Maale Adumim: Jerusalem's Eastern Guard

Maaleh Adumim...as the Guardian of Jerusalem

By: Paula R. Stern
Proud resident since 2001

At a time when Maaleh Adumim is getting headlines and the west is once again wondering how it can enforce a permanent solution on Israel (not that they believe peace is possible, but they are desperate to try anything...no matter how dangerous it might be for Israel), it is worth taking a look at Maaleh Adumim, where it sits, its history, and what Israel's leaders have been saying about it for decades.

Strategically located just to the east of Jerusalem, Maaleh Adumim is viewed by many as the eastern guard protecting Jerusalem's eastern neighborhoods. It sits on government owned land...that was captured when Jordan attacked Israel in 1967. The land was barren. There were no Arab homes, no Arab villages, not even Bedouins perched on the mountain tops where the city now rests.

As the British withdrew, Jordan captured the land during the 1948 War of Independence. Prior to Jordan, the land was considered part of the British Mandate and before that, it was part of the Ottoman Empire. In all that time, it lay barren and unused. There are no ruins under the beautiful homes of Maaleh Adumim, no destroyed Arab village, no graves, no roads. Maaleh Adumim, like the hills that surround it, was empty (some think perhaps even waiting), but for the occasional Bedouin and his flock of sheep or goats that may have wandered over the mountains. It was only Israel that came and built the homes, the medical clinics, the schools and the playgrounds that today is recognized as one of the cleanest, safest cities in Israel. 

For many, the success of Maaleh Adumim and surrounding areas is not a political or security issue, but a representation of something far deeper:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert

• "Israel will never withdraw to '67 borders, because those borders are not defensible". (June, 2006)

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert

• "The Gush Etzion and Ma'aleh Adumim settlement blocs will remain within the security fence and are an inseparable part of Israel." (February, 2006)
  
• "My instructions are that Gush Etzion and Maale Adumim remain an inseparable part of
  
  
  the State of Israel." (February, 2006)

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon:

• "Maale Adumim is one of the blocs of Jewish population, and our position is that this would be part of Israel. And of course we are very much interested that it will be a contiguity between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem." (April, 2005)
• “Maale Adumim, the most beautiful town in the most beautiful area there - it's really unbelievable - will be connected to Jerusalem.” (April, 2005)
• "The E-1 building plan is an old plan, close to 10 years old. As I recall, it was begun when Labor was heading the government." (April, 2005)
• "Places like a strong Maale Adumim, a strong Ariel, a strong Givat Ze'ev, a strong Gush Etzion. I would add a strong Jewish community of Hebron and a strong Kiryat Arba. These places will remain in Israeli control and will continue to be strengthened and developed."  (April, 2004)

Former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin:

• "Jerusalem and outlying areas cannot be defined by us as a political issue or as a security issue," Rabin declared soon after taking office in 1992. "United Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty will remain our capital forever. For us it is the heart and the soul of the Jewish people." (1992)

Former Deputy Defense Minister Mordechai Gur

• "Ma'ale Adumim is part of Jerusalem." (October, 1992): 

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak

• "We will continue to strengthen Ma'ale Adumim.  Every house that is being built [in
  Ma'ale Adumim] is part of the State of Israel forever, period.  In any
  permanent agreement, you will continue to be part of Israel.  I say you are
  part of Jerusalem." (Jerusalem Post, Sept.15, 1999)

President George Bush

• “In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.” George Bush's letter to Ariel Sharon (April 14, 2004)