MIDDLE EAST: Full Speed Ahead And Damn the Aesthetics

City planning is not ordinarily grist for international relations, but Jerusalem is not an ordinary city. Shrine of three faiths, symbol of Jewish resurgence, the ancient-modern metropolis of 210,000 Jews and 70,000 Arabs has assumed an increasingly Jewish character since the Jordanian sector was captured during the Six-Day War in 1967. Of all the territories occupied at that time, only East Jerusalem, including the entire Old City, was brought fully under Israeli law.

Last week the irrevocability of Jewish control was pushed a giant step further. Israeli Housing Minister Ze'ev Sha-ref announced...

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