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Monday, June 24, 2013

Jews wanting to pray on their holiest site are branded "ultra rightist" by Reuters

Reuters published their latest article on the Temple Mount and it is just as bad as all the previous ones.

In this case, Reuters is hell-bent to describe any Jews who want to worship on their holiest site as crazed right-wing fanatics, while Muslims who want to ban Jews from their holiest site are simply reasonable people.

Look how many times Jews simply wanting to pray are given adjectives, while Arab rioters and those against freedom of worship are given no monikers whatsoever.

The headline says it all:

Far-right Israelis stir tensions over Jerusalem holy site

Far-right Israelis are pressing for an end to an effective ban on holding Jewish prayers at a Jerusalem holy compound once dominated by Biblical temples and now home to al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam's most revered sites.

Palestinians (not right wing - but just "Palestinians") oppose Jewish worship at the vast stone plaza overlooking Judaism's Western Wall as a potential threat to access for Muslims.

...Israeli police accompany most visitors to the compound, where escorted tours are held frequently. They cross a wooden bridge to a gate where plastic police shields and other riot-control gear are stored, a ready display of how quickly the otherwise serene atmosphere can sometimes go awry. [And who does the rioting? Not the "far-right" visitors!]

Visitors are closely watched by both the police and the Muslim religious officials of the Waqf who administer the compound and keep an eye out to make sure no Jewish worship takes place. Anyone wearing Jewish religious garb is generally kept away from the Islamic holy tract. [Whoops, it is no longer a Jewish holy site.]

At the compound, one group of visitors walked past al-Aqsa, drawing shouting from Muslim women [not right wing fanatic Muslim women] sitting in the shade of tree and from Palestinian children attending a day camp. They ignored the catcalls and continued deeper into the plaza.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has denounced the Israeli visits as a part of a "dangerous and an evil plot to demolish al-Aqsa" and build what he calls "an alleged temple". [Not "right wing bigot Mahmoud Abbas, who is against the right of Jews to worship."]
...
In 2000, Palestinian protests over a visit to the site by then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon spiraled into deadly clashes and a five-year Palestinian uprising in which thousands died. [The riots were pre-planned but Reuters still wants to make it look like Sharon instigated them.]

Also in May, Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel, a Jewish settler in the occupied West Bank who is from the far-right Jewish Home Party, said in a largely tongue-in-cheek remark in parliament that he would "definitely be happy" to be assigned the job of rebuilding a new holy temple.

While some Jewish zealots advocate such construction, such a project has never been on the agenda of Israeli governments.

However, one member of Netanyahu's Likud party, legislator Tzipi Hotovely, visited the compound on the eve of her wedding last month. She said her pilgrimage was symbolic of a historic yearning "to rebuild on the ruins of Jerusalem". A Likud colleague, Miri Regev, has said the site should be shared between Islam and Judaism so that Jews could pray there openly.

Israeli police have barred further visits by another Likud lawmaker, Moshe Feiglin, an ultra-rightist who has been arrested in the past for what police said were attempts to worship on the plaza. Officials said they feared Feiglin's presence could stir violent Palestinian protests. [Jews praying are "ultra-rightist" but rioters get no adjectives whatsoever.]

Most of those campaigning for Jewish prayer in the compound represent a far-right minority, but many Muslims "see a provocation, and blame the (Israeli) government, so we have a big problem", said Israeli political scientist Yitzhak Reiter. [Again, "regular" Muslims against a "far-right" minority, whose freedom of religion just happens to be compromised by the "normal" Muslims.]