Jerusalem Mayor on a U.S. Tour

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat is on a tour of several U.S. cities this week. At Harvard University yesterday he promoted his plan to revitalize Jerusalem, the Boston Globe reports.

"We have a 3,000-year-old brand," Barkat, 49, told reporters at a briefing in the business school's Ludcke House.

Today's Washington Times ran an interview with Barkat:

"I'd like to see the world join forces to save the city of Jerusalem," Nir Barkat told editors and reporters of The Washington Times on Friday.

"I told some members of the U.S. administration, 'I think the world just raised $5 billion for Gaza. So you only invest after a war. ... I will prepare the plans anyway because I believe we should invest in Arabs in East Jerusalem. And why just invest after a war? Maybe we eliminate a war and invest in infrastructure and enable people to improve the quality of life of Jerusalem."

Mr. Barkat, however, said he could not promise to halt dismantlement of Palestinian housing in East Jerusalem built by Arab residents who have been unable to obtain permits.

"How can I guarantee anybody anything?" he said, asserting that illegal construction in the predominantly Jewish western part of the capital also has been demolished. He said, however, "The process of getting licenses [to build] in East Jerusalem is far from what it should be, and we will fix it."