The right of residents to protest and to request that wrongdoings or neglect by the establishment be amended is one of the pillars of a strong and healthy society. In most cases, an assertive protest can garner significant results. Whether it is out of cynicism or genuine lack of awareness, the authorities are more apt to consider the needs of the residents if the complaints are presented through a protest. Fair? Not really, but reality. In most cases, with or without a protest, not all the demands will be fulfilled, and both sides (more often the residents) will have to accept compromises. But what happens when a request made by a large group of residents receives the full attention of the establishment? What happens when the request – as that of the Pisgat Ze'ev residents to be disconnected from the city of Jerusalem – is not only taken seriously by the government but is even addressed to officials at the Interior Ministry for further treatment and management? Unbelievable as that may sound, that is precisely what happened recently, and no one at the ministry or the municipality has a clue about the reasons behind this strange reaction. Let's take a look back at what paved the way to the present situation. About eight years ago, some of the problems inherent in this large neighborhood had become so severe that it led a group of activists to decide that politics would be the only answer to their grievances. The result was the candidacy of Yael Antebi, a resident of Pisgat Ze'ev, who ran for the city council in 2008 to fight for the neighborhood's urgent needs – better traffic solutions, more kindergartens and more community center services. Antebi obtained one seat on the council, did what she could (not very much) but acted with some political insight, as five years later she joined Mayor Nir Barkat's list and ensured her seat at Safra Square for another five years. Whether Antebi failed in her mission or did obtain some significant improvements for her neighborhood, she did her best to represent the residents' interests. But for a larger, different group of residents, that was not enough. This new, rather well-organized group of residents, founded by veteran activist Alex Tenzer, adopted a totally different approach. They didn't want to hear any more about plans for a better future – they requested a very radical step. They simply didn't want to have anything to do with Jerusalem anymore. In other words, Tenzer and his colleagues requested that the Interior Ministry officially separate Pisgat Ze'ev from Jerusalem and declare the northern neighborhood a mid-sized town. (According to the law, a town is declared as such if it has 20,000 residents; Pisgat Ze'ev has more than 45,000.) The move was radical and bold, and was not expected to receive a positive response, but it seemed like a perfect move to finally have the Jerusalem Municipality take the Pisgat Ze'ev residents more seriously. But the answer was quite astonishing. First of all, the grievances were taken very seriously and gained consideration. Not enough municipal services is a serious matter that moves the traditional apathy of the bureaucracy. But the next step was even more surprising. The separatists' demands were answered as follows: Firstly, there are enough residents to justify the separation, but Pisgat Ze'ev doesn't have sufficient economic and independent resources (no industrial area). Secondly, the separatists were told to go to the director of the Jerusalem district at the Interior Ministry to work together on eventual solutions to the economic problem. In other words, a solution might be found so that the project could finally happen. In a last-minute decision, the ministry added that since the policy these days is to reduce the number of municipalities rather than add new ones, perhaps the best thing would be to wait until the ministry's plan to enlarge the city's area of jurisdiction was accomplished, and then find solutions to the problem from within. The end of the story is that Pisgat Ze'ev is not separating from Jerusalem (for now), but we must agree that for a few days at least, the option was given serious consideration by the authorities. Needless to say, at Safra Square the whole issue was not taken too seriously, but in a strong and healthy civil society, this case could be a model for how to make the establishment sit up and listen to residents' requests.
The light rail running through Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)