Jerusalem mayor talks unity

The mayor of Israel's capital city emphasized the importance of maintaining a united Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty during a speech on campus last night. Ehud Olmert spoke to a capacity crowd of several hundred people about "The Future of Jerusalem" in Meyerson Hall. The mayor was invited to speak by College junior Matan Ben-Aviv, co-president of PennPAC, a political action committee which co-sponsored the event with Penn Hillel. The conservative mayor -- who, like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is a Likud party member -- was elected in 1993 after serving as a member of the Knesset, Israel's unicameral legislative body, for 20 years. During that time he served on numerous committees including Constitution, Law and Justice; Finance; Education and Culture; and Foreign Affairs and Defense. He also served as minister of health and minister of minority affairs for two years each. Olmert, a self-labeled "expert" on the situation in Jerusalem, expressed his belief that a united city under Israeli rule is in the best interest of both Jews and Palestinians. "The Palestinian community does not have one voice or opinion or approach, Olmert said. "They have many. [Palestinian Authority President Yasser] Arafat does not speak for the majority of Palestinians in Jerusalem." He argued that most citizens of both backgrounds prefer a democratic Israeli government over a Palestinian one. Olmert also accused Arafat of encouraging Palestinian terrorists to exert pressure on their fellow citizens of Jerusalem so that they would not vote in the recent election. He explained that "taking part in the political process means an approval of a political status quo that is the opposite of the Palestinian party's agenda." Olmert added that the Palestinian agenda intended not to improve the quality of life in Jerusalem, but to help them gain political power. "Why do we have to take the most important city in the universe and make it the capital of a nation that is not yet fully formed, just because one-third of its population happens to be Palestinian?" Olmert asked in exasperation. He stated that "the peace process is about destroying walls, not building them," adding that there is no precedent for dividing cities along ethnic lines. Unlike those who advocate partitioning the city, Olmert is optimistic about the ability of Palestinians, Arabs and secular and Orthodox Jews to live together in peace. "It just takes a lot of patience," Olmert said, although he added sardonically that "it's true that the Middle East is not characterized by patience." When confronted with audience questions, Olmert was quick to defend his work as mayor and his opinions on everything from housing permits to racist grafitti. Avi Berman, a doctoral candidate in Music Composition at Penn, said that he believes Olmert to be "one of the most open-minded people in his party," even though Berman, an Arab citizen of Israel, does not personally agree with his views. Berman stressed Olmert's duty to "listen to the voice of the Arab people," complaining that he "left most of the big political issues out." Susan Muaddi, a graduate student in literature at Rutgers University, said she thought Olmert "was charismatic and interesting, but very disrespectful of many people who spoke." Olmert denied Muaddi's claims that more Palestinian than Jewish homes were demolished in Jerusalem, at one point stating that he "didn't care" what The Jerusalem Post had written to the contrary. In fact, Olmert said he is so confident that he will donate a million dollars to the University if someone can prove him wrong.