Brief History and Warning Concerning the Two Open Capitals Vision of
Jerusalem
The vision of Jerusalem becoming two open
capitals with each people policing and governing themselves where they dwell and
without a physical barrier between the two capitals was my idea and I was the
first to publish it in my Letter to Yasser Arafat (Al Bayader Assiyassi,
Jerusalem, 24/3/84), and in my Declaration of Peace (Al-Fajr, Jerusalem,
18/4/84). I was also the first to lobby this vision to the Palestinian Arab
leadership in eastern Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) and in
particular to Faisal Husseini and other Palestinian leaders who I spoke with
several times. This was mostly in 1984 and later on in 1989 and beyond. Prior
to this the Palestinian Arabs did not want eastern Jerusalem to be their
capital, and instead they wanted Jerusalem to be an "international city" as
stipulated in UN General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947.
In both of the publications above a vision of
Jerusalem becoming two open capitals was part of a longer essay on world peace
with a strong emphasis on respect, non-violence, power-sharing, decision making
by a consensus process, an end to the weapons race, global disarmament and
more. Ultimately the PLO took my two open capitals Jerusalem vision, passed it
on to the Left, made no mention of me as its source, and completely separated it
from the peace essays and peace principles it had been a part of.
I am now urgently trying to warn Israel and
the world that this Jerusalem vision of two open capitals would be extremely
dangerous for Israel to try to implement until there's an end to "honor"
killings and an end to jihad killings and an end to incitement against Yehudim
(Jews). Peace begins at home, and our failure to recognize this truth is what
caused Oslo to blow up into the Second Intifada. How can Arab Muslims make
peace with Israelis or anyone as long as they participate in or support "honor"
killings and jihad killings and incitement? Let jihad become the non-violent
work we do on ourselves to become kinder and more generous, and never be about
hurting and killing.
I invite researchers and institutions to
undertake investigative projects to determine the true history of the two open
capitals vision of Jerusalem and to pass along my warning concerning it.
Of course those who love Jerusalem will not
consent to a physical barrier between its western and eastern sections.