THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
20 Friday, July 11, 1901
Mayor Teddy Kollek's Vision of Jerusalem Remains Intact
By VICTOR BIENSTOCK
Teddy Kollek stands in
relation to Jerusalem as
Fiorello La Guardia, years
ago, stood in relation to New
York and Dick Whittington
of legend to the city of Lon-
don. Kollek lives and
breathes Jerusalem 24
hours in the day and he
knows the stones and
monuments and people of
his city as well as any man
alive.
During his 16 years as
J
mayor — first of the "New
City" beyond the walls, and
then, after 1967, of the re-
TEDDY KOLLEK
united Jerusalem — Kollek
Jerusalem
is concerned, a
has won the respect and
admiration if not the love romantic, a dreamer and a
and trust of most of his fel- hardboiled realist. He has
low Jerusalemites and the visions of what Jerusalem
grudging respect of the Is- will be and a down-to-earth
raeli bureaucracy which, knowledge of the tortuous
like bureaucracies ev- road that must be travelled
erywhere would emesh to reach his goal. He is as
the city in fantastic coils of aware of Arab hostility to
redtape and grandiose de- Israel as anyone in the
velopment plans which Prime Minister's Office but
would deprive it of many of he is determined not to let it
the qualities that make interfere with the peaceful
Jerusalem unique in the progress of his city.
He knows, because of
world.
Teddy Kollek is, as far as his mayoral role, the
problems of getting Mos-
lems, Christians (of 30
different sects) and Jews
to live together in har-
mony within the city
limits. He rejects the idea
that this is an impossible
goal but warns at the
same time that it cannot
be reached in a year or
two.
Kollek's views on the fu-
ture of Jerusalem and his
appraisal of what has been
accomplished there are set
down in an article in the
summer issue of Foreign Af-
fairs, the quarterly journal
of the Council on Foreign
Relations. Fundamentally,
these views do not differ
greatly from those he
enunciated in the same
journal four years ago on
the 10th anniversary of the
reunification of Jerusalem,
nor do they show any lessen-
ing of the passion for the
city he displayed some 40
years ago when he escorted
a brash American reporter
around his Jerusalem to be
sure he saw what he should
see to feel the essence and
spirit of the golden city.
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A realist and practical position that the undivided delegation to them of
respon-
politician, Kollek warns us city of Jerusalem is, and municipal
at the outset that "given the remains, the capital of Is- sibilities in many aspects
realities of the Middle East rael." It was, therefore, of everyday life."
Also, importantly, he
and
today, it will be a very long superfluous
time before any Arab leader Jerusalem's citizens, Arab notes in this arrangement of
or ruler of stature may be and Jew alike, he says, have powers, "legal guarantees
for religious and other civil
willing to negotiate, let largely ignored it.
liberties could be under-
"Israel
is
determined
to
alone sign, a document on a
united Jerusalem with a maintain a united taken by the city in matters
Jewish majority — no mat- Jerusalem as the capital for which the Knesset might
ter what concessions Israel of Israel," Kollek affirms, find it difficult to legislate."
may offer on such issues as "while continuing to give The problem of
independent control of the the Arabs and the var- Jerusalem, Kollek reminds
Muslim holy places or local ious religious com- us in this Foreign Affairs
autonomy for the city's munities the wide free- article, "must also be seen
dom of speech which is in the context of the compli-
Arab residents.
"Therefore," he stresses, reflected in Jerusalem by cations faced by urban cen-
throughout the world.
"what Israel must do in the only free Arab press ters
Problems
of heterogeneous
in
the
Middle
East;
free-
Jerusalem is very clear. We
must recognize that dom of religion; freedom cities can never be solved
Jerusalem will be among of education, and free- easily and quickly whatever
the last items on the agenda dom of access and their character; not in the
great American cities, not
as the Middle East's prob- movement which results in Brussels, not in Belfast,
lems are solved, and we annually in the visits of
must strive in the mean- 150,000-200,000 Arabs not in Beirut." His own
time to make the quality of from countries still at vision of the future
structure of Jerusalem —
life for all people in the city war with Israel."
President Sadat's pro- one which he has advanced
as attractive as we possibly
posals for a "divided sover- on several previous occa-
can."
