Even its description downplays Jerusalem's central role in Judaism as it pretends to be "even-handed:"
Jerusalem is the Holy City, sacred to the three monotheistic faiths of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Muslims connect her with the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey on al-Buraq, his celebrated steed, from Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca to Al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem and his ascension to Heaven. For Christians, Jerusalem animates their consciousness as she marks the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Retaining a strong presence and influence there are essential for safeguarding the Christian holy places and interests. For Jews, Jerusalem is tied to their religion and culture, symbolizing both connectedness and independence. Over the years, Jerusalem’s religious and spiritual importance has become enmeshed in national and political concerns as we witness today in Palestinian-Israeli relations.For Muslims and Christians, the description mentions specific myths and events that supposedly happened in Jerusalem. For Jews, it is merely a "symbol" that is somehow "tied" toJudaism - not the location of the Temples, not the central point of holiness for all Jews, not the place rhapsodized about by King David, but merely somehow connected to Judaism.
The goal of the conference was, of course, to wrest control of Jerusalem away from the Jewish state - the only political entity in history that gave equal access to the city for all religions:
This symposium will focus on East Jerusalem and will provide details on the current and evolving conditions in the Holy City. It will explore practical ways by which resilient development could be stimulated via a robust economy, infrastructural projects, and tourism, as well as seek to identify opportunities to intensify local, regional, and international support for East Jerusalem to safeguard its status.And one of their star speakers to help reach that goal was Husam Zomlot, Head of the PLO General Delegation to the US.
Zumlot said that peace is impossible unless east Jerusalem - "ALL of East Jerusalem," he emphasized - is the capital of a Palestinian state.
"I just want to tell you one thing. Those who want to see peace in the Middle East must realize that East Jerusalem would always be the Palestinian capital. There will not be a peace agreement, there will not be a final agreement without east Jerusalem - ALL of east Jerusalem - the capital of the state of Palestine," he asserts.
This means that the Temple Mount would be controlled by the terrorist and terror-cheerleaders in the PLO, of course, But also the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter, all the synagogues and yeshivot, would become subject to the same restrictions that they had under Jordanian rule.
Zumlot claimed:
"Jerusalem, once it is under our sovereignty will be returned to what it used to be. The city of God, the city of peace." @hzomlot at @HCEF— Palestine in the US (@PalestineUSA) October 28, 2017
When, exactly, was that? Zumlot is referring to pre-1967 Jerusalem, when no Jews (not even non-Israeli Jews) were allowed in, when Jordan burned some 50 synagogues and used Jewish tombstones to pave roads and build latrines.
The point that Jerusalem has never been what Zumlot claims was not made once in this day-long symposium. On the contrary, speaker after speaker claimed that Jerusalem was much worse off under Israeli "occupation" than beforehand, when it and all of Judea and Samaria were free of Jews altogether.
Earlier in his speech he said that the demand for Palestinians to have east Jerusalem is not a compromise - it is a concession, because by rights they should have all of Jerusalem, period. (Left unsaid is that they think the same about Netanya and Tel Aviv as well.)
This is the true position of the Palestinian Authority. Jews would enter the city, at best, the way they enter Shechem to visit Joseph's Tomb - in the middle of the night in armored buses to protect the Jews from stone throwers and small arms fire. That is the vision of equality that the PLO can offer the credulous Christians who attend their conferences that are ostensibly about "peace."
The PLO is saying, explicitly, in English, that they will never accept a peace plan without removing all Jewish control over the holy city. Jews will be allowed access. (Jordan signed agreements saying the same thing in 1948.)
Yet if the Palestinians are so oppressed, how can they at the same time make demands on the peace process as if they are in the driver's seat? If Palestinian statehood is the goal, then why is Jerusalem - which was ignored for nearly its entire history under Muslim rule - suddenly more important than statehood itself?
The answer is that they don't really want peace or a state - they just want to ensure that Jews do not have any control in their most important holy sites, including those in Hebron and Bethlehem. Which is a first stage in the PLO's real plan, a plan hatched in 1974 and which has not been modified at all, to use whatever methods they can to destroy Israel, in stages.
The primary goal is to disconnect any important Jewish sites from Israel, to destroy Israel's very soul. And it is a shame that so many Jews are so disconnected from their own roots that they are not sensitive to what is obvious to both the Arabs and to Jews who feel that 3000 year connection to the Holy Land.