Photo by: Leslie Bass
About 30 protesters lined each side of Iliff Avenue Tuesday night in response to “Jerusalem in Transition,” a speech given by the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat, at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts.
“I’ve seen the demolitions and evictions in East Jerusalem,” said Christina Harris, a graduate student at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies. She stood on the south side of Iliff Ave. near a man holding a “Zionism is Racism” sign. “I am here to let people know what’s going on because the mayor is not representing that side.”
Senior Joel Portman, who studied abroad in Beer Sheva, Israel last year stood on the north side of Iliff.
“I came out to make a stand that Israel has the right to be a country,” he said. “Some of the people who were on the other side of the street were much more in-your-face.”
About 12 Denver police and Campus Safety officers were present.
Barkat, who said he believes in a united Jerusalem, emphasized the importance of tourism, retention of high- and middle-income residents and religious pluralism in the city in his 20-minute speech.
“The way to manage Jerusalem is to seek the common denominator,” Barkat said. “The fragmentation of the city isn’t a problem, it’s a feature.”
Barkat also answered previously selected questions from the audience.
“We don’t demolish homes for the sake of demolishing them,” Barkat said in response to one question about the destruction of Palestinian homes within the country.
In response, a protestor called out and held up a sign reading “Barkat destroyer of Palestinian homes.”
Three members of the Denver Police Department then approached the man in his seat and he put the sign away before exiting the theater.
Barkat was introduced by Colorado governor Bill Ritter and Robert Coombe, chancellor of the University of Denver.
During his introduction, Coombe noted the importance of public political discourse in inviting Barkat to speak.
Mayor of Jerusalem speaks at DU from DU Clarion on Vimeo. Video by Carly Reynolds.
