Changing directions – expanding activity in Sheikh Jarrah

For nearly two years, we have demonstrated each Friday in Sheikh Jarrah.

We demonstrated because we saw yet another Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem being turned into a den of extreme right-wing fanatics.

We demonstrated because the police did whatever it deemed necessary to turn Sheikh Jarrah into “Shimon Ha-Tsadik.”

We demonstrated because joint Israeli-Palestinian demonstrations were a rarity in East Jerusalem.

Today, thanks to you, the situation has changed.

The settler takeover of properties in Sheikh Jarrah has been hindered in parts of the neighborhood, and halted in other parts. The courts have begun, for the first time in years, to rule against the settler organizations in hearings about the future of the neighborhood.

The police, the executive arm of the settlement, has retreated from the neighborhood. Arrests of neighborhood residents have dwindled to next to nothing, and as a result, our freedom of action and that of the neighborhood popular committee have increased. Most importantly, the political reality in East Jerusalem has begun to change. The joint Palestinian-Israeli political struggle has become a byword in East and West Jerusalem.

Nonetheless, the goals of our struggle — the removal of the settlers from Sheikh Jarrah, the return of the families to their homes, and above all, the liberation of the residents of East Jerusalem from repression – are still far from being realized.

Therefore we, the activists of Solidarity and the residents of Sheikh Jarrah

have decided to move on to the next phase of the struggle

In the coming months, a series of activities in Sheikh Jarrah will replace the weekly demonstrations. We will conduct to tours of the neighborhood for the Israeli public, hold large-scale political and cultural events, and begin the construction of a permanent information center run by the neighborhood’s residents. We call on you all to take part in the next stage of the struggle in Sheikh Jarrah.

Want to help? Contact us at SJnextphase@gmail.com, or at 0525357456.

Join us this Friday for a demonstration

to mark the transition to a new stage in the struggle

As usual, we will meet in the park in Sheikh Jarrah

This Friday, Sept 2, at 4:00 PM

Transportation from Tel-Aviv:

2:30 PM Arlozeruv (near the exit to South Ayalon)

Changing directions – expanding activity in Sheikh Jarrah