After thirteen years in the Israeli Court system – the district court ruled that the Imperial and Petra Hotels at the Jaffa gate entrance – the “key to the Old City”, are formally and officially in Jewish hands. The Greek Orthodox Church was also told to pay symbolic court costs to the Jewish concerns.
It has yet to be determined what will be the the fate of the current tennants, but not withstanding the slight possibility of an appeal by the Greek Orthodox Church in the Supreme Court, it is still a wonderful and uplifting court ruling.
A spokesman from Ateret Cohanim said the following in relation to the news:
“This was a great day…G-D hasn’t forgotten…turning days of fasting to days of joy. This is a perfect answer to recent harsh days in these three weeks.”
The acquisition of the two hotels will dramatically increase the overt Jewish and Israeli presence at the main gate most tourists take to enter into the Old City. More importantly, it shatters the feeling that the “Arab” Shuk is off limits to Jews, breaking down the forced quarter system the British imposed on the Old City during the years they occupied Jerusalem and the Land of Israel. The quarter system was forced on Jerusalem’s Old City in order to control its population. The result lead to a strengthening of the Arab presence at exense of the Jewish population, which was then the majority of the city.
