Jerusalem gypsies want Israeli citizenship
The 2,000 members of Jerusalem’s Muslim gypsy population want to become
Israeli citizens, Mukhtar Abed Salim told Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat on Sunday.
Barkat visited the capital’s small and impoverished gypsy population on Sunday
to wish them happy holidays for the Eid al Adha [Feast of the Sacrifice], one of
the most important Muslim holidays of the year. The gypsies, in turn, celebrated
the mayor’s 53rd birthday last week with a special cake featuring the mayor’s
face.
Jerusalem’s small gypsy community lives in crowded, dilapidated apartments
around the Lion’s Gate in the Old City. Some gypsies, priced out of the Old
City, live in the Shufaat Refugee camp. There is another small community in the
Gaza Strip. Gypsies are Muslim but do not identify as Arabs or Palestinians,
said Salim. The gypsies have Jerusalem residency, including blue Israeli ID
cards, but not citizenship, similar to the majority of east Jerusalem Arabs. “We
love the state,” said Salim, explaining that the community wants greater
integration into Israel and more municipality services. He said after they
receive citizenship, they will decide whether or not to serve in the military.
Interior Ministry Spokeswoman Sabine Hadad said the community must individually
submit applications for citizenship.
Jerusalem’s gypsies trace their roots back 1,000 years to northern Iraq,
where a powerful tribe known as the Bnei Murra lived on the Arabian peninsula. A
bloody civil war with another neighboring tribe – according to local legend,
over the death of a beloved camel belonging to the daughter of the tribal chief
– scattered the tribe across the world. Some went to Europe, converted to
Christianity, and became the Roma gypsies. Others traveled across the Middle
East and became Muslim. Gypsies arrived in Jerusalem along with the Muslim
conqueror Salah A Din in 1187, and fought against the Crusaders. Afterwards, the
gypsies stayed in the area, living in tents similar to the Bedouin but as part
of a separate tribe.
