Jerusalem and the Old City

Overview:

 

Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza together have a population of more than 5.7 million, including close to 600,000 Israeli settlers in West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Palestinian Territories consist of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The West Bank is the larger of the two areas and is governed by the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority. The security environment is marked by periodic violence and unrest. In 2007, Hamas, which is designated by the U.S. Government as a terrorist group, took control of the Gaza Strip, which resulted in frequent violent flare-ups with Israel, including a 51-day conflict in summer 2014.  The United States is the leading provider of direct development assistance to Palestinians, having provided more than $5 billion since 1994. The United States is also the largest donor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East. U.S. foreign assistance to the West Bank and Gaza of $416 million in FY 2016 focused on improving the Palestinian Authority’s capacity to provide security and services in the West Bank and thereby build confidence in public administration.

 

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) manages assistance programs aimed at improving the quality of life for Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza through broad-based economic growth; improving water, sanitation, health delivery and road networks; and promoting equitable access to quality education. U.S. security assistance to the Palestinian Authority is led by the U.S. Security Coordinator (USSC), an international military staff located in the consulate general and headed by a U.S. Army Lieutenant General. USSC is funded by the Department’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL).

 

Consulate General Jerusalem is an independent diplomatic mission rather than a constituent post of U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, and its Chief of Mission is the Consul General. It is responsible for U.S. relations with the Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority, and other parties and movements, such as Fatah, that have not been designated by the U.S. Government as terrorist groups. Its area of responsibility includes Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.   Consulate General Jerusalem’s three main goals:   Advancing Middle East peace through a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Providing development and humanitarian assistance in the West Bank and Gaza that meets basic human needs. Having the Palestinian Authority build and sustain institutions and the security capacity of a future Palestinian State.  In contrast, Embassy Tel Aviv has little or no involvement with the Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority, and associated entities particularly since the embassy has moved to Jerusalem.

 

The consulate general’s work is central to the U.S. Government’s Middle East peace process efforts.  At the time of the inspection, Consulate General Jerusalem had 103 U.S. and 450 locally employed (LE) staff members working in 10 locations in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. The total FY 2016 budget was $106 million.   

 

 

Findings:

 

The Management Officer was Andrea Baker.  The FMO was Francisco Lloret who I had inspected when he was in Kabul. Also, a LE Staff that I had worked with in Rabat, Ruth Attias, Budget Analyst was working at the Consulate.  I forgot that Ruth had moved to Israel.       The HRO

 

One of the major findings concerned the military staff of the USSC.  As mentioned above the operation was funded by INL but there was very little coordination and support services provided by CG Jerusalem had not been monitored.  For example in 2010 at the request of the Under Secretary for management the USSC staff moved out of hotels and into government-leased housing.  However, USSC staff were still receiving per diem (M&IE) of $138/day and not using the Lodging Plus method for travel vouchers or being processed by the CGFS Post Support Unit as required.  USSC staff were also leasing vehicle instead of using motor pool vehicles and using them for personal use.  The OIG recommended that the USSC staff comply with Department standards and regulations to achieve a considerable savings to the USG. 

In the area of general services there was no designated purchase card program coordinator and approving officials. OIG found the General Services Office Annex/Warehouse was vulnerable to operational and internal control risks as it did not meet the storage operation standards. There was no documentation that security upgrades were performed on all residences. The CG had not evaluated all of its leased offices and residential properties to determine compliance with Department fire safety standards, document inspections or conduct semi-annual safety, health and environmental management committee meetings.  The motor pool experienced a high level of motor vehicle accidents and drivers were working over 10 hour shifts.

In financial management the Embassy Cashier was responsible for maintaining shuttle bus coupons and gas cards contrary to regulations.  Suspense Deposit Abroad account had a remaining balance of $2,605 from a 2015 deposit by a shipping company that had to be deposited to the U.S. Treasury.  The OIG also found a number of unliquidated obligations that were no longer valid and needed to be de-obligated.  The FMO was not conducting a quarterly review of vouchers certified by the LE Staff Alternate Certifying Officer per regulations.

 

In Human Resources the major finding was that requests for overtime were not being approved in advance.  The HRO was Marie DeVeyra.  It was interesting that the embassy and CG had separate Local Compensation Plans.  That has probably changed now that Tel Aviv is a branch office.

