Prominent

  Jewish   intellectuals,   including   two   Nobel   Prize   winners   and   a   Field  

Medal   recipient,   condemn   the   ongoing   dispossession   of   Palestinian   families   in  
East   Jerusalem,   and   express   solidarity   with   the   joint   Arab-­‐Jewish   struggle   in  
Sheikh-­‐Jarrah.    
Ed  Witten  (Fields  Medal  recipient  in  Mathematics,  1990;  Institute  for  Advanced  
Study):   “The   demonstrations   in   Sheikh-­‐Jarrah   are   a   rare   ray  
of  light  in  the  bleak  picture  coming  from  Israel  these  days.  All  those  who  seek  co-­‐
existence  and  peace  in  the  Middle-­‐East  should  support  this  struggle”  
Eric  Maskin  (Nobel  Prize  in  Economic,  2007;  Institute  for  Advanced  Study):  “I  am  
dismayed  by  the  eviction  of  Palestinian  families  from  Sheikh  Jarrah.  Not  only  is  it  
terribly  unfair  to  them,  but  it  works  against  the  cause  of  peace”  
Daniel   Kahneman   (Nobel   Prize   in   Economic,   2002):   “The   Jews   have   had   a   long  
history   of   injustice,   discrimination   and   oppression.     It   is   difficult   to   accept   the  
thought  of  Jews  discriminating  against  others.  “  
The  declaration  

August   6th   marked   a   year   since   the   discriminatory   eviction   of   four   Palestinian  
families  from  their  homes  in  the  East  Jerusalem  neighborhood  of  Sheikh  Jarrah,  
and   the   occupation   of   their   homes   by   Jewish   settlers.   In   September,   the   Israeli  
Supreme   Court   rejected   a   Palestinian   appeal,   opening   the   way   for   the   eviction   of  
20   more   families.   We,   the   undersigned,   express   our   concern   over   these   evictions  
and   our   support   for   the   grassroots,   non-­‐violent,   joint   Arab-­‐Jewish   movement  
that  has  grown  in  response  to  the  ongoing  dispossession  in  East  Jerusalem.  We  
view   with   deep   concern   the   continued   creation   of   Jewish   enclaves   within  
Palestinian  neighborhoods  in  East  Jerusalem;  and  the  legal  and  daily  inequity;  all  
of  which  undermine  the  viability  of  a  future  agreement  between  Palestinians  and  
Israelis  and  the  possibility  of  a  peaceful  coexistence  among  equal  communities  in  
the   historic   city   of   Jerusalem.   We   express   our   solidarity   with   the   struggle   in  
Sheikh  Jarrah  and  urge  the  Israeli  authorities  to  remedy  this  injustice.  
•  Michael  Fishbane    
• Daniel  Kahneman  (Nobel  Prize  winner,  2002)    
• Tony  Kushner  
• Eric  Maskin  (Nobel  Prize  winner,  2007)    
• David  Nirenberg    
• Martha  Nussbaum    
• Thomas  Scanlon    
• Lynne  Segal      
• Howard  Stein    
• Josef  Stern  
• Judith  B.  Walzer  
• Michael  Walzer    
• Edward  Witten  (Fields  Medal  recipient,  1990)  

For  more  details:  inbal.arnon@gmail.com,  0545-­‐720452  

For  further  comments  from  the  signers:  Michael  Walzer,  walzer@ias.edu