Once again, Palestinian leaders try to start a religious war

Mahmoud Abbas has said many times, including in front of the EU, "I assure you that we are not in favor turning the political conflict into a religious conflict." Other PA officials parrot that line in English to Western audiences as well.

In Arabic, things are a bit different. The entire "knife intifada" from last autumn was sparked by Abbas calling on his people to use any means to "defend Jerusalem" which was clearly heard by his people as a call to violence. PA officials explicitly have called for "jihad".

Today, the PA issued another statement in Arabic inciting Muslims to fight Jews.

The Israel Antiquities Authority started taking baby steps towards doing its job last week (many years too late) by stopping some illegal Waqf renovations on the most sacred spot on the planet. Today the IAI returned and filmed what the Waqf was apparently doing anyway.

The reaction by the Palestinian Authority  was to say that the very existence of the Israel Antiquities Authority on the site is "a rabid campaign being waged by the Israeli occupation forces against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque" and "contrary to religious laws, and moral values, and humanity."

Government spokesman Yusuf Mahmoud also said "This attack is part of the attacks, and intrusions, and desecration daily suffered by Haram al-Sharif which is one of the most sacred sanctities of Muslims" done by Israel to "plant illusions and myths around Al-Aqsa."

He said that daily visits by "herds of settlers" to the Temple Mount "shows the size of extremism and racism which dominate the mind and thinking of the Israeli government."

He concluded by saying "This assault is an attack on 1.7 billion Muslims" and he called on the whole world to "immediately intervene to deter the occupation attacks."

This is incitement. And as we have seen in the past, this incitement often directly leads to violence.

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Palestinian official speaks out against religious freedom

Ahmed Qurei, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, says that Jews who peacefully visit the Temple Mount are guilty of "religious aggression."

The story is published in at least 15 Arabic media outlets.

Qurei charged that the Jews who regularly stroll around the holiest site in Judaism "provoke the feelings of Muslims worshipers by deliberately drinking wine," which is of course a complete fabrication.

He is also upset that there are signs in the area pointing visitors to the Kotel HaKatan, or "Little Wall", a tiny area a bit north of the Western Wall plaza, saying that giving it this "Biblical" name is another form of Judaizing.

He called for "Arab and Islamic nations to intervene" to save Jerusalem from those Jews.

Last week I posted this video - from a Muslim site - where you can plainly see who is guilty of "religious aggression."



See also this from April, where Muslims were terrorizing little Jewish kids visiting the site.


Meanwhile, Ma'an "reports:"

The Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron will be closed to Muslim worshipers on Thursday and Friday, an official at the mosque told Ma'an Sunday.

Hijazi Abu Sneina told Ma'an the mosque would be open to Israeli settlers during the two days of Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year, but closed to Muslims.

What they fail to mention is that this happens every year. For about ten days the site is closed to Muslims, for another ten days it is closed to Jews. The implication from this and similar articles in the Arab press is that Israel is arbitrarily closing the site to Muslims without warning, but this is part of a signed agreement.

For some reason, Palestinian Muslim intolerance of religious freedom is another of those things that is just not considered newsworthy.

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Muslims terrorize Jewish children on Temple Mount (video)

From Yisrael Medad's JPost blog:

Some two dozen or so Jewish children ascended with their fathers to the Temple Mount.

Children, not even teenagers.

Haredim.

They were surrounded by adult Muslim men and women who chanted, screamed, yelled, pushed, threatened and otherwise acted with verbal and even some physical violence. And surely psychological violence.

There is a simple reason why the Muslims became so unhinged.

Because proud Jewish children threaten them more than the police or the IDF.

Muslims know that this is a long-term conflict. They see the IDF the way they think about Crusaders - outsiders who came for a while but who were eventually and inevitably going to be pushed out. All that is needed is patience.

But religious Jewish children show clearly that there is a people whose claim to the Land is older and far more authentic than theirs.

Secular Israeli Jews they can handle. They think that human rights groups and Western governments and terrorism can wear them down and force many of them to make concessions, and then more concessions, until the Muslims win. They look at Gaza and Lebanon and see nothing but Jewish weakness.

But children who are identifiable as Jews are a force that they cannot counter. The children represent a world where Jews are tenacious and dedicated, filled with love for the land and the inner strength to hold onto it. These children and their descendants are not about to give up their holy sites for mere promises and more lies.

The children represent the future, and Muslims don't like what they see there.

Just watch the video and decide - who respects their holy sites and who desecrates them?

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Temple Mount news: firework weapons, menorah freak-out and unmolested girls (UPDATE)

From Times of Israel:

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem was closed to visitors on Wednesday after Arab youths shot fireworks at policemen out of the al-Aqsa Mosque.

The youths were said to have attacked the policemen from within the mosque.

Following the incident, security forces arrived at the scene and closed the religious site to visitors.

Who exactly is desecrating this holy place again? It's so confusing, since all the media reports is that Israeli Jews wanting to peacefully visit and worship there are the violators, and Muslims who hurls rocks and chairs and explosives to the Jews are the victims.

A group that attempted to ascend to the Temple Mount and light a menorah there was stopped by police, and they instead lit it at the Kotel. Arab media had been warning about this for days, saying the Jews would bring a "Talmudic candlestick" to the Mount.

Now the Arab media published dozens of photos of menorahs at the Kotel and in the Old City, in order to incite their readers. because to them, any Jew in Jerusalem doing anything Jewish must be stopped; the Temple Mount is only one venue.

And my favorite:

Meanwhile, Yisrael Medad posts a photo of Muslim girls walking in the Kotel plaza:

No one is hurling stones or explosives to them. No police protection is required. They were allowed through the checkpoint that everyone has to go through by Israeli security. And no screaming headlines of how Muslims are defiling a Jewish holy place.

UPDATE: Video of Muslims intimidating a group of women on the Temple Mount this morning (h/t Yerushalimey)

Post by Chava Nikki Bachle-Docks.

>The police were extra stringent

checking our bags and our persons at the checkpoint just before the wooden bridge to the Rambam Gate leading into the Temple Mount. Even my water bottle was opened and checked, as well as every single scrap of paper, nook and cranny in my handbag (gotta learn to travel light to the Mount from now on!). Yehuda Glick guided a group of women, and there were others of us not in his group, plus a non-Jewish French reporter. We saw lots more police waiting just outside the gate and stationed in front of Al Aksa mosque. Obviously something was in the wind...

When we were finally allowed through the gate and onto the Mount - instead of our customary route straight past Al Aksa, the police directed us to the left, on the way to the next gate, and told us to wait until they receive further instructions... so we waited. In the meantime, Yehuda was showing pictures and giving explanations to his group; while he was doing it, an Arab came up to him and called him "shakran" (liar)...

And then it happened. Two or three firecrackers went off right across from Al Aksa. The bangs were loud - scared the ---- out of me - and I saw the smoke. The cops were right there and did absolutely nothing to stop the Arabs, make arrests, or whatever.

After some more waiting, some Arabs started chanting their usual at us: Allahu Akhbar and whatever other nonsense they were spouting...

The police did NOT allow us to proceed on the walk, but told us we would have to leave at the very next gate - the Chain Gate (which is where we would always exit the Mount, but after doing the whole route around).

As we were standing at that gate, suddenly a large group of Arabs - men and women - started rapidly advancing towards us. The police got in between us and them and started pushing us off the Mount, through the gate, all the time while this group of Arabs seemed to be getting bigger and chanting louder as they moved towards us. I gave them the finger, shouted out my usual "V'techezena eiynenu b'shuvcha l'Zion b'rachamim" - May our eyes behold Your return to Zion in compassion - and a couple of times, "Am Israel Chai"! - The Jewish People live!

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How many times can Ma'an use the word "extremist"?

From Ma'an:

Extremist Israeli group enters Al-Aqsa compound under police escort

Over 100 Israeli Jews accompanied by police entered Al-Aqsa compound through the Moroccan gate on Sunday afternoon.

The 104 Israeli Jews were described by witnesses as "settlers," and they included 33 Israeli intelligence officers led by extremist lawyer Yehuda Glick.

Glick called on all Jews to visit the compound, and proposed an initiative to schedule daily visits by extremists to the Jerusalem holy site.

Azzam al-Khatib, director of the Jerusalem office of the PA ministry of endowment said "it is obvious that Israeli police are being pressured by extremists to allow Glick to return to Al-Aqsa."

"Glick is a provocative man, and it is obvious that he is trying to create chaos at Al-Aqsa," al-Khatib added.

