OU delegation petitions Barkat against dividing J'lem

Petition signed by one million American Jews calls to undertake all efforts necessary to secure and maintain status of capital.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
Jerusalem Walls 88 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Jerusalem Walls 88
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
A delegation of American Jews from the New York-based Orthodox Union presented Jerusalem Mayor-elect Nir Barkat Wednesday with a petition against any future division of Jerusalem as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. The petition, which was signed by one million American Jews, calls to "undertake all efforts necessary to secure and maintain the status of Jerusalem," and "to oppose and reject any proposal or plan to relinquish any part of Jerusalem to foreign authority." OU President Stephen Savitsky said that preserving the current status of Jerusalem is among the most pressing issues affecting Diaspora Jewry today. "Wherever a Jew finds himself on the globe, his heart rests firmly in this capital city," Savitsky said. "We therefore have a vital stake in ensuring its future as the undivided capital of Israel and the spiritual center of the Jewish people." The organization's leaders are in Jerusalem for their annual national convention, which opened on Wednesday evening. Over the last two years, Barkat has spearheaded a public campaign against the government's support for a division of Jerusalem as part of a final peace agreement with the Palestinians. Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. One in three of Jerusalem's 750,000 residents is Arab. Founded in 1898, the Orthodox Union, which is most commonly known for its internationally recognized OU kosher trademark, represents a network of Orthodox synagogues across the United States.