Sunday, September 15, 2013

Ayyads to Keep Cliff Hotel

The Israeli government has withdrawn at least temporarily its attempts to seize the Cliff Hotel on the border of East Jerusalem and Abu Dis under the racist Absentee Property Law. The hotel has belonged to the Ayyad family for generations. The Israeli theft of Palestinian land is a routine measure. But, in this case I happen to be personal friends of some of the Ayyads. In particular I have had the fortune to enjoy the friendship of Abdulhaddi Ayyad, who asked me to go busking with him on the streets of London over a decade ago. The Ayyads had to fight a hard and long legal battle in Israeli courts to keep property that is indisputably theirs. But, sometimes the good guys do win and it looks like the Israelis are abandoning their efforts to seize the Cliff Hotel from the Ayyads. I think the event merits a celebration. Every so often God shows his presence on this planet with miracles just to prove to even the densest of us that he does exist and he does love us.

No comments: