RSS Feeds
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it    
Occupation magazine - Jerusalem

Home page  back Print  Send To friend

A decisive moment in the struggle over the settler-inspired Jeursalem Cable Car Project
From: Emek Shaveh
yonathan@alt-arch.org
 
 
Dear friends,

A few days ago we updated you about the Jerusalem cable car and mentioned
that the judges of the High Court of Justice were not convinced so far that
the process for advancing the project constituted good governance. They
court gave the State until the 6th of this month to submit its response,
but even though the legal process has not yet taken its course the
developers have already issued the tenders.

We`re now in the final phase of the struggle against this destructive
project. The court has given Asaf Zamir, the Minister of Tourism, a chance
to back down from the plans transform Jerusalem`s ancient skyline into a
Disneyland.

Please take a minute to sign this petition (in Hebrew)
https://my.zazim.org.il/petitions/zmyr-l-thrvs-t-yrvshlym-1?
fbclid=IwAR1KWrYM-o369LEUFIARv5t1vgnqg-zRMlv_eazr5D_rwWAQZvZqJ_HWVHg

asking Asaf Zamir to refrain from destroying Jerusalem.  Let him know that
Jerusalem is not for sale.




For additional information:

Yonathan Mizrachi, +972-54-5667299, yonathan@alt-arch.org 


Our mailing address is:

Emek Shaveh, P.O.Box 8580, Jerusalem 9108402


www.alt-arch.org 



+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 


Times of Israel

https://www.timesofisrael.com/jerusalem-cable-car-backers-miss-court-
deadline-to-prove-plan-will-boost-tourism/

Jerusalem cable car backers miss court deadline to prove plan will boost
tourism

Jerusalem cable car backers miss court deadline to prove plan will boost
tourism

High Court extends final date for government, other bodies to provide
‘factual basis’ for their claims, as Jerusalem Development Authority issues
tender for project

By SUE SURKES

7 September 2020, 5:59 pm 0



The court has given them an extension until October 1, which is being
opposed by several organizations opposed to the project.
Learn how IBM’s ladder to AI helps you modernize all your data.
Ad by IBM
See More
In the meantime, and despite the ongoing court case, the Jerusalem
Development Authority, which is planning the cable car, has been issuing
public notices in newspapers over the past ten days, inviting bidders to
take part in the pre-

qualification stage of a tender for the “design, construction, operation,
maintenance and delivery of a cable car to the Old City in Jerusalem.”

Get The Times of Israel`s Daily Edition by email and never miss our top
storiesFREE SIGN UP
Two bidders’ conferences have been set for October. These enable interested
parties to ask questions and obtain information to help them prepare their
bids.

The cable car is planned to stretch from the First Station cultural complex
in the south of the city to the Old City’s Dung Gate, which is the gate
closest to the Western Wall, Judaism’s most venerated prayer site. There
will be one

stop, on Mount Zion, and a maintenance depot for carriages in the
neighborhood of Abu Tor.


A public notice inviting bidders to take part in the first stage of a tender
for a cable car to Jerusalem’s Old City.
In July, in a last-ditch attempt to stop the project, opponents submitted an
appeal to the High Court. Later that month, the court responded by ordering
the government and all the other bodies involved to detail the “factual
basis” on

which the cable car meets the wording of the planning law — whether it
really will “serve as a tourist attraction,” and “make a real contribution
to tourism in the area.”

This touches on what could turn out to be the Achilles heel of the entire
initiative: the government’s decision to have the project dealt with by the
National Infrastructure Committee — a fast-track body within the Finance
Ministry —

rather than the usual planning mechanism, which must allow for public
objections at each stage of consideration. The NIC was set up to handle
major infrastructure projects such as gas and railway lines that cross local
authority

boundaries.

In 2016, the government amended the planning and building law to add
“tourist infrastructure” projects to the definition of “national
infrastructure” projects that can be dealt with by the National
Infrastructure Committee, and

specifically named tourism transportation systems.



This paved the way for the ostensibly local initiative to be whisked off to
the NIC after just one presentation before the Jerusalem planning committee.


An artist’s rendering of a station on the route of the future cable car that
will stretch from Jerusalem’s First Station to the Western Wall in the Old
City. (Courtesy Jerusalem Development Authority)
If the court rejects the factual basis that is submitted by the new date of
October 1, the National Infrastructure Committee will have exceeded its
authority to discuss the project and subsequently to recommend it to the
government. The entire case for the cable car could start to unravel.

The plan’s many critics say that the cable car will turn Jerusalem’s most
precious historic vistas into a theme park. An analysis of traffic data
released in July appears to undermine the other major claim made for the
cable car — that it will relieve traffic congestion along the Old City
walls. The analysis suggests that an increase in shuttles would be a better,
faster, and cheaper way of ferrying tourists from southern Jerusalem to the
Dung Gate.

Links to the latest articles in this section

United Nations Conference: `The impact of Israeli settlement policies on the Palestinian population in Jerusalem
No pasarán! Confront the racist "March of the Flags" in Jerusalem!
Israeli club calls off match with Barcelona over Jerusalem