Yehuda Glick is an American-born Israeli and the chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Fund, an extremist Jewish organization focused on "strengthening the relationship between Israel and the Temple Mount."

Ready to see the video of these "extremists" creating chaos? Here they are, from the Al Aqsa Heritage Foundation website.



They seem to be extremely polite. Extremely quiet. Extremely reverent.

Hey, maybe they are extremists!

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Does the Jordan-Israel peace agreement give Jordan custodianship of the Temple Mount?

Jordanian newspapers today are reporting that Jordanian officials confirm that Jews have no right to pray on the Temple Mount, according to the Israel-Jordan peace treaty signed in 1994.

They were responding to members of Knesset who said that the treaty did not require any Jordanian approval for Jews to pray there.

Who is right?

Here is the text of the relevant article of the treaty, from Jordan's King Hussein website:

Article 9 - Places of Historical and Religious Significance and Interfaith Relations

1. Each Party will provide freedom of access to places of religious and historical significance.

2. In this regard, in accordance with the Washington Declaration, Israel respects the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem. When negotiations on the permanent status will take place, Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines.

3. The Parties will act together to promote interfaith relations among the three monotheistic religions, with the aim of working towards religious understanding, moral commitment, freedom of religious worship, and tolerance and peace.

Paragraph 1 makes it clear that nothing can prohibit Jews from visiting the Temple Mount, just as Muslims or Christians cannot be banned from the area either.

Paragraph 2 has two parts. The first is clearly not prescriptive; it is simply a statement that Israel "respects" Jordan's "special role" without saying what that role is. It does not give Jordan any power to create rules.

The second part is almost prescriptive but not quite; it uses the word "will" instead of the stronger "shall." It also doesn't define what it means to give "high priority" to Jordan's "historic role." If Israel is the party assigning priorities to Jordan's role, that means that Israel can override them. Most importantly, however, is that this sentence only refers to the time of permanent status negotiations (implying that Jordan will be a party to the talks) but it does not say that Jordan's role, whatever that is, is permanent.

Paragraph 3 explicitly calls for freedom of religious worship. This indicates that not only is Israel permitted to allow Jews to visit the Temple Mount and perhaps to allow them to pray, as the previous two paragraphs implied, but it enshrines the freedom for Jews to pray on their holiest site is. Banning such prayer would be a violation not only of human rights law but of this treaty itself.

The peace agreement certainly does not give Jordan any custodianship or powers over the Temple Mount. The best that can be said is that it demands Israel take Jordan's opinion into account, but Jordan has no veto power over how the holy sites are governed. Moreover, the third paragraph shows that freedom of worship is a critical principle to be upheld by both parties, which would naturally include freedom for Jews to worship.

In short, the Jordanians who claim that the treaty gives them the right to ban Jewish worship are not being truthful.

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Why aren't human rights groups defending Jews' rights to visit the Temple Mount?

According to Palestine Today, this morning a a mob of Muslims managed to start a disturbance in order to "expel" a group of about 30 Jews who were visiting the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.

The Aqsa Heritage Foundation has photos of the "settlers" being "provocative."

As far as I can tell, not only do Jews have the right to visit and to pray on the Temple Mount, but if they wanted to build a synagogue there I cannot find anything in international law that wouldn't support them wholeheartedly.

The overriding consideration in international law is the right to be treated equally, and barring Jews from the Temple Mount is about as discriminatory as possible.

Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights says:

Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.

In addition, Article 20 seems to prohibit the insults and incitement that Muslims engage in towards Jews on the Temple Mount:

1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.

2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.

Moreover, the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief is filled with articles that would prohibit banning Jews from the Temple Mount:

No one shall be subject to discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons, or person on grounds of religion or other beliefs.

For the purposes of the present Declaration, the expression "intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief" means any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on religion or belief and having as its purpose or as its effect nullification or impairment of the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis.

Discrimination between human beings on grounds of religion or belief constitutes an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and shall be condemned as a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enunciated in detail in the International Covenants on Human Rights, and as an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations between nations.

All States shall take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all fields of civil, economic, political, social and cultural life.

All States shall make all efforts to enact or rescind legislation where necessary to prohibit any such discrimination, and to take all appropriate measures to combat intolerance on the grounds of religion or other beliefs in this matter.

From these articles it appears that Israel is obligated to allow Jews to visit and pray there, and to protect them from those who want to take away their rights.

