Livni defends Jews’ rights in Silwan, but urges caution

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said Monday that while Jewish residents have the right to live anywhere in Jerusalem, including the predominantly Arab neighborhood of Silwan, the delicate situation calls for particular caution and restraint.

Speaking to Channel 2, Livni also said she will see to it personally that the bill to bypass the High Court will be shot down, and hailed the approval of the Conversion Bill on Monday.

Regarding Jews moving into Silwan, which has been condemned by local Arab residents, Livni said: “I will defend the right” of Israelis and Jews to live anywhere in Jerusalem, but added Knesset members have the responsibility not to fan the flames in the “explosive” area. Livni’s comments came in response to Housing Minister Uri Ariel’s announcement that he may take up residence in Silwan, in solidarity with the Jewish residents.

Livni told Channel 2 that Ariel’s decision “adds nothing to the right [of Jews] to live in Jerusalem,” and said the response from right-wing MKs, including urging a change to the status quo on the Temple Mount, was “unnecessary.” With that, the justice minister also criticized the Tel Aviv municipality for canceling trips to the capital over the weekend due to security fears.

Silwan, a neighborhood just outside the Old City walls, has been the site of rising tensions recently, as dozens of Jews have moved into homes in the mostly Arab neighborhood on two occasions in the last month, most recently on Sunday. One day later, Palestinians hurled Molotov cocktails at the apartment building.

In a similar incident on September 30, a group of Jews moved into several buildings in the same neighborhood. The buildings were purchased by an American-based company, Kendall Finances, one of several groups seeking to expand the Jewish presence in Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem.

Livni also addressed a bill sponsored by Jewish Home MK Ayelet Shaked, which would allow the Knesset to reintroduce legislation knocked down by the High Court, and would allow the government to reinstate its “infiltrator law.”

The bill passed its first hurdle on Sunday, but the justice minister insisted the proposed law “won’t pass and won’t go anywhere.” Livni termed the bill “anti-democratic,” and said curtly: “This subject won’t be discussed anymore.”

Livni also welcomed the Conversion Bill, sponsored by fellow Hatnua party MK Elazar Stern, which would allow some local rabbis to oversee conversions. The approved bill is “a great accomplishment for the Jewish people,” Livni said, particularly for those moving to Israel, “and the state meets them in the airport and says ‘You’ll be second-class citizens,'” because the Haredim won’t recognize their conversions to Judaism, she added.