Mistaken identity

By Naguib Mahfouz

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The recent decision by the US Congress to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli state is very upsetting. I recall that Congress passed an earlier resolution calling for the American Embassy to be relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem but the White House, under Bill Clinton, intervened and the resolution was withdrawn.

The EU has refused to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital city on several occasions on the grounds that East Jerusalem is Arab land occupied in 1967. How can unification be used as a pretext for joining it with West Jerusalem? Israel is more familiar than most countries with this phrase -- the Nazis justified their military campaigns in terms of the unification of Europe, though nobody was taken in at the time.

Jerusalem is a special place, unique among the cities of the world. It is sacred to three religions and it is illogical -- not to mention impossible -- to demand that any of these three faiths renounce their claims. Perhaps this is why the UN partition plan of 1948 stated that Jerusalem was to be internationalised.

That Israel should take sole control over the city is unacceptable to Arabs and Europeans alike, and the American Congress has to take a long hard look at its blatant favouritism towards Israel, a stance that flies in the face of public opinion throughout the world.

Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.