{"id":972,"date":"2016-08-25T05:29:36","date_gmt":"2016-08-25T05:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/?page_id=972"},"modified":"2016-09-24T12:16:12","modified_gmt":"2016-09-24T12:16:12","slug":"update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/","title":{"rendered":"Update: Zeev Elkin &#8211; Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color: black; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;\">At the end of July, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu chose to appoint Zeev Elkin as Minister of Environmental Protection. Elkin has been head of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage through his position as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, and is responsible for two government offices now that he has been appointed Minister of Environmental Protection. Although the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage and the Ministry of Environmental Protection are not considered central portfolios in the Israeli government, his position in both offices gives Elkin significant power over the city\u2019s activity, especially in Jerusalem\u2019s Historic Basin. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color: black; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;\">The Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage is responsible for the <\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jda.gov.il\/english.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Jerusalem Development Authority<\/a><\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color: black; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;\"> (JDA) and <\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pami.co.il\/profile.html\" target=\"_blank\">East Jerusalem Development Ltd.<\/a><\/span><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color: black; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;\"> (PAMI). JDA is the main entity today that funds and advances projects in the Old City and surrounding area, from different festivals such as the Festival of Lights through trail restoration, lighting and construction of a promenade, to wide-scale site development such as that of the Mount of Olives cemetery, linking national parks around the Old City and more. The Israeli government allocated 350 million shekels for 2013-2019 to develop the Old City basin \u00a0&#8211; an average of 50 million shekels per year. PAMI is responsible for some of the main tourist sites in the Old City such as the Davidson Center adjacent to the Western and Southern Walls, the Ramparts Walk, Zedekiah\u2019s Cave next to Damascus Gate and more. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color: black; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;\">The main influence of the Ministry of Environmental Protection in the Historic Basin, is through the Nature and Parks Authority (INPA). As the entity authorized to declare lands as national parks, the INPA is a stakeholder of any changes made within the boundaries of such an area. The INPA is authorized to prevent any construction or development projects if they are destructive to the character of that park. At the same time the INPA has a great deal of power to advance projects considered touristic or those whose objective is defined as heritage protection. The area surrounding the Old City is declared \u201cCity of David National Park\u201d (since 1974). This national park includes the City of David site, much of the Silwan village and Hinnom Valley\/Wadi Rababa (see map below). The \u201cEmek Zurim National Park\u201d was declared in 1998 and is located northeast of the City of David National Park. This park is situated between the a-Tsawane neighborhood and the Hebrew University. Between the Isawiyya and a-Tur villages, on lands belonging to Palestinian residents, the NPA is working to advance a national park to be named \u201cMount Scopus Slopes\u201d. The park was approved by the Building and Planning Committee, but is back in discussion following appeals by the residents of the villages and the organization \u201cBimkom.\u201d As of now, the park has not yet been approved, and Elkin, as Minister of Environmental Protection, very well may work to advance the process. The national park map (attached) shows that many lands around the Old City have been declared national parks. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color: black; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;\">Although the two portfolios held by Minister Elkin do not equate to one large portfolio in the context of the Israeli government, he has a great deal of influential power on Jerusalem. When focusing on the Historic Basin including the Old City and surrounding area, the two portfolios grant him the power to advance the decade-long right wing vision of strengthening the Israeli hold on the Historic Basin by strengthening and expanding the national parks and development with the pretense of advancing tourism and archaeological research.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\" style=\"color: black; line-height: 150%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;\">Elkin, who often expresses his opinions on Jerusalem in the media, will be able to use his authority in the two ministries to expedite projects that require cooperation between the National Parks Authority and the Jerusalem Development Authority, or between the settlers and PAMI. One can assume that in the upcoming years the Old City and surrounding area\u2019s character will be greatly influenced by Zeev Elkin\u2019s position in the two offices and the decisions he will make as such. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/National-parks-in-Jerusalem-Copy.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-207 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/National-parks-in-Jerusalem-Copy-723x1024.jpg\" alt=\"National parks in Jerusalem (Copy)\" width=\"723\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/National-parks-in-Jerusalem-Copy-723x1024.jpg 723w, https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/National-parks-in-Jerusalem-Copy-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/National-parks-in-Jerusalem-Copy.jpg 848w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At the end of July, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu chose to appoint Zeev Elkin as Minister of Environmental Protection. Elkin has been head of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage through his position as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, and is responsible for two government offices now that he has been appointed Minister of Environmental [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"site.