It is true that this same declaration says:

Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

But this clause is referring to cases where the practitioners of the religion are the ones who are a danger to others, not when the others are so intolerant that they threaten violence. To invoke this paragraph to deny Jews' rights to the Temple Mount (which I suspect human rights organizations would do if pressed) would make the rest of that declaration a mockery.

Of course, we will never hear Human Rights Watch or Amnesty or the UN dare to defend the Jewish right to worship on the Temple Mount. Because Jews who want to do so are not considered to be worthy of protection by international law, apparently.

(I hope to expand this into a paper for ASHREI-ME.)

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Muslims, Israeli police upset over Israeli flag on Temple Mount

From Ma'an:

A group of Israeli right-wingers raised the Israeli flag while touring the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Monday, locals said.

Witnesses said that a group of 14 Israeli rightists pulled out an Israeli flag while touring the religious site and began dancing and singing.

The men were removed from the area by Israeli police and arrested.

Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, the director of Islamic endowment, said that he asked Israeli police to close the compound to visitors following the incident, and not to allow Israeli extremists to enter the area.

This story is true. Here's the video of Jews briefly praying and one of them unfurling a flag Monday:



Scandalous! How can such a holy place be used for political purposes?

How dare anyone wave flags on this sacred spot?

And, especially, how can anyone even consider displaying the hated Star of David in the Muslim's third holiest place?

(All photos from a pro-Morsi rally organized by Hamas on August 16 on the Temple Mount.)

(h/t Jewish Press)

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Clueless reporters, "experts" cannot distinguish Temple Mount from Al Aqsa Mosque

Here is a Reuters photo and caption:

A Palestinian uses a sling to throw a stone at Israeli security forces during clashes in the West Bank city of Hebron September 27, 2013. Israeli police clashed with Palestinian protesters in Jerusalem's Old City, the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank on Friday, reflecting growing tensions over an increase in Jewish visits to the al-Aqsa mosque. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside

Notice how heroic the young man looks! Notice the angle of the photo, with the photographer in front of the slinger - normally a dangerous place to be. How likely is it that this photo was staged just for Reuters?

Oh, about 99%.

But lets look at the caption. It claims that the reason for these clashes are because more Jews are visiting the Al Aqsa Mosque.

Only one problem: No Jews visit the Al Aqsa Mosque. Period.

Muslims like to refer to the entire Temple Mount as the Al Aqsa Mosque, and as a result Western "experts" often believe them. Here is the truth, as simply as I could show it:

Lest you think that Reuters is the only organization that parrots Arab lies about "Jews storming the Al Aqsa Mosque," here is how Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division, described Ariel Sharon's 2000 visit to the Temple Mount in 2010:

Ariel Sharon's provocative visit to the site of the Al Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem on September 29, 2000, and the response of Israeli security forces to Palestinian protestors, led to sustained clashes involving Israeli forces and armed Palestinians in what became known as the Al Aqsa intifada, or uprising.

To describe the Temple Mount as merely "the site of the Al Aqsa Mosque" would be akin to calling Manhattan "the site of Central Park." In fact, Human Rights Watch not once uses the proper term "Temple Mount" (or even the Arabic equivalent, "Haram al-Sharif") on its website.

Muslims like to say that Jews are "storming the Al Aqsa Mosque" because that helps characterize Jews as aggressively attacking a Muslim holy place. Western "experts" should know better.

Yesterday, I tweeted HRW asking a simple question:

Yes or no, @KenRoth and @HRW : Do you support the human right of Jews to freely visit and pray at their holiest place?
— ElderOfZiyon (@elderofziyon) September 30, 2013

Of course, I didn't get a response. Because the human rights of Jews to have access to their own holy sites are not as important as the threat of violence by Muslims, and HRW makes a mockery of its pretense to care about "human rights" when it makes such calculations. Unless a reporter corners a HRW representative and asks him this question point blank, we will never get an answer from them.

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Video of the Temple Mount this morning and musings on leftist racism

This video, from the Al Aqsa Foundation, shows Muslims throwing stones at Israeli soldiers  (starting around 0:45) from inside their "third holiest shrine". The police do nothing at all until they are attacked.

Out of the dozens of videos I've seen made and edited by Arabs on the Temple Mount, I have yet to see a single provocative action by Israeli police or by Jewish visitors to the area. Not once. The violence is invariably started by Muslims.

