Ben-Gurion versus Obama

Op-ed: Our leadership must adopt Ben-Gurion’s attitude to Jerusalem rather than Obama’s


Yoram Ettinger
Israel Opinion/Ynet
11 July '10

The views of David Ben-Gurion – The founding father of the Jewish state – on Jerusalem are particularly pertinent at a time when President Barack Obama entices illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem (by threatening Israel against demolition of illegal Arab homes,) while pressuring Israel to refrain from legal Jewish construction in the capital city of the Jewish people.

About 1,100 illegal Arab homes are built annually in Jerusalem and only 50 are demolished. Ben-Gurion’s position on the unique role of Jerusalem is very relevant at a time when the Oslo Process – and its derivatives until today – have demoted Jerusalem, the heart of the Jewish People and its eternal capital, to a “negotiable Item.” It is doubly relevant against the backdrop of a construction freeze in eastern Jerusalem, which was initiated by President Obama and has been enforced by the Israeli government.

Against awesome odds – including a US military embargo and a UN resolution to internationalize Jerusalem – Ben-Gurion was determined to preserve Jewish sovereignty over Jerusalem. He reacted constructively to US and global pressure: Constructing new Jewish neighborhoods on Jerusalem’s 1949 cease-fire lines, settling tens of thousands of Jewish Olim (immigrants) in Jerusalem, upgrading transportation infrastructure to Jerusalem and relocating government agencies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Currently, the Jewish state is under pressure – by the Obama administration – to repartition Jerusalem, thus rewarding terrorism and fueling further violence.

‘Israel has only one capital’

Back in 1929, Ben-Gurion wrote: “Jerusalem is equal to the whole of the Land of Israel. Jerusalem is not just a central Jewish settlement. Jerusalem is an invaluable global historical symbol. The Jewish People and the entire world shall judge us in accordance with our steadfastness on Jerusalem.”

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