By Nir Hasson, Haaretz – 7 Oct 2009
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1119461.html
Security was tight on Wednesday as a cornerstone was laid for the expansion of a Jewish quarter in East Jerusalem, not far from the Arab neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber.
Organizers of the ceremony in Nof Zion feared it would spark an outbreak of further violence, in light of the recent tensions at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
“We weren’t going to cancel a serious ceremony regarding the construction of another Jewish residency in East Jerusalem just because a few Hooligans make some noise,” organizer Avichai Buaran told Army Radio.
“Nof Zion is in the Arab town of Jabel Mukaber, but it remains a Jewish neighborhood of Jerusalem,” he added.
Despite previous media publications, no ministers or Knesset members – on either the right or the left – were present at the ceremony.
Palestinian Authority officials criticized the construction, as did officials from the European Union and the United States.
The residency compound is expected to include 104 private apartments for Jewish residents.
Future home owners who attended the ceremony brought a Torah to the local synagogue to mark the beginning of construction.