When he wrote his 1977 eignty" cannot work, Kollek sions — is for a "network of
Foreign Affairs article, warns, and "the barbed wire boroughs modelled after the
Kollek emphasized the and mines would soon re- boroughs of London."
principles that guided his turn." The Vatican's pres- He quotes proudly the
administration of the sure for internationaliza- assessment by Prof. Daniel
city: free access to all tion of the city no longer has J. Elazar, head of the Insti-
holy places and their ad- viability, Kollek asserts, tute of Local Government at
ministration by their reminding us that Roman Bar-Ilan University, that
adherents; measures to Catholics are only one of 30 "Jerusalem has done as well
assure the unhindered to discuss the future with or better than any city in
development of the Arab local Arab leaders, Kollek the modern world in the de-
way of life in the Arab reports, because of their velopment of means to gov-
sections of the city and to fear of Palestine Liberation ern heterogeneous popula-
ensure Moslems and Organization retaliation. tions."
Kollek, ever the op-
Christians alike "a prac- Arabs are afraid, for the
tical religious, cultural same reason, to participate timist and realist, finds
and commercial gover- significantly in the munici- that "people of goodwill
nance over their daily pal administration but, are continually seeking
lives"; equal governmen- nevertheless, about 40 per- to solve Jerusalem's
tal., municipal and social cent of the Arab male elec- problems peacefully and
services for all parts of torate did vote in the last constructively." Until the
day comes, he believes
the city and continuing municipal elections.
"the most positive course
During
the
interim,
until
efforts to increase cul-
tural, social and eco- there is agreement on the we can continue to follow
nomic contacts among status of Jerusalem, Kollek is that of deepening and
the various elements of wants government action to expanding the present
the city while preserving assure the Arab citizens of pattern of practical yet
the cultural and even the the city that they won't be harmonious coexistence
national identity of each forced out and that they that has been established
won't be submerged in a in Jerusalem with so
group.
These princples, he says Jewish majority (although much painstaking care
now, "have proved them- he points out a fact not often and in the face of seem-
selves well and continue as remembered that ingly insurmountable
the basis for our policies, Jerusalem has had a Jewish odds.
"In this way, we can not
thriving independent of the majority for the past 140
only make the long interim
international or the Middle years.)
The government, he says period, be it five or 10 or
East scene." Even the
Jerusalem Law of July 30, should issue a declaration even 15 years, tolerable and
1980 which, he says, was pledging that no more land profitable for Jerusalem's
"unnecessary and need- will be expropriated in Arabs on the human and
lessly provocative" has not Jerusalem for Jewish hous- economic level but also —
affected life in the city de- ing. He says there is enough gently but firmly — point in
spite the hullaballoo its land available for comple- the direction of a broader
passage caused, including tion of the city's expansion resolution of the Middle
the transfer of 13 embassies plans within present munic- East conflict, proving that
ipal limits up to a total Jews and Arabs can live and
to Tel Aviv.
He notes that in all the population of 650,000- work together, preserving
are
criticism of the law abroad, 700,000. values and sites that mat-
Kollek also wants to see sacred to both and that
no recognition is given to
the provision of the law he the old British law on ter so much more than the
succeeded in having in- municipalities, which hatred and strife of political
cluded guaranteeing pro- still prevails in Israel, emotion."
tection of the holy places, removed as far as
freedom of access to them Jerusalem is concerned Aerospace Chair
and respect for their adhe- so that it would be a capi-
tal district or county with at Technion
rents.
Adoption of the law, he authority over functions
HAIFA — The Technion
points out, was a reaction to such as housing, educa- recently established the
two provocative resolutions tion, health and social Max and Lottie Dresher
of the Egyptian Parliathent, services in the hands of Chair in aerospace propul-
one declaring "Arab local agencies, not in sion in the department of
Jerusalem" to be an integ- government ministries. aeronautical engineering,
ral part of the West Bank Once the authority over in honor of the Glencoe, Ill.,
and the second demanding these and other local couple.
that "Jerusalem must be functions is vested loc-
The Dresher Chair will
under Arab sovereignty." ally, he points out, "the
The Jerusalem Law, he re- way will be open for the support teaching and re-
minds us, had no legal effect creation of neighborhood search activities in the field
except to confirm the agencies and other local of aerospace propulsion sys-
"well-publicized Israeli organizations and the tems.
is--