Palestinian activist drops out of Jerusalem mayoral race
Aziz Abu Sarah cites Israeli threat to revoke his residency, opposition from pro-boycott Palestinians in decision to withdraw from October elections
A Palestinian activist and educator from East Jerusalem who was seeking to overturn an Israeli law so he could run in the city’s upcoming mayoral election, announced Tuesday he was withdrawing from the race.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Aziz Abu Sarah said that despite an “outpouring of support” for his mayoral bid, the legal challenges presented by Israel proved insurmountable, as did opposition from fellow Palestinians.
Abu Sarah said Israeli authorities were delaying the renewal of his travel document, making him ineligible to run for mayor or a seat on the city council in October.
He told the Haaretz daily that the Interior Ministry office at Ben Gurion Airport last week refused to extend his laissez passer and told him his residency permit could be revoked altogether over his frequent travel abroad, jeopardizing his right to live in Jerusalem.
“As this new challenge to my residency leaves no legal route open for running for mayor or city council, it would be unconscionable to risk my fellow candidate’s well-being over a case that has been effectively blocked by the Israeli government,” Abu Sarah said in the post.
I am honored by the outpouring of support I've received after announcing my candidacy for mayor of Jerusalem. In the…
Posted by Aziz Abu Sarah on Tuesday, 25 September 2018
Though a recent poll indicated that 60 percent of East Jerusalem residents supported breaking the traditional Palestinian boycott on municipal elections, Abu Sarah said that he and colleagues on his Al-Quds Lana ticket were being threatened by Palestinians who opposed “normalization” with Israel.
“Despite a lot of strong support from Palestinian Jerusalemites, some Palestinian advocates of the elections boycott policy are applying strong pressure on our candidates and their families,” he said.
“No person in a position of responsibility can gamble with people’s lives,” Abu Sarah continued. “Moreover, I have a responsibility to fight to keep my residency in Jerusalem. This is part of the Palestinians’ daily struggle to maintain their ability to live in Jerusalem.”
Like most East Jerusalem residents, Abu Sarah does not hold Israeli citizenship, only a residency permit that must be renewed by the Interior Ministry on a regular basis.
Earlier this month, Abu Sarah announced he was heading a new Arab ticket called Al-Quds Lana (Arabic for “Jerusalem is ours”), and was in the process of petitioning the High Court of Justice to overturn a law stipulating that mayoral candidates hold Israeli citizenship.
Most Palestinians in East Jerusalem have historically boycotted municipal elections because they see voting in them as recognition of Israeli sovereignty. In the last municipal elections in Jerusalem in 2013, fewer than one percent of East Jerusalem Palestinians voted, according to the NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem.
East Jerusalem suffers from extremely high poverty, a shortage of some 2,000 classrooms, a lack of permits to build homes, inadequate sanitation services, and other problems.
According to Terrestrial Jerusalem, even though the Palestinian residents of the eastern half of Jerusalem make up 37%, or some 327,700, of the city’s approximately 882,700-strong population, the municipality only invests approximately 10% to 12% of its budget in it.
Since Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War and subsequently claimed sovereignty there, it has formally offered residents living in that area the option to apply for Israeli citizenship. Very few have historically applied. Recent years have seen a surge in the number of East Jerusalemites seeking Israeli citizenship, but the majority of such applications have yet to be processed.
In his announcement, Abu Sarah said his short campaign had succeeded in challenging both the Palestinian municipal boycott and the Israeli legal system, and encouraged young East Jerusalemites to seek equal representation.
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