Wednesday, July 05, 2017
Elder of Ziyon
The Women of the Wall say on their website that they are
the “new liberators” of the Western Wall. 50 years after the reunification of
Jerusalem, not only is this statement offensive to the soldiers that fought and
died, the millions of Jews around the world overjoyed by the victory and the
non-Jews who stood in awe of the tiny State, calling themselves “liberators of
the Wall” completely misses the point.
The Western Wall is not “occupied” by an enemy force
(unless they consider their fellow Jews enemies). The Temple Mount on the other
hand, the actual holy site, is occupied.
There is one man in Israel that is widely associated with
the battle for religious freedom on the Temple Mount – Yehudah Glick. I wrote
the following before he and Amir Ohana both became Ministers in Israel’s
Parliament. These two vastly different men model in their actions what it truly
means to fight for freedom.
Please read and consider - what kind of freedom fighters
do you want to support?
December 2014 -
When words are twisted meaning becomes warped. The
straightforward and obvious suddenly takes on a new meaning, transforming in to
something far from the original intent.
Changing words and definitions changes reality.
Once the term “freedom fighters” meant people who fight
for freedom. Now, somehow this term has become synonymous with terrorists i.e.
people using psychological and physical threat, violence and murder as means of
scaring others in to agreeing to or allowing a political goal to be attained.
A noble idea, fighting for a noble cause – freedom, has
been twisted in to something ugly and dark. Somehow this new meaning has become
accepted as the norm. Somehow it is acceptable to whitewash murder and violence
to achieve a goal by placing it under the flag of “fighting for freedom”.
What about the real freedom fighters? People who are
using political, acceptable, non-violent ways to fight for freedom? If
terrorists are “freedom fighters” what can we call those who are truly fighting
for freedom?
Over and over we find these rare ones called a myriad of
derogatory names: “annoying”, “provocateurs,” “fringe,” “extremists”… they are
told to shut up, sit down and disappear.
They are often confused for the cause rather than the
solution they truly are.
Instead of being upheld as role models for us all, the
real freedom fighters are being belittled, pushed aside and sometimes even
ostracized.
On October 29th, Yehuda Glick was shot four
times by a Muslim terrorist. It was no “ordinary” terror attack, this was an
assassination attempt. Why?
Because Yehudah Glick has been actively promoting the
right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount.
Huh?
Bizarrely, in Israel there is freedom of worship for all
people – except Jews. Jews are not allowed to pray in the holiest location on
earth for the Jewish people, the Temple Mount, in the heart of Jerusalem.
A little bit of history for those who are unaware of the
background:
The Western Wall or Kotel is part of an external
supporting wall of the ancient Jewish Temple. Now, where the Temple once stood
is a golden domed mosque, The Dome of the Rock. The mosque covers the
Foundation Rock which was once in Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temple and,
according to Jewish tradition, is the foundation upon which God created the
world.
This is the source of the holiness of Jerusalem. This is
why Jerusalem is considered by so many to be the heart of the world.
The Dome of the Rock is not the mosque Muslims place so
much importance in, there is another mosque on the Temple Mount that they call
“al Aqsa.” Muslims pray facing AWAY from the Dome of the Rock, facing Mecca,
the holiest city in Islamic tradition.
The Jewish Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.
The Dome of the Rock was built on top of the ruins in 691 CE. Building a
religious site on top of someone else’s religious site is a way to exert
dominance and announce that the location and everything connected with it has
been conquered.
Today in Israel Jews are not allowed to pray on the Temple
Mount. Jews may ascend the mount but are not allowed to pray. Jews are not
allowed to come close or even see the Foundation Rock.
Why? It’s very simple – fear of Muslim violence.
Over the years Israeli governments have preserved this
restriction with the idea that we shouldn’t “provoke” the Islamic world.
Yehudah Glick said that he thinks this is wrong. He said
it repeatedly and publicly. He ascended the Temple Mount and prayed with
Muslims there, in Arabic and Hebrew.
Glick’s attitude is: “The Temple Mount must be as
(in) the words of (the prophet) Isaiah, ‘a house of prayer for all nations. It
mustn’t be in the hands of violent people. It must not be left to one religion
who are led by a fundamentalist, violent leadership. It must be a sensitive
place – it must be a place that respects all of those who are calling in the
name of the One and only God.”
For this a terrorist tried to murder him. 4 bullets grazed
vital organs and somehow, miraculously, hit none. He should have died – four
times over – and did not. A real miracle.
Now, over a month later, Yehudah is well on the way to
recovery. His peaceful protesting of