A group of Jewish investors from Israel and abroad is set to
sign a deal to purchase 18 dunam of land near the Sheikh
Jarah neighborhood, close to the Green Line in East Jerusalem
according to a report by Nadav Shragai in Ha'aretz.
The move will ensure Jewish control over the area around the
nearby Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood.
The investors were assembled by the Homot Shalem association,
which is closely aligned with MK Benny Elon (National Union-
Israel Beiteinu), for the purpose of purchasing the land from
the Sephardic Ethnic Council and the General Committee of the
Jewish People -- two religious trusts that currently own the
property, which is inhabited by hundreds of Arabs and a
couple of dozen Jews.
The group's company, Nahalat Shimon Ltd., has prepared a plan
for initial construction in the Shimon Hatzadik neighborhood.
Three buildings housing 40 families each will be constructed
in the first stage of the project; another 40 apartments will
be built in another part of the neighborhood, close to
Ma'aras Shimon HaZadik.
The Jewish neighborhood of Shimon Hatzadik began to develop
at the end of the 19th century, around the grave of Shimon
HaZadik ben Yohannan the Cohen, who lived in the fourth
century C.E.
The area was divided equally between the Sephardic and
Ashkenazi communities, as were the caves. Dozens of Jews
built homes on the land and hundreds occupied the area on the
eve of the 1936 riots. Initially, most fled, but then
returned a few months later.
The land was subsequently released to its owners, the
Sephardic Ethnic Committee and the General Committee of the
Jewish People, in September 1972.
Thirteen years ago, after years of debate, the Supreme Court
awarded the 28 Arab families that were housed there by the
Jordanian government the status of "protected residents," but
their request for ownership of the land was rejected.
