Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children
—Galatians 4:25
On October 15, 2013, Israel's State Comptroller Joseph Shapira published a report on the implementation of the 2008 Government decision known as "Transfer of Government's National Units to Jerusalem," in other words government offices placed in the districts+ but performing national tasks are supposed to move to Jerusalem until 2015.
The report included an astonishing answer by Prime Minister Netanyahu's Bureau.
Is Jerusalem Israel's Capital?
Following the 1967 War, Israel annexed East Jerusalem; this was formalized with the 1980 Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel. The world opposed this law; the UN Security Council Resolution 478, adopted by fourteen votes to none, with the abstention of the United States of America, declared that the law was "null and void" and "must be rescinded."
In 2013, Israel speaks not only of annexing Eastern Jerusalem, but the entire West Bank. In this odd reality, Palestinians living in Eastern Jerusalem are considered residents and live under Israeli law, unlike their neighbors in Bethlehem or Ramallah.++ This has created a fertile ground for the State to take over lands in a variety of illegitimate schemes as described in Land-Robbing Law Expanded by Israel, Robbing East Jerusalem, and Israel's Taboo Reaches Court. Much of this land is later used by the government for its offices.
Yet, significant parts of the Israeli government are still outside Jerusalem. The Marganit Building, which houses the Ministry of Defense, is one of the main landmarks in downtown Tel Aviv. The IDF Headquarters are next to it. The Shin Beth and Mossad Headquarters are in two locations north of the ministry. The main symbols of Israel's security establishment, the heart of the Zionist enterprise, are not in the city designed by it as its capital.
The 2008 government decision was not designed to move the Ministry of Defense. Tel Aviv will remain Israel's defense, financial and cultural capital probably until the state's end.
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Marganit Building, Ministry of Defense, Tel Aviv
Built by the Dutch |
The decision targeted secondary offices scattered all over the country, especially those belonging to the Prime Minister Bureau, the Ministry of Finances, and the Ministry of Interior. The Comptroller checked the Administration of State Housing, the State Human Resources Unit at the PM Bureau, the State Companies Authority, and the Planning Authority of the Interior Ministry. This was complemented with checks of the Jerusalem Municipality and the Jerusalem Development Authority. In other words, all relevant organizations were reviewed.
Incredibly, the Comptroller found that almost nothing had been done. The Israeli government in 2013 is as scattered as it was in 2008, prior to its decision to center in Jerusalem.
The Civil Servants Sandwich
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An obvious reason for that is that most Israeli civil servants are Jewish and secular. Jerusalem is predominantly Palestinian and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish. Thus, civil servants prefer to serve (themselves) everywhere except in Jerusalem. Since 2008, offices planned to be moved are dealing exclusively with the invention of excuses to stay wherever they are.
"Friends friends until the sandwich," a Zionist adage claims. In other words, "This sandwich is mine, don't touch me and my sandwich, or I will be your enemy" civil servants answer Netanyahu's attempt to uproot them from their administrative bastions.
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Don't laugh at their saying. Israeli civil servants have an atrocious record, not only in their ignoring law principles and international law, but even in their violation of Israeli laws. State of Israel Forced the Sterilization of Ethiopian Women provides a good example of that. They know that the State of Israel will ignore the law in order to protect their crimes.
Damascus Gate, Jerusalem
Also known as Nablus Gate, both names relate to its facing north
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What is Jerusalem?
State Comptroller Joseph Shapira
The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-79  |
In his report, the Comptroller wrote "The concentration of the government activity in the capital city is a central tool for strengthening its position, both from the national importance given to it by the presence of the government and due to the positive influence on the city's economy." Yet, he found that despite the decision no government office considers itself responsible of the implementation of the offices' transfer. Moreover, neither the municipality nor the Jerusalem Development Authority have a detailed plan for the event.
While preparing the report, the Comptroller requested answers from the government. An unidentified civil servant in the Prime Minister Bureau wrote "According to my judgment, the government decision was exclusively declarative because it does not provide enforcement tools towards units that decide not to move, and it does not allot a budget."
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The answer was rejected by the Comptroller, who logically claimed that the government is forced to follow its own decisions. From now on, Netanyahu cannot claim ignorance of this basic concept. His government will need now to address the issue before the approaching deadline in 2015.
Amusing as this is the issue is deeper than internal fights among aspiring Genghis Khans.
The Jerusalem Development Authority is a statutory corporation established by law in 1988, and owned by the Israeli Government and the Jerusalem Municipality. Its task is to promote and develop the economy of the city, and thus it is involved in several large projects. Oddly, as with the rest of the involved in this affair, it did nothing to place the Zionist government in its desired capital.
Instead, it used its budget, given by the State, to promote several mega-projects, most notoriously the restoration of the Old City walls. The large image above shows the restored Damascus Gate after the end of the works in 2012.
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Jerusalem Development Authority Headquarters, Safra Square, Jerusalem
Roman Imperial Architecture  |
Two millennia of debris had changed the landscape of Jerusalem. Old City is the name of the area enclosed by an Ottoman Empire Wall, which by local standards cannot be considered truly old; it is not even middle-aged, it was built in 1538 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Biblical Golgotha is within its walls; within them everything is quite flat, to the extent that it is difficult to imagine the Via Dolorosa as the steep way Jesus walked to His crucifixion.
In their violent worldview, ignorant of history, violating denizens and traditions, Zionists made a hilarious error. While claiming to be the legal successors of Biblical Israel, they are restoring their unrecognized capital as the Ottoman city it was. Israel's message is "Jerusalem is Ottoman."
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+ Districts are not like provinces or states in other countries; they lack any autonomic powers. Every government ministry places an office in each district. Each such office answers directly to the central government. There aren't any District Government offices. Most Israelis are not aware of how many districts are or what are the borders among them.
++ The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the transfer of an occupying power's civilian population into occupied territory; thus the Israeli settlements in the West bank clearly violate it. Israel disputes that the Fourth Geneva Convention applies to the Palestinian territories, claiming that they had not been legally held by a sovereign prior to Israel taking control of them. Israel's interpretation has been rejected by the International Court of Justice and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Palestinian properties in East Jerusalem enter this definition.
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