The good news is that, assuming the scenes in the video are shown in order, that Jews managed to visit the Mount shortly thereafter (1:36) without further incident.




Only an antisemite can view this video and conclude that the Jews are the provocateurs, the violators of the sanctity of the Mount, while the Muslims are reacting normally.

I can't stop thinking about the stupid Guardian article by Giles Frasier I noted yesterday where this supposedly liberal priest, who should be sensitive to freedom of religion, claims that the Jews walking peacefully in the area are the ones who are provoking "unimaginable violence."

Like many European liberals, he is a racist.

To him, violence is expected of Muslims when they don't get 100% of their demands. That's just the way they are. It is genetic, according to the subtext of articles and arguments like that. Enlightened Westerners and Jews are the ones who must modify their behavior to accommodate inherent Muslim insanity.

The idea of denouncing the Muslims is simply unacceptable, for the same reasons one doesn't denounce the mentally handicapped. Because that is how they are.

This racism is not anomalous, but mainstream.

A sane viewing of this video would consider the Israeli police heroes for allowing  Jews to visit their holiest spot unmolested, for consistently trying to uphold their freedoms and for not giving in to Muslim blackmail and threats of violence. This is the proper response - and it works.

Is there are real difference between Jews wanting to assert their right to visit and pray at their holiest site, and blacks in the 1960s wanting to assert their right to go to formerly segregated schools? In both cases law enforcement must help assure that no harm comes to them and that the rioters do not gain a victory by succeeding in their own racist agendas. Yet Giles Fraser identifies with, and supports, the Muslim rioters - not out of conviction, but simply because he thinks it's the most expeditious way to mute Islamist hate. And he is exactly wrong.

This leftist racism is not only morally wrong, but it also encourages Muslims to continue to act like spoiled children. Without the world denouncing unprovoked Muslim violence, without any consequences, the Muslims who riot and those who incite them to violence have no incentive to change. On the contrary, accidental racists like Fraser are giving Muslims carte blanche to continue to riot at the slightest discomfort. The fruits of this mindset can be seen in European cities as well as in Jerusalem.

One day, when they are on the receiving end of a hail of rocks from their Muslim neighbors that they pretend to be defending, maybe some of these leftist racists will see the light.

Others will just keep on blaming Jews and the "settler mentality" for all the problems.

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Muslims throw shoes, expel Fatah leader from Al Aqsa Mosque (video)

Today, Fatah leader Azzam al-Ahmad tried to visit the Al Aqsa Mosque - along with a Jordanian minister who was visiting.

However, he was treated as if he was a Jew.

Muslim worshipers and others pelted him with their shoes and expelled him from the area:



The protesters complained that he, and Fatah, was collaborating with Israel. Also they were said to be angry at an interview he made a few weeks ago where he said he would like to enter Gaza on back of an Egyptian tank.

I imagine that in the future, when Fatah officials visit the Temple Mount, they will need to bring security guards - just like the Jews. Or, if you follow the logic of certain Guardian writers, they should be forbidden from ever entering the Al Aqsa Mosque because it upsets other Muslims.

What this also teaches us is that the leaders of the Al Aqsa mosque are extremists. Even though they live on the West Bank. Shocking, I know, but the EU hasn't yet figured that out.

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"Jews violating the sanctity of Al Aqsa" (video)

Al Wattan TV has a video of what they describe as "Dozens of Jewish settlers, on Thursday, wandered in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and and violated its sanctity."

They have video of the horrible desecration:



Clearly, the Jews were desecrating it by not screaming slogans and acting like a mob.

Threats, insults and intimidation must reflect the sanctity of the Al Aqsa Mosque much better than peacefully walking around.

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Al Aqsa collapse! But only in English. (UPDATE)

From the English section of the Al-Ray News Agency:

Gaza, Alray - Al-Aqsa Foundation and Cultural Heritage Organization said that an area collapsed near the western wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem late Tuesday.

The collapse happened near the Bab as Silsila, on the western part of the mosque, according to an eyewitness.

"It is the second collapse near the western wall in 5 years," Cum'a Usayle, an eyewitness said.

Usayle told Anadolu Agency, "The collapse has caused a deep hole there. It is dangerous for the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It poses danger especially for children and women."

No security precautions around the area have been taken by Israeli officials so far. There is also no statement about the event.

Al-Aqsa Foundation and Cultural Heritage Organization accused Israel of paving the way for demolishing the Al-Aqsa Mosque by building new settlements and digging dozens of tunnels.

Unfortunately, no photos of this collapse. I'm always amazed that none of these "eyewitnesses" ever seem to have their phones with cameras on them to document these Zionist crimes.

But certainly the Al Aqsa Foundation web page will have this story, right? Well, no, it doesn't.

Surely the Arabic al-Ray site will have more details! Um, no, they don't.

Arabic Twitter users must be in an uproar, right? Well, outside of the "OccPal" account that took the information from Al Ray - nothing. (Turkish media is also picking it up.)

Just a single, seemingly fake story. One that very possibly will be on hundreds of websites by tomorrow.

Too bad!

UPDATE: Now there are photos are the Al Aqsa Foundation site. Here's the best one:

However, this hole is not on the Temple Mount, but in someone's house nearby (they say 20 meters from the Mount, near the Chain Gate) My understanding is that Israel has been digging on the southwest corner, nowhere near any houses and not near that gate, although the older revelations of existing tunnels do pass near that point.

See also My Right Word.

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Illustration of synagogue on Temple Mount freaking out Arab newspapers

There have been a bunch of articles over the past day throughout the Arab world claiming that there has been some sort of official approval to build a small synagogue on the Temple Mount, mostly because of this illustration that is on some Israeli sites showing what one might look like (bottom center, click to enlarge):

Of course, there has been no approval of anything, even though many dedicated Jews would love to see it happen. But whenever there is a whiff of an idea that Jews should be permitted to worship at their holiest place, hypersensitive Arabs go crazy, with officials falling all over themselves to denounce the supposed plans and to enforce the religious apartheid system that exists on the Mount.

Note that even in this supposed plan, the synagogue would not displace any Muslims, being placed in the large open plaza on the southern part of the Mount.

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Knesset committee to discuss Temple Mount today; Arabic websites freaking out

Here is the only place I could find this story in English, from The Algemeiner last Friday:

Before Jerusalem becomes the stage for the US-led peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority next Wednesday, an Israeli Knesset committee will meet on Sunday to tackle a question religious Jews have been asking since 1967, when Israel gained control of the Temple Mount and left authority over the religious hotspot in the hands of the Muslim Waqf Council.

The confounding issue of Israeli police not allowing Jews to pray on the Temple Mount is being taken up by Likud lawmaker Miri Regev’s Interior Committee, according to The Temple Institute’s Rabbi Chaim Richman, who led a prayer vigil at the Temple Mount as a peaceful protest this week.

While I see one Hebrew source saying that the Knesset will discuss opening the Mount to Jews during the Jewish holidays next month, even it doesn't mention anything about allowing Jews to pray there. Neither does the Knesset website, which similarly says that the mere half-hour discussion is about allowing Jews to visit during the High Holiday period but nothing explicitly about prayer. (It is followed by a half hour about security at Kotel HaKatan.)

However, this is huge news in the Arab media worldwide.

The headline in the Khaleej Times (UAE) is "'Knesset' discusses today to legitimize the desecration of Al Aqsa." The article says that the discussion will also include whether to open all of the gates to the Temple Mount to Jews, not only the Moroccan Gate.

I see over a dozen Arabic articles from Egypt to Moscow similarly warning that the Knesset may allow Jews to pray on their holiest site.


Today was the first time Jews were allowed to visit the Temple Mount since the middle of Ramadan about two weeks ago. Some of the visitors noticed some evidence that the Waqf had engaged in illegal demolitions with earth-moving equipment while Jews were barred from the area.

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Perfect hypocrisy by the Arab League

Today, the Arab League condemned a demonstration by Jews in Israel to be allowed to freely worship on the Temple Mount. It denounced the idea of Jews visiting the holiest site in Judaism as being "provocative" and "against international law."

They are concerned that these Jewish "extremists" plan to build their own structure on top of the Mount, even though - they say - there is no historical evidence that there was any Jewish Temple on the site.

The League said that Jewish visits to the site were "gravely dangerous."

Immediately afterwards, the League also condemned Israel's practice of limiting access to the Mount for Palestinian Arabs who are under 40 years old. It says that such limitations are "contrary to international law and the right of citizens to worship anywhere, and the occupying power may not violate the freedom of worship guaranteed in the Charter of the United Nations."

