There Are No Settlers in Jerusalem

To the Editor:

In “Eviction of Palestinian Family, After a Legal Battle, Underlines Tensions Over Jerusalem” (news article, Nov. 24), you call Israelis who move into homes legally purchased from Palestinians in Jerusalem “settlers.”

Today, hundreds of Palestinians are moving legally into homes owned by Jews in Jerusalem. We, however, do not disparage them as “settlers.” Rather, we call them “residents” and “neighbors.”

The notion that some areas of Jerusalem — the capital of the Jewish people for 3,000 years — should be off-limits to Jews, while the entire city is open to Arabs, is deeply prejudicial. The suggestion that Jews, or any other ethnic group, would be denied residence in an American city would instantly be condemned as racist.

Moreover, there are no settlers in Jerusalem, which is sovereign Israeli territory, just as there are no settlers in Tel Aviv and Haifa.

While The Times often reports on construction in Israel, it reports much less often on the constant incitement against Israel from the Palestinian Authority, including a delegitimization campaign against the State of Israel — the biblical sites, the history and the borders of the country.

Joel Lion
Spokesman and Consul for Media
Consulate General of Israel
New York, Nov. 24, 2010