Wants new candidate. Sarid
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Silwan neighborhood
Photo: Noam Moskowitz
Yossi Sarid: Jerusalem needs mayor who will divide it
Peace Now conference slams plan to demolish Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem, says Barkat 'handing capital to settlers'
"We need a mayor who will be willing to divide Jerusalem. (Nir) Barkat is unfit to be mayor," former minister Yossi Sarid said Thursday at a conference organized by Peace Now against the plan to demolish Palestinian homes in Silwan and build an archeological park in their place.
"We must start looking now for a candidate who will publicly say that Jerusalem must be divided in order to save it," Sarid said during the conference, titled "Barkat is Handing Jerusalem to the Settlers"
Palestinian Protest
Shmulik Grossman
After house demolition in King's Garden project announced, disturbances noted in Silwan streets for days straight. Some 200 people riot, throw stones, Molotov cocktails at police, Jewish house. 'Red line crossed,' says senior Border Guard official
Meretz Chairman Chaim Oron told the conference, "Whoever thwarts a solution in Jerusalem will thwart the entire (peace) agreement. Whoever speaks of a two-state solution but does not speak of two capitals in Jerusalem is deceiving himself and the public."
Itai Mazrev, who runs Peace Now's Jerusalem branch, said, "In the coming weeks Barkat won’t have a moment's peace. We will launch a campaign that no one will be able to ignore.
"Anyone who has supported Barkat in the past has been disappointed to learn that the mayor's primary commitment is to the extreme right and the settlement (movement) leadership," he said.
"Barkat, who tries to paint himself a liberal, modern leader, is brutally endangering Jerusalem and Israel's global status."
