Who:
Lawyers for Defend Jerusalem have demanded that the Registrar of Charitable Trust Unit at the Israel Corporations Authority (a division of the Ministry of Justice) take immediate action to dismantle the Silwan Ha’Hiriya Association, also known as the Silwan Charitable Association. The charity is a front for anti-Israel activities and has used its offices as cover to shield its nefarious operations from the authorities. It is an active player in the organized effort to establish Palestinian sovereignty in all of Jerusalem.
What:
The Silwan Ha’Hiriya Association was created in 1972 and was registered by Israeli authorities as a charitable organization in 2005. On paper at least, the Silwan Ha’Hiriya Association is a benevolent organization that provides social and medical services to the residents of the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem. In reality, however, it serves the interests of hostile terrorist forces operating outside the confines of Israeli law and poses a direct threat to Israeli national security. Over the years it has drawn increasing scrutiny from the Israel National Police and has been shut down on several occasions for being part of the “Dawa,” the Hamas social infrastructure that, among other transgressions, provides material support to terrorism including to the Hamas military wing. One of its main members of the Silwan Ha’Hiriya Association, Khalil Aba’asi, has been arrested on numerous occasions on serious security charges.
Why:
The Silwan Ha’Hiriya Association works alongside the “Waqf al-Quds Foundation,” a group that proactively promotes—and works for—the establishment of Palestinian sovereignty throughout Jerusalem. The Silwan Ha’Hiriya Association is also connected to the work of the “Silwan Club,” a group that works to undermine existing political agreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority defined by the 1993 Oslo Accords. The Silwan Ha’Hiriya Association has been involved in numerous out-of-the-ordinary suspicious incidents involving their activities, but they have gone out of their way to cover these up and hide them from authorities.
How:
There is far more than mere circumstantial evidence connecting the Silwan Ha’Hiriya Association to hostile activities and, as such, it violates Israeli law and the agreement registering its charter inside Israel. As such, Defend Jerusalem is demanding an investigation into this group’s activities and that its license to operate is revoked.
