Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08JERUSALEM1850
2008-10-07 14:47:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Jerusalem
Cable title:  

ATERET COHANIM TAKES OVER TWO NEW PROPERTIES IN

Tags:  KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0342
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #1850/01 2811447
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 071447Z OCT 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2962
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001850 

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/PASCUAL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2023
TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS
SUBJECT: ATERET COHANIM TAKES OVER TWO NEW PROPERTIES IN
JERUSALEM'S MUSLIM QUARTER AMIDST PALESTINIAN CRITICISM

REF: 07 JERUSALEM 02067

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 001850

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/PASCUAL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2023
TAGS: KWBG PGOV PREL PTER PHUM KPAL IS
SUBJECT: ATERET COHANIM TAKES OVER TWO NEW PROPERTIES IN
JERUSALEM'S MUSLIM QUARTER AMIDST PALESTINIAN CRITICISM

REF: 07 JERUSALEM 02067

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. Ateret Cohanim (AC) acquired a Palestinian
apartment in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City and
plans to open a synagogue this month near the Haram
al-Sharif/Temple Mount. The PA's Jerusalem Governor said the
PA is looking into the possibility of legal irregularities in
the acquisition of the apartment. He said the GoI previously
rejected a petition from local residents to prevent the
opening of the synagogue. Other Palestinians criticized AC's
activities in the Old City. An AC spokesman told PolOff that
the apartment was acquired legally and is in a building that
is almost entirely owned by Jews today. He said the
synagogue is being restored to its 1940s status. He said
tunnels connecting the synagogue to the Western Wall Tunnel
will open later. End Summary.

ATERET COHANIM ACQUIRES APARTMENT,
OPENS SYNAGOGUE IN MUSLIM QUARTER
--------------


2. (C) Local press reported October 6 that the settler
organization Ateret Cohanim (AC) took over a
Palestinian-owned apartment in the Muslim Quarter of
Jerusalem's Old City. The apartment is located in the
Wittenberg House, a building made famous by Ariel Sharon's
purchase of an apartment there 20 years ago. Seven
apartments in the building were previously acquired by
Israelis, but at least two Palestinian families still live in
the building.


3. (C) Local press announced in late September that AC will
open the recently renovated Ohel Yitzhak synagogue in the
Muslim Quarter, roughly 50 meters from the Western Wall Plaza
and the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. According to AC
spokesman Daniel Luria, the building was purchased by Jews in

1936. AC has spent the last year restoring the synagogue to
its original appearance and will turn it over to the Western
Wall Heritage Foundation after the dedication on October 12.
Director of VIP Relations for the Rabbi of the Western Wall
Miri Ovits told PolOff that tunnels connecting the synagogue
to the Plaza will not open to the public in the near term.

PALESTINIANS CONDEMN ATERET COHANIM
ACTIVITY IN THE MUSLIM QUARTER
--------------


4. (C) PA Jerusalem Governor Adnan Husseini told PolOff
settlers might have pressured the Palestinian owners of the
apartment into selling the property, and said that the PA is
looking into the possibility of legal irregularities in the
transaction. He said the Waqf and local residents appealed
unsuccessfully against the restoration of the synagogue
several years ago, based in part on allegations that
excavations were damaging homes in the Muslim Quarter. Ala
Zubari, whose house is located next to the synagogue,
previously showed PolOff an area where he said excavations
caused the sidewalk to cave in. He said he observed
extensive tunnels leading under his and neighboring homes
before settlers repaired the sidewalk.


5. (C) Jerusalem Grand Mufti Muhammad Hussein publicly
warned Palestinians against selling homes to settlers and
encouraged them to protect Muslim and Arab properties in
Jerusalem. The Israeli Arab Aqsa Foundation publicly
condemned the tunneling as taking place under Waqf land
without appropriate permits or Waqf authorization.

ATERET COHANIM SPOKESMAN DEFENDS NEW PROPERTIES
-------------- --


6. (C) AC Spokesman Luria told PolOff October 6 that AC
purchased the Wittenberg apartment legally over a year ago,
but waited until this month to take possession in order to
protect the previous Palestinian owners from retribution by
other Palestinians -- a standard procedure for AC
acquisitions, he said. Luria said he could not share
information about the previous owners. He said the newly
acquired apartment might house a new family, or provide
additional space for one of the families already living in
the building.


7. (C) Luria confirmed that American millionaire Irving
Moskowitz funded the renovation of the synagogue. Luria said
that the tunnels will open to the public eventually, and he
hopes the opening of these tunnels will be more peaceful than
the 1996 opening of the Western Wall Tunnel into the Muslim

JERUSALEM 00001850 002 OF 002


Quarter, which resulted in the deaths of seventy Palestinians
and 16 IDF soldiers. Luria said the apartment and the
synagogue are part of AC's effort to "bring back Jewish life"
to the Old City.

WALLES