Jewish Residence in E. Jerusalem Feted by Lawmakers
Israeli lawmakers attended the dedication of a Jewish apartment complex in a Palestinian neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem.
The ceremony Wednesday marked the completion of apartments for 110 religious Jewish families in the Ras al-Amud neighborhood of Jerusalem, located on the Mount of Olives.
Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat attended the dedication. Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan and Education Minister Gideon Saar of the Likud Party also attended.
The recently completed apartments are the second phase of a project that began eight years ago with the dedication of 50 apartments in the Maale Hazeitim enclave.
The project reportedly is funded by American billionaire Irving Moskowitz.
“Israel without Jerusalem or Zionism without Zion are like a body without a soul,” Erdan said in a speech at the dedication. “We, as the government of Israel, are committed to strengthening Jerusalem and keeping it whole and united, and continuing to build in all parts of the city.”
The Palestinians claim eastern Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, which it plans to ask the United Nations General Assembly to declare in September.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
