Over winter break, many Jewish students — including 40 from the University — will depart on Birthright trips to Israel, celebrating their connection to a land that has been home to both Jews and Palestinians for thousands of years. Many of those involved nationally with J Street U and J Street UMich were introduced to the land and its people through Taglit-Birthright. We are excited that others are traveling to Israel, but we want to ensure that our community engages with the history of the land in a way that is consistent with our values. Unfortunately, an ongoing attempt to evict a Palestinian family from their home in East Jerusalem illustrates the challenge of aligning our experience with those values.

The Sumarins are a Palestinian family living in Silwan, a predominantly Arab neighborhood in the Old City of Jerusalem. The City of David is a tourist site in Jerusalem that is the putative location of the ancient political capital of King David. It is managed by the non-profit organization Ir David Foundation (Amutat El-Ad), which has a rigid political agenda to increase Jewish presence in Arab neighborhoods. The Sumarin home is located within the City of David National Park, and has become a victim of the controversial Absentee Property Law, which states that any property whose owner and/or heirs were not physically present after 1967 would be turned over to the state of Israel.

Musa Sumarin, the home’s original owner, died in 1983 while his three sons were living outside of Israel. However, other members of the Sumarin family have continuously lived on the property for decades, with the permission of the owners. The Israeli government declared the Sumarin home an Absentee Property in 1991 and turned it over to the group Himnuta — a subsidary of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) — slapping the Sumarin family of 12 with an eviction notice and sparking a long legal battle. The most recent date of eviction, Nov. 28, was postponed due to outcry from Israeli and international protesters, including Rabbis for Human Rights — an Israeli organization of Rabbis and Rabbinical students that advocates for human rights. The postponement was announced by the JNF.

Yes, that JNF — the one our Jewish community centers, day schools and synagogues all collected tzedekah, charity, for in blue boxes to help plant trees in Israel. The JNF was integral to the founding of Israel and now maintains Israel’s parks and historic sites. But in addition to these noble tasks, it also owns and operates Himnuta, an organization that does what the JNF officially does not — obtains properties over the Green Line, the demarcation line established in the 1949 Armistice Agreements separating Israel from its neighbors, and turns them over to settler organizations like Elad, as Himnuta has done over and over again in Silwan. Clearly, this is not an isolated incident. These groups are dedicated to de-Arabizing East Jerusalem and preventing it from becoming part of any future Palestinian state.

JNF claims that it is not accountable for the actions of Himnuta, despite all evidence to the contrary. We hope that the JNF will build upon its legacy — of bringing the dream of a Jewish homeland into fruition — by acting to support, rather than oppose, a two-state solution and stopping the Sumarins’ eviction and all further activity over the Green Line.

Birthright participants from the University's campus who are scheduled to take a tour of the City of David should question the implications of the site for displaced Palestinian families. Trips to explore Jewish identity should not usurp the identities and rights of others. Recognizing and respecting Palestinian ties to their land does not threaten or delegitimize Israel; rather, it creates an empathetic dialogue among all those who love the land — Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.

J Street UMich strongly believes that this can only come through a two-state solution. As American, Israeli and Palestinian politics alike become more divided, we must take advantage of the unique opportunities on our campus. While our viewpoints may differ, we should all agree that the events in Silwan are against our values as a Michigan community, and we can no longer allow antagonistic and divisive actions such as these to characterize the Israeli-Palestinian situation. In the new semester and the New Year (with a presidential election, no less), J Street UMich hopes to work with others on our campus to engage in robust dialogue and undergo collective activism that are characterized by civility, empathy and, above all, a commitment to peace.

This viewpoint was written on behalf of J Street UMich by Mandy Kain. She is a Rackham student.