I was the designated Co-CLO for the team and accordingly had to arrange tours every weekend.  Fortunately I had contact with an excellent tour guide, Mike Terknick, from a previous visit to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv 2012.  I set up tours with Mike of the Old Jerusalem, the Holy Land, including Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum,  Caesarea and Akko and Haifa.   From Jerusalem we toured the area of Judah and Samaria, the West Bank town of Herodion, Massada and the Dead Sea and  Ein Gedi Reserve.  (see separate blogs for all tours).  Three of our inspectors spent a long weekend in Petra having arranged for Jordanian visas and flying to Eilat.     

Tanya, Paul, myself, Jill, Michael, Richard and Pat in Rosh Honikra near the border with Lebanon 

Jerusalem skyline looking south from the tower of David.  Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital, as the State of Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there while the State of Palestine ultimately foresees the city as its seat of power; however, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.  Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the core issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the areas captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured and later annexed by Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, together with additional surrounding territory.  Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old City's boundaries.  Jerusalem had a population of 865,721, of which Jews comprised 537,000 (62%), Muslims 300,000 (35%), Christians 17,000 (around 2%) and 9,000 (1%) were not classified by religion.  In Jerusalem we stayed at the David Citadel hotel. 

The Israel Museum is the largest cultural institution in the State of Israel and is ranked among the world’s leading art and archaeology museums. Founded in 1965, the Museum houses encyclopedic collections, including works dating from prehistory to the present day, in its Archaeology.  Among the highlights is the Shrine of the Book, designed by Armand Bartos and Frederick Kiesler, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical manuscripts in the world, as well as rare early medieval biblical manuscripts. 

Adjacent to the Shrine is the Model of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period, which reconstructs the topography and architectural character of the city as it was prior to its destruction by the Romans in 66 CE.

The Holocaust History Museum "Yad Vashem" was established in 1953, is located on the western slope of Mount Herzl on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem, 2,638 feet above sea level and adjacent to the Jerusalem Forest.  Its long linear structure produces a skylight exposing the galleries portraying the tragic events that led to the holocaust.  Unique settings and spaces with varying heights, and different degrees of light accentuate focal points of the exhibits.  

At the end of the Museum’s historical narrative is the Hall of Names — a repository for the Pages of Testimony of millions of Holocaust victims, a memorial to those who perished.

The Friends of Zion (FOZ) Museum was opened in 2015.  It presents a high-tech, interactive experience that tells the story of the dream of restoration of the Jewish people to their historic homeland and the brave non-Jews who assisted them in the realization of that dream.  There are several exhibits including the  “Lights in the Darkness” depicting wartime horror against the Jews and exceptional actions of Oskar Schindler of Germany, who used his influence with the Nazis to save the lives of slave labor Jews working in his factory; Irena Sendler, a Polish nurse who smuggled Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto, Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese consul general in Lithuania, who worked day and night to issue visas to Jews who were  desperate to escape the clutches of the Nazis and their collaborators;  Miep and Jan Gies, who hid and sustained the Frank family in Amsterdam and  rescued the world-famous Diary of Anne Frank; and Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat, who saved tens of thousands of Jewish lives in Hungary. The “Hall of the Brave” shows talking and gesturing images representing  Col John Patterson of the British Army, commander of the Zion Mule Corps in WWI; Gen. Marie- Pierre Koenig of the French Army, a proud commander of French free forces in North Africa, who so highly valued his Jewish troops from the Holy Land; Harry Truman, the plain-spoken and independent-minded president of the US, who immediately recognized the State of Israel when it declared  independence, against the strong advice of his own State Department; and Maj. Orde Wingate of the British Army, who trained Jewish guerrilla fighters in pre-state Israel. Also, one can listen to a recording of the actual vote in the United Nations on Nov. 29, 1947, when the partition plan for Jewish and Arab states in the Land of Israel was approved.  

The King David hotel has played an important role in the Israeli history of Jerusalem, from the struggle for statehood, through Independence War, division of Jerusalem, and the reunification, to this day. Among other things the hotel was known for being the scene of  a bombing in 1946 during a terrorist attack led by the Zionist paramilitary group Irgun, and for its frequent hosting of heads of state and other dignitaries during their visit to Jerusalem. Scenes from the 1960 film "Exodus" were shot at the hotel, in the main lobby and on the terrace. 

