In December of 2001, Jerusalem was considered the poorest of all the cities in Israel, and this did not take into account any of the Arab population. Jerusalem has been a point of contention for many years between Christian, Jewish and Muslim religions. The following is a dream I have of a New Jerusalem. This is a dream of peace, prosperity and unity between all people. Jerusalem will be the starting point of true peace to begin in the land and this will be the “Seed of Peace” planted. “True Peace” can never come without a place for each side to be voiced and be heard on an equal platform. For this reason it will be imperative to implement an appropriate Judicial System.
Although America stands firm on democracy, democracy is not always just. We saw this in South Africa with the Apartheid. This was a democratic society that kept the native black population oppressed and kept them in submission. Many parallels can be drawn from this because in Israel there are many people like Ahmad who is governed by Israeli Law, yet they are not allowed the right to vote in the land that they are resident in. This is not a true democracy. What I propose here is to offer Israel to have complete control of her land, laws and voting in the same ways it has been without change maintaining and honoring its “Jewish Nation” status.
America needs to help Israel understand that within its borders there is a need for better understanding of its own diversities of cultures as well as Civil and Equal Rights which will need to be mandated.
The concept of a Jewish Nation has been and continues to be prejudicial towards non-Jewish people, and that a Jewish Nation CAN ONLY be honored and supported by America if it is a non-prejudicial and fully Democratic Jewish Nation where all people are allowed the Democratic right to vote.
I have been very impressed with the rulings of the high court in Israel, yet for the average individual I believe that this court would even agree that there is unfair labor standards and rulings in lower courts which are not fair regarding disputes between Arab and Jew. Most Arabs are not able to financially fight out litigation in a court that they see as bias, and most are not even willing to try.
In America, when we saw what happened with Rodney King, people everywhere stood up for the injustice they observed in California condemning the Court upholding the oppression and abuse inflicted by the Police over Mr. King AND the riots which resulted from it. This action and reaction is much the same as the conflict in Israel which continues to revolve into a circle of violence today. Although Mr. King’s actions may have put the officers into a compromising position, the officers showed a lack of restraint that must be adhered to within America’s borders, and the country became outraged with the California Courts verdict. Israel too, being the one in power must use much greater restraint when reacting to the pockets of of people invoking terror upon their people. They must assure innocent civilians and their property are immune from harm as much as possible. An Arab in Israeli Court today has the same opportunity for Justice as the Black Man would have had in America’s courts in Mississippi in the 1950’s. Although the black man was free, he truly wasn’t until Justice intervened. The results of wrongful justice in America caused groups that would invoke terror on its people, like the Black Panthers and Malcolm X in the 50’s and 60’s. America intervened over ruling the California verdict with Rodney King and ensured proper Justice. In this very same way a court needs to be established to ensure proper justice in Israel and Palestine. In order to resolve this, the following is a proposal that could become prosperous for Jews and Arabs, as well as becoming a "Land of Justice."
There is no Justice that can be brought to the atrocities of the past, and no court can offer either side a just ruling from such injustices propagated from both sides.
TRUE PEACE can ONLY be possible with TRUE JUSTICE
JERUSALEM PROPOSAL
By allowing Jerusalem to be the forum for Justice, Israel will be able to regulate it’s own government as it always has without change and the Palestinian Government will be allowed to grow and prosper separate from Israel.
Jerusalem is the “Child” in this divorce, and all sides love this “Child” so much that they will die for her. Yet this “Child” called Jerusalem is not property of mans, but Gods which man has been entrusted with and we all must respect and care for her.
Jerusalem could be considered and classified as the "City of God" and cannot be owned by any single ruling party. Israel and Palestine will agree to withdrawal all its troops out of Jerusalem by a specified date and NATO and/or UN forces would implement a Peace Keeping Police Force to govern Jerusalem and it’s surrounding areas directly associated with Jerusalem where land disputes are still in question. NATO and the UN can define this area with meetings of both sides. Israel agrees to be on “Stand-by” in order to support this Police Force if requested so by the NATO/United Nations or ranking authority, such as the Mayor of Jerusalem, in order to protect or defend against any remaining pockets where terrorism against innocent people are still occurring.
Because of America and Russian Influence in the land it would be best for these two countries to abstain from involving themselves in any force at this time other than supervisory or training purposes only. It would be best to seek out a neutral force that could implement strict control if necessary which has no ties or involvement with this land. A force such as the South Korean Marines, also known as the ROK Marines, could be used to implement order in the area. Also forces from countries such as Australia, India, Canada and New Zealand, the Nordic Countries, or Native Americans could be considered as well.
A Supreme Court should be established in Jerusalem, which would act as a buffer for Israel and Palestine in the same way a "Provost Martial" acts for the military and civilian populations. These individuals would need to be voted into office by all citizens in Israel according to their religious preference and could be as follows. Four members will be Jewish, four members will be Muslim, and four members will be Christian making up a 12 member Court. Any individual not associated with any of these three beliefs can choose which faith they choose to vote for. Because the four Christians could be Arabs or Hebrew, it will be essential to establish a criteria for this position assuring that neither side controls a majority. That may be having two Hebrew Christians and two Arab Christians on the court or independent Christians siding with neither side in order to prevent a dominance of the court. This Court would then be the final ruling Court on all disputes between Palestine and Israel and assure “Equal Rights” throughout the land and their courts, no matter what their religion or faith may be. This court will be given authority to overrule both Israeli and Palestinian Courts.
A lower court will be developed in Jerusalem. Within the boundaries of Jerusalem any crime committed against another will stand trial in Jerusalem’s developed lower court, which will enforce local law enforcement with the following exception. If an Arab commits a crime against another Arab or a Jew commits a crime against another Jew within Jerusalem, they will be turned over and stand trial according to their own laws and cannot be appealed to the Jerusalem Court. This will help lesson the load of the Courts.
If an Arab stands trial in Israeli Court, or a Jewish man stands trial in Palestinian Court, they will have the right to appeal to the Jerusalem Court.
This Court will make rulings on only those issues, which occur after its conception. There will be no ruling on any issues prior to the conception of this court by either the Jewish or Arab population with the only exception being that which the Peace process is unable to agree upon. After one year of the initial cease fire agreement, any outstanding issues not agreed upon will be brought forward to the Jerusalem Court for final ruling.
Within the lands of Israel and Palestine all people will be subject to the ruling law of the land. Arabs will be subject to the laws of Israel while in Israel, and Jews will be subject to the laws of Palestine while in Palestine.
There will be one ruling Governor of Jerusalem voted in by all the people in Israel and Palestine.
There will be one cabinet ruling Jerusalem with 12 members and will be voted in according to religious preference throughout Israel identical to the process of the Jerusalem Court.
Within 6 months of this agreement Jerusalem will begin to bring about its own Police Force to work in conjunction with the NATO Police. This Police Force will be operated by two men per vehicle, one Jewish and one Arab. Hiring and positions involved within this force will hire equally from both Arab and Jewish communities and both benefits and pay scales will be equal with each other with no discrimination between them.
When this force shows signs of being able to police the area in cooperation with each other, and is acceptable by the United Nations, then the Peace Keeping Police Force will be gradually withdrawn from the area with a contingency force on hand from this day forth assuring equality status between all people.
America will more than likely need to force both sides into making certain concessions, but no concession can be made in regards to JUSTICE.