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"class_list":["post-972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases","tag-historic-basin","tag-mount-scopus-national-park","tag-national-parks","tag-nature-and-parks-authority","tag-settlers","tag-silwan","tag-the-old-city","tag-tourism"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Update: Zeev Elkin - Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Minister - Emek Shaveh<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Update: Zeev Elkin - Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Minister - Emek Shaveh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At the end of July, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu chose to appoint Zeev Elkin as Minister of Environmental Protection. Elkin has been head of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage through his position as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, and is responsible for two government offices now that he has been appointed Minister of Environmental [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Emek Shaveh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-25T05:29:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-09-24T12:16:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/\u05e6\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd-\u05de\u05d1\u05d8-\u05dc\u05d3\u05e8\u05d5\u05dd-\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1-Medium1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"manager\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"manager\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/\",\"name\":\"Update: Zeev Elkin - Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Minister - Emek Shaveh\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/\u05e6\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd-\u05de\u05d1\u05d8-\u05dc\u05d3\u05e8\u05d5\u05dd-\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1-Medium1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-25T05:29:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-24T12:16:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6021f1b31987f98dde356582620fe60d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/\u05e6\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd-\u05de\u05d1\u05d8-\u05dc\u05d3\u05e8\u05d5\u05dd-\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1-Medium1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/\u05e6\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd-\u05de\u05d1\u05d8-\u05dc\u05d3\u05e8\u05d5\u05dd-\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1-Medium1.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":768},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Update: Zeev Elkin &#8211; Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Minister\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Emek Shaveh\",\"description\":\"Archeology in the shadow of the conflict\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6021f1b31987f98dde356582620fe60d\",\"name\":\"manager\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0c3df5a375b78fa6bfd32b87ef4b60a6c799d8d9bb9fe66577ac18942cdf770?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0c3df5a375b78fa6bfd32b87ef4b60a6c799d8d9bb9fe66577ac18942cdf770?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"manager\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/author\/manager\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Update: Zeev Elkin - Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Minister - Emek Shaveh","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Update: Zeev Elkin - Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Minister - Emek Shaveh","og_description":"At the end of July, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu chose to appoint Zeev Elkin as Minister of Environmental Protection. Elkin has been head of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage through his position as Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, and is responsible for two government offices now that he has been appointed Minister of Environmental [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/","og_site_name":"Emek Shaveh","article_published_time":"2016-08-25T05:29:36+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-09-24T12:16:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":768,"url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/\u05e6\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd-\u05de\u05d1\u05d8-\u05dc\u05d3\u05e8\u05d5\u05dd-\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1-Medium1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"manager","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"manager","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/","url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/","name":"Update: Zeev Elkin - Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Minister - Emek Shaveh","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/\u05e6\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd-\u05de\u05d1\u05d8-\u05dc\u05d3\u05e8\u05d5\u05dd-\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1-Medium1.jpg","datePublished":"2016-08-25T05:29:36+00:00","dateModified":"2016-09-24T12:16:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6021f1b31987f98dde356582620fe60d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/\u05e6\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd-\u05de\u05d1\u05d8-\u05dc\u05d3\u05e8\u05d5\u05dd-\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1-Medium1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/\u05e6\u05d5\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd-\u05de\u05d1\u05d8-\u05dc\u05d3\u05e8\u05d5\u05dd-\u05de\u05e2\u05e8\u05d1-Medium1.jpg","width":1024,"height":768},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/update-zeev-elkin-jerusalem-affairs-and-environmental-protection-minister\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Update: Zeev Elkin &#8211; Jerusalem Affairs and Environmental Protection Minister"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/","name":"Emek Shaveh","description":"Archeology in the shadow of the conflict","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6021f1b31987f98dde356582620fe60d","name":"manager","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0c3df5a375b78fa6bfd32b87ef4b60a6c799d8d9bb9fe66577ac18942cdf770?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0c3df5a375b78fa6bfd32b87ef4b60a6c799d8d9bb9fe66577ac18942cdf770?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"manager"},"url":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/author\/manager\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emekshaveh.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}