The Arab League suddenly fervently believes in freedom to worship - right after saying that Jews have no rights to worship on the Temple Mount!

Hypocrisy in the Arab world is not hard to find, but to see such blatant hypocrisy within the same statement is a bit more notable.

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By the way, the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has this to say about freedom to worship, in Article 18, paragraph 3:

Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

So the League is lying yet again - Israel is perfectly within its rights under international law to restrict who can visit the Temple Mount to avoid violence and to ensure reasonably free access to all religions - a goal that the Arab League explicitly does not believe in.

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New photos of pre-Islamic columns, wall on Temple Mount

From Qanta Ahmed in Times of Israel, about her recent trip to the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount:

Leaving the Dome, we walked South, on to Al Aqsa....Low domed roofs arched overhead, each rendered in the same limestone. Pleasing corridors stretched in longitudinal halls. Here and there, a lone woman studied her Quran. Other than that, Ibrahim and I were alone. We walked around the corner and, approaching a smaller vestibule, we confronted enormous columns. Their diameter deeper than the height of a tall man, they were disproportionate to the low roof. Each of the massive pillars were carefully supported by modern concrete abutments and steel girdles. These pillars looked much older. They didn’t belong to Al Aqsa. Nearby, Ibrahim pointed out the roof overhead. A distinct break in the brickwork was evident.

“This was the entrance to the Second Jewish Temple that was here before Al Aqsa. You can see it is absolutely distinct.” And without doubt, it was easy to see, this had been a place of worship for Jews centuries before. Perhaps we were standing at the gate. Somehow, these hardy arches, these massive pillars had escaped even the Romans’ determined destruction of the Second Temple. Before this place was made ours, it had clearly been theirs. We were on borrowed ground. Incredible at something so ancient, confronted with the profound reality preceding Islam, we fell into the shared silence of young believers.

(h/t Josh K)

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Apartheid! Israel closes Temple Mount to non-Muslims for two weeks

From JPost:

The Joint Committee of Temple Organizations condemned on Wednesday the closure of the Temple Mount to non- Muslim visitors for the last two weeks of Ramadan.

According to the committee, an association of right-wing groups seeking to assert Jewish prayer rights as well as Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount, access to the site during the Muslim holy month has always been granted in previous years, although on a slightly reduced scale compared to the rest of the year.

Outside of Ramadan, the Temple Mount is usually open to non-Muslims for three hours every morning and one hour in the afternoon, while during Ramadan it has previously been open only in the morning.

This year, however, all access to non-Muslim visitors has been prohibited in the two final weeks of Ramadan.

According to Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a spokesman for the committee, in previous years the Temple Mount has been open in the morning to non- Muslims for the entirety of Ramadan.

Glick attributed the change in policy to a new phenomenon in which hundreds of Palestinian youths have slept at the site during this year’s Ramadan.

This year, the site was open in the morning for the first two weeks, although Jewish visitors were harassed and verbally abused, which led the police to evacuate them on several occasions.

Guess what? Threats and harassment work! Muslims have managed to turn Judaism's holiest site into a Muslim-only zone.

If the police wanted to avoid riots, they should ban the potential rioters, not the innocent victims. Rewarding abuse and harassment is the best recipe to increase it.

And how is the Arabic media reporting it?

Saudi Arabia's Al Yaum writes:

Israeli authorities raised the state of alert in Jerusalem and has increased the number of troops, and tightened their siege on the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and banned settlers from daily visits to the mosque until the night of the Qadr, which falls next Sunday.

As usual - pocketing the gains and then complaining that it is not enough.

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Islamists force Jews off of the Temple Mount

According to Arabic media, an Arab mob forced a group of Jews, led by Yehuda Glick, off of the Temple Mount on Sunday.

The videos posted that document this are unclear; they appear to be mostly taken after the Jews left:

The articles say that the existence of Jews on the Temple Mount "provoked the feelings" of the Muslims.

To give you an idea of how much of an "extremist" Glick is....

Here is a video of Yehuda Glick on an Muslim TV show saying that Judaism has a lot in common with Islam and that he wants to share the Temple Mount in peace with Muslims. He even quotes Koranic verses in Arabic. 

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Palestinian Arabs on Temple Mount call for destruction of US, France, Britain, Jews

Last Friday, the first Friday of Ramadan, there was a pro-Morsi demonstration on the Temple Mount. A huge banner of Morsi was unfurled at the site.