The present walls of Jerusalem were built by Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century, when he restored the ancient walls of the city, and have since served as military fortifications.

Michael, Tanya, Martha, me, Jill and Ambassador Brill at Machane Yehuda Market, often referred to as the "Shuk" is  Jerusalem's most famous market outside the old city as it harbors the entire Israel essence which is the lively atmosphere, colorfulness and most importantly, the coexistence of the Jews and Arabs.  The market has more than 250 vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables; baked goods; fish, meat and cheeses; nuts, seeds, and spices; wines and liquors; clothing and shoes; housewares and textiles.  In and around the market are cafes and restaurants serving falafel, shawarma, kibbeh, kebab, shashlik, baklava, halva  and juice bars.

Armenian Quarter in the Old City

Armenian Orthodox priests walking to church in the Old City.   Armenians have lived in Jerusalem since the fourth century, when monks began settling there after Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as a national religion. Thousands more fled to Jerusalem after 1915 to escape the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire.

 Descending from the old city Dung Gate is the City of David the site of King David's ancient capital.  David established his capital city here after succeeding King Saul and ruling from Hebron for 7 years. He reigned in Jerusalem for 33 years and established the Jewish Commonwealth and achieved the necessary political and religious stability to allow his son Solomon to build the Temple. 

The excavations are fascinating and one can get a real sense of the royal city; many of the findings can be linked to passages in the Bible. 

The main attraction in the city of David is Hezekiah's Water Tunnel. When Jerusalem was besieged by the Assyrian army, Hezekiah decided to build the tunnel to bring water into the city to relieve the siege. Two teams worked on the project digging simultaneously from both ends and somehow or other managed to meet in the middle.  The distance is 1,640 feet (1/3 of a mile).

The King David Hotel was the site of a terrorist bombing attack carried out on Monday, July 22, 1946, by the militant right-wing Zionist underground organization, the Irgun, on the British administrative headquarters for Palestine, which was housed in the southern wing of the hotel.   It is famous for housing several heads of state and famous dignitaries.

Michael and I volunteered to pick olives at the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Jerusalem campus of the Augusta Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives.  Nearly 2 tons of olives are picked each year by local staff and volunteers and the fruit is pressed into olive oil at the Latrun Monastery olive press. The money raised from the LWF olive oil goes towards the Augusta Victoria Hospital’s Fund for the Poor to cover the hospital’s operational costs and the healthcare fees of patients unable to pay.

Mamilla Mall is an upscale shopping street lined by 140 stores, restaurants, and cafes and the only open-air mall in Jerusalem.  At the end of the mall is the entrance to the Jaffa Gate and the old city.

The Old City of Jerusalem is divided into four Quarters: Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and Armenian. But while the other quarters draw multitudes of pilgrims to the Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Blue domes in center), respectively, the Armenian Quarter’s most prominent site is St. James Cathedral (on the left).

Jill, Richard and myself on the old city ramparts tour.  This section takes you from Jaffa Gate to Zion Gate and lets you off near Dung Gate, not far from the Western Wall Plaza and the Jewish Quarter. It offers a stunning view of Old City rooftops, Sultan’s Pool, Mt. Zion and the Mt. of Olives. In the background is the Islamic Dome of the Rock on Temple Mount. 

The Western wall was originally erected as part of the expansion of the Second Jewish Temple by Herod the Great.  The Western Wall is considered holy due to its connection to the Temple Mount.  The term Western Wall and its variations are mostly used in a narrow sense for the section traditionally used by Jews for prayer, and it has also been called the "Wailing Wall", referring to the practice of Jews weeping at the site over the destruction of the Temples. During the period of Christian Roman rule over Jerusalem (ca. 324–638), Jews were completely barred from Jerusalem except to attend the national day of mourning for the Temples, and on this day the Jews would weep at their holy places. The term "Wailing Wall" was thus almost exclusively used by Christians, and was revived in the period of non-Jewish control between the establishment of British Rule in 1920 and the Six-Day War in 1967. The term "Wailing Wall" is not used by Jews and increasingly many others who consider it derogatory.