that were widespread in Israel throughout history until the early 20th century.
According to the petitioners, “in the given situation and according to which the village of Lifta is an abandoned village and its original inhabitants live as refugees at a distance of only a few hundred metres from their village, it would have been befitting to abstain from all construction in the area and certainly to prevent building that would result in destruction of the village and the complete dispossession of the rights of the original inhabitants of the place”. The petitioners further write that the “marketing of plots for building in the village of Lifta and furthermore the construction of new buildings on the village lands and in place of the existing village could thwart the ability to preserve the existing village and foil any possibility of reconstructing the historic structure of the village, and everything that is derived from this.”
The petitioners requested that the court order an annulment of the tender to sell plots in Lifta and order the Israel Land Administration to desist from any action that would damage the physical and cultural heritage of the place, until an inclusive planning process is completed that includes the area of Lifta, and which will include planning for preservation of the site in accordance with professional standards and with public participation.
A professional opinion of five senior architects and preservation and planning professionals in Israel was attached to the petition, concerning serious preservation defects in the tender. In the opinion it was determined that the ILA tender does not meet the preservation criteria accepted in Israel and throughout the world, and that full data does not exist that would permit the marketing of the plots and issuance of building permits. Authors of the opinion determine that the tender process must be frozen until completion of the detailed documentation of Lifta, preparation of a building and development plan and conclusion of a development agreement between the ILA and the Jerusalem Municipality.
For additional details:
Petitioners:
Dapha Golan: 054 8820698;
Yaacoub Odeh (from Lifta): 052 287 2840
Attorney Sami Arshid: 02 6231244
Professional opinion: Architect Shmuel Groag: 050 5922428
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