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12
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1991
State
Zip
the property of the Jewish
Colonization Association
(which rented it to the famed
archaeologist Kathleen Ke-
nyon when she was ex-
cavating nearby) and since
the Six-Day War has belong-
ed to the Israel Lands Ad-
ministration. It is evidently
this pedigree that made the
ruin, which has been stan-
ding empty for a number of
years, irresistible to the set-
tlers of El Ad.
But it is not only houses
with a Jewish connection, or
uninhabited ones for that
matter, that are being
"redeemed" by the settlers'
society.
The nearby Abassi house
is a case in point. Long after
the media extravaganza had
ended, Jamal Ahm.ad Abassi
continued to sit outside his
locked house, cradling in his
arms a week-old infant, the
youngest of his five children,
and waiting for the au-
thorities to let his family
back in. On the night of the
settler's operation to seize
five compounds in Silwan,
the Abassis happened to be
away. They returned the
next morning to find that
their home had been invaded
by Israelis. - Now the settlers
are out of the building, as
part of a deal cut with the
police, but so are the
Abassis.
According to Jamal, the
three-room house belongs to
his uncle, who has been
_residing in Amman since
1967, and he himself has
been living in the building
for the past 25 years. "Now,"
he explains in a tone that
bespeaks exhaustion above
all else, "we reside in the
street."
The settlers of El Ad are
insisting that their claim to
the 30 buildings in Silwan
be judged on its legal merits
alone — with no thought for
security considerations (how
many policemen will be re-
quired to protect them), not
to mention humanitarian
ones.
Ironically, perhaps, that
demand has focused atten-
tion on one of the more
ticklish property laws on the
Israeli 'books. Promulgated
in 1950, it defines anyone
who was a citizen of an
enemy state or moved to an
enemy state after November
1947 as an "absentee" and
places his assets under the
jurisdiction of the Custodian
of Absentee Property, mean-
ing the state. This is the law
that enabled the govern-
ment to dispose of the prop-
erty of the 700,000 Arabs
who fled the country during
the fighting in 1947-48,
much of it given over to the
destitute Jewish immigrants
who arrived in Israel during
the state's first decade.
After the Six-Day War, the
annexation of east
Jerusalem created some-
thing of a legal nightmare
since all the inhabitants of
the annexed area were
"absentees," which
automatically stripped them
of their property. The law
was amended at that time,
but only to accommodate the
residents of east Jerusalem.
Its original terms still apply
to West Bank Palestinians
who own property in
Jerusalem, to say nothing of
Palestinians living across
the Jordan.
And that is how the circle
closes on the Abassi house.
As a resident of Amman, its
owner is an "absentee," and
his house automatically
comes under the jurisdiction
of the Custodian of Absentee
Property, who can dispose of
it at his discretion.
Of course, there is nothing
to prevent him from permit-
ting the Abassi family to
continue living there. But
since the custodian happens
to be an official in Israel's
Housing Ministry, which
has become the chief in-
strument of the Likud policy
to settle Jews throughout
the Greater Land of Israel,
that is an unlikely prospect.
Which brings us back to
the jitters on the right.
Events like the "settlement
operation" in Silwan are
meant to be taken as an • ex-
pression of ideological fervor
and political resolve. But to
the degree that it is meant to
daunt Messrs. Bush and
Baker, it seems to have had
the opposite effect, stiffening
their resolve to bring the
Israelis to the conference
table.
Meanwhile, the headlines
have moved on to other
matters, and a tenuous quiet
has returned to Silwan. The
police are out in numbers,
the TV crews are gone,
winter's first rains have
swept through Jerusalem —
and the Abassi family is still
living in the street. ❑
'111 LOCAL NEWS
Reception Aids
Chernobyl Children
Dr. and Mrs. Harvey Sab-
bota and Dr. and Mrs. Arnold
Zuroff will host a dessert
reception to benefit Chabad's
Children of Chernobyl. The
event will be held at the
Zuroff home; 31455 Franklin
Fairway Drive, Farmington
Hills, at 8 p.m. Oct. 21.
The public is invited. For in-
formation, call Mrs. Zuroff,
626-8957 or 626-1985.