Let's do a Twitter thread on what's really happening in Sheikh Jarrah, because the sheer volume of lies making the rounds are INSANE.

1) In the 19th century, Jews bought the land in that area from Arab owners, and a Jewish community lived there. The area was considered of religious importance to Jews, because it is said to contain the grave of a famous Jewish High Priest, dating back more than 2,000 years.

2) This is not to say that "Jews own all of Sheikh Jarrah", but they did own specific areas of the vicinity. Ottoman records from the early 1900s show a large Jewish community there - almost 100 families.

3) In 1948, all Jews were expelled from the Old City of Jerusalem, which was occupied by the Jordanians. The Jews living in Sheikh Jarrah were also expelled. The land they owned was then used by the Jordanians to build homes for Palestinians who had fled the Israeli advance.

4) It should be noted at this point that the Hadassah Convoy massacre, where 78 Jews, mostly doctors and nurses, were murdered by Arabs in 1948, took place in the vicinity of Sheikh Jarrah.

5) Fast forward to 1967, when the Israelis capture the West Bank from the Jordanians (not the Palestinians), including, of course, Sheikh Jarrah.

A few years later, Israelis sought to return to the specific areas of Sheikh Jarrah where Jews had been forcibly removed from.

6) They had documents proving Jewish ownership of said land.
The Palestinians had no such documents, because they didn't own the land. The Jordanians (with UN help) had built homes and put them there.

7) The Israeli court system has been looking at this case for DECADES, with appeals and counter appeals.

The decision finally reached was this - the Palestinians can stay, but they have to pay rent to the Jews who own the land - land they were forcibly expelled from.

8) The Palestinians have refused to pay any such rent. Now, any number of Pro-Palestinian groups could provide said rent and that would be the end of the issue. But they won't, because it's far better to misrepresent this as a case of ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

9) And the useful idiots all fall for it (sadly this includes a number of left-wing Zionists). "Save Sheikh Jarrah!"

Save it from what? This is a genuine case of some land in Sheikh Jarrah (far from all of it) owned by Jews well before 1948.

10) You may argue there's a double standard, that Jews now live on land which property records show belonged to Arabs prior to 1948.

But if you then say that Jewish owned land prior to 1948 doesn't actually belong to Jews, how are you not guilty of that same double standard?

11) Anyway, that's the thread. Instead of just parroting anti-Israel talking points about "ethnic cleansing" of Sheikh Jarrah, do some basic research! It's not hard!

Thread ends.