Study Highlights Dual Pressures on Palestinian Institutions in Jerusalem
A new study by researcher Mazen Al-Jabari, published by the Institute for Palestine Studies, examines the challenges faced by Palestinian civil society institutions in Jerusalem. These organizations operate under significant external pressure from Israeli occupation policies, including closures, legal restrictions, surveillance, and conditional funding. Simultaneously, they grapple with internal issues such as weak governance, representation problems, lack of oversight, and a declining connection with the local population.
The research also addresses the targeting of cultural institutions and digital surveillance as tactics to reshape the Palestinian civil sphere in the city. Al-Jabari concludes that protecting these institutions requires not only confronting external pressures but also implementing internal reforms to enhance community legitimacy, transparency, independence, and institutional coordination.
The study acknowledges the vital role of these Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, viewing them as integral to the city's social and national fabric. Beyond providing essential services, they are crucial for bolstering resilience, defending public interests, and maintaining a Palestinian presence amidst intensifying Israeli control and annexation policies. Jerusalem, as an occupied city separated from its Palestinian hinterland, is undergoing legal, administrative, and symbolic transformations.
According to a fact sheet from the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC), approximately 170 Palestinian non-governmental organizations were registered and active in East Jerusalem in 2022. These include 42 educational, 33 sports, and 25 cultural institutions, alongside numerous health and women's organizations.
Al-Jabari details Israeli restrictions, from systematic closures and administrative oversight to digital surveillance and the targeting of cultural bodies. He highlights the issue of politically conditional funding, followed by an analysis of internal structural weaknesses, including governance crises and the dominance of family and party-based frameworks, leading to a decline in democratic practices within these organizations.
The study posits that the crisis intensifies when external pressures interact with internal weaknesses. The Israeli occupation, Al-Jabari argues, is more effective when it encounters institutions with poor governance, limited oversight, and a weak connection to their popular base. Institutions dominated by family or factional interests, relying on appointments rather than participation, or lacking accountability, become more susceptible to funder demands and less capable of resisting closures or delegitimization.
Al-Jabari emphasizes that Israeli measures are more successful when institutions are perceived as weak and lacking genuine community support. He notes that the convergence of Israeli actions and international funder requirements threatens the existence or functional capacity of civil society in Jerusalem.
In an interview with Al-A'alam 48, Al-Jabari discussed the significance of these institutions in Jerusalem, especially in the absence of a national state and sovereign bodies, and with restrictions on political party activities. He stressed that these civil institutions are the last bastion of national presence, vital for preserving the city's identity against efforts of Judaization. He explained that Israel views these institutions as obstacles to its Judaization project and actively works to close them, citing the closure of "Beit Al-Sharq" and other national institutions after the Second Intifada and following the Oslo Accords.
Al-Jabari further elaborated on how Israeli control and isolation of Jerusalem intensified after the Oslo Accords, despite the annexation in 1967. He noted that before Oslo, Palestinian national movement activities and institutions in Jerusalem were similar to those in other West Bank cities. However, Israel exploited post-Oslo laws, ostensibly to prevent the Palestinian Authority within Israel's perceived borders (including Jerusalem), to dismantle national institutions and suppress Palestinian political and cultural work.
He also mentioned that many institutions voluntarily relocated their headquarters to Ramallah, the political capital of the Palestinian Authority, seeking greater operational freedom. This exodus included significant organizations. Sharon's actions after 2000, such as closing sovereign institutions like "Beit Al-Sharq" under the pretext of Palestinian Authority funding, further exacerbated the situation.
Al-Jabari highlighted that since 2012-2015, Israel has increased its intervention, demanding licenses for Palestinian institutions that previously operated with Palestinian permits. This has subjected them to Israeli oversight, particularly impacting cultural institutions whose narratives challenge Israeli policies of integration and Israelization. Examples include the prevention of cultural activities by Al-Quds University and the closure of the Al-Buraq Community Association.
He also pointed to internal factors weakening these institutions, such as political and factional divisions, authoritarian tendencies, and a disconnect from the grassroots. Al-Jabari stressed that while the occupation is the primary challenge, internal issues like the erosion of institutional identity, lack of transparency, outdated administrative bodies, and dependence on funding agendas compromise their effectiveness and ability to resist Israeli pressures.
