JERUSALEM: 'Umm Kulthum' street inaugurated in Beit Hanina; Palestinians sceptical.

Record ID: 373839

  • Title: JERUSALEM: 'Umm Kulthum' street inaugurated in Beit Hanina; Palestinians sceptical.
  • Date: 18th October 2012
  • Summary: CHILDREN ON BALCONY WATCHING CEREMONY
  • Embargoed: 2nd November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Jerusalem
  • City:
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Arts,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA8CKUVDA8J1E4ZHSVXWYIDGPUE
  • Story Text: Jerusalem's mayor inaugurates a new street in Beit Hanina, an Arab neighbourhood in Jerusalem, bearing the name of the late iconic Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum. But, the Palestinian residents say the naming of the street is to deflect attention from Israeli policies in Arab East Jerusalem.


    Palestinian residents expressed little enthusiasm as the Israeli mayor of Jerusalem inaugurated a street in the Arab neighbourhood of Beit Hanina on Wednesday (October 17,) naming it after the iconic Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.
    Mayor Nir Barkat said the naming of the street was part of an ongoing campaign to improve the life of Palestinian residents of the city who complain about paying taxes to the Israeli municipality and say they receive little services in return.
    "This is one of 145 street names proposed by the residents, accepted by the municipality of Jerusalem, unanimously. And, what we're doing now is giving street codes, street names and street numbers, to all the homes and houses in East Jerusalem, and completing a strategic step to improve the quality of life of all the residents," said Barkat.
    Barkat unveiled a plaque - a copy of the street sign - standing alongside Mohamad Masri, head of the Beit Hanina local council. Singer Nisreen Qadri - winner of an Israeli singing competition 'Eyal Golan Calls You' - performed an Umm Kulthum song.
    Barkat also delivered a speech in Hebrew where he spoke about his drive to close the gap between East and West Jerusalem.
    The event was meant to bring out the residents of Beit Hanina. However, turn-out was low and people complained the event was a public relations exercise aimed at boosting the Israeli-run Jerusalem municipality.
    Following the 1967 war, Israel swept away the armistice boundary, or Green Line, and more than doubled the city limits. In 1980, parliament passed a law declaring united Jerusalem as the national capital, a move never recognized internationally.
    Palestinians say Israelis have striven to alter the demographics, limiting land available to develop in Arab neighbourhoods, imposing residency rules that push Arabs out and demolishing more than 2,000 of their homes in East Jerusalem.
    "Naming this street comes at the expense of Palestinian residents, at the expense of demolishing their houses and confiscating their land," said Ishaq Qawasmi, who lives in Beit Hanina.
    "They tell us they're naming the street 'Umm Kulthum street'. The name of 'Umm Kulthum' is like morphine, they (the Israeli authorities) say: 'Instead of naming the street after Mosheh Dayan or Shlomo or Hayim, we're giving it an Arabic name.' This is all a lie. Before they open streets, they (the Israeli government) should stop demolishing houses in Silwan, and yesterday a house was demolished in Beit Hanina," he said.
    "This is in their (in Israel's) interest, the Umm Kulthum street serves their purposes," said another resident of Beit Hanina.
    "We have people (Palestinians) living in areas of Beit Hanina (which are part of the West Bank) who are not free to enter other parts of Beit Hanina (which are a part of Jerusalem). They've now opened (another) street here that connects Pisgat Zeev and Neve Yakouv (two Israeli settlements) to Tel Aviv," he said.
    For Israelis, all of the city, including East Jerusalem and its West Bank suburbs captured in 1967, is their "eternal and indivisible" capital, the home the Jews dreamed of through 2,000 years of exile, and the site of their revered Western Wall.
    For Palestinians, there can be no peace until Israel cedes them control over East Jerusalem, a symbol of their national struggle and home to Islam's third holiest site, al-Aqsa mosque and the glittering Dome of the Rock.
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