There was some controversy over such a political demonstration in the Arabic media and I saw some pushback on people openly supporting Morsi after the Egyptian revolution.

However, none of the Arabic media I could find mentioned anything negative about the content of the speeches themselves, and how thousands of people were chanting anti-Western slogans.

That is a little more newsworthy.

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from a pro-Morsi demonstration held outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, which was posted on the Internet on July 12, 2013:
Palestinian cleric: Allah Akbar. May America be destroyed.
Crowd: Allah Akbar.
Palestinian cleric: Allah Akbar. May France be destroyed.
Crowd: Allah Akbar. May France be destroyed.
Palestinian cleric: Allah Akbar. May Rome be conquered.
Crowd: Allah Akbar. May Rome be conquered.
Palestinian cleric: Allah Akbar. May America be destroyed.
Crowd: Allah Akbar. May America be destroyed.
Palestinian cleric: Allah Akbar. May France be destroyed.
Crowd: Allah Akbar. May France be destroyed.
Palestinian cleric: Allah Akbar. May Britain be destroyed.
Crowd: Allah Akbar. May Britain be destroyed.
Palestinian cleric: Allah Akbar. May Rome be conquered.
Crowd: Allah Akbar. May Rome be conquered.
[...]
Palestinian cleric: We warn you, oh America: Take your hands off the Muslims. Take your hands off the Muslims. You have wrecked havoc in Syria, and before that, in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and now in Egypt. Who do you think we are, America? We are the nation of Islam - a giant and mighty nation, which extends from east to west. Soon, we will teach you a political and military lesson, Allah willing. Allah Akbar. All glory to Allah.
Crowd: Allah Akbar. All glory to Allah.
[...]
Palestinian cleric: Oh Obama, listen up...
Crowd: Oh Obama, listen up...
Palestinian cleric: The Caliphate shall return.
Crowd: The Caliphate shall return.
Palestinian cleric: Oh Obama, listen up...
Crowd: Oh Obama, listen up...
Palestinian cleric: The Caliphate shall return.
Crowd: The Caliphate shall return.
Demonstrator: Say: "Allah Akbar."
Crowd: Allah Akbar.
Demonstrator: Say: "Allah Akbar."
Crowd: Allah Akbar.
[...]
Demonstrator: Oh Obama, listen up...
Crowd: Oh Obama, listen up...
Demonstrator: Our nation will never kneel in submission.
Crowd: Our nation will never kneel in submission.
Demonstrator: The Caliphate shall return.
Crowd: The Caliphate shall return.
Demonstrator: Oh Obama, listen up...
Crowd: Oh Obama, listen up...
Demonstrator: The Caliphate shall return.
Crowd: The Caliphate shall return.
Demonstrator: Our nation will never be humiliated.
Crowd: Our nation will never be humiliated.
Demonstrator: The Caliphate is the solution.
Crowd: The Caliphate is the solution.
Demonstrator: We are the nation of the best men.
Crowd: We are the nation of the best men.
Demonstrator: We are the nation of the best men.
Crowd: We are the nation of the best men.
Demonstrator: We want to cleanse it of the impure.
Crowd: We want to cleanse it of the impure.
[...]
Demonstrator: Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews...
Crowd: Khaybar, khaybar, oh Jews....
Demonstrator: The army of Muhammad will return.
Crowd: The army of Muhammad will return.
Demonstrator: Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews...
Crowd: Khaybar, khaybar, oh Jews....
Demonstrator: The army of Muhammad will return.
Crowd: The army of Muhammad will return.
Demonstrator: Down with America and with all its dogs.
Crowd: Down with America and will all its dogs.
Demonstrator: Down with America and with all its dogs.
Crowd: Down with America and will all its dogs.
Demonstrator: Whoever negotiates with America...
Crowd: Whoever negotiates with America...
Demonstrator: ... is a collaborator and a coward.
Crowd: ... is a collaborator and a coward.
Demonstrator: Whoever negotiates with America...
Crowd: Whoever negotiates with America...
Demonstrator: Down with peaceful solutions.
Crowd: Down with peaceful solutions.
Demonstrator: Down with peaceful solutions.
Crowd: Down with peaceful solutions.
[...]

The people who complain that Jews quietly and reverently visiting the Temple Mount are being "provocative" have never said a negative word about this.

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