Sami Abu Shehadeh at 'Jerusalem: Legalising the Occupation' conference

Address by Sami Abu Shehadeh at MEMO’s ‘Jerusalem: Legalising the Occupation‘ conference held in London on March 3, 2018.

Historian and political activist Sami Abu Shehadeh is a former member of the TelAviv-Jaffa City Council. He is currently the CEO of the Yaffa Youth Movement which is working to empower a new generation of leaders of Arab Palestinian minority in an effort to create a democratic and equal society.

Panel: Exploring the Historical Context

Throughout history, Jerusalem has always been the cultural, administrative and commercial centre of Palestine. Palestinians regard it as their capital city. Yet from the onset of their movement Zionist leaders set their eyes on the city.

In a letter to Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour dated 30 May 1918 Chaim Weizmann wrote: “Only one [holy place] which is…left to us…our most sacred monument, in our most sacred city, is in the hands of some Maghreb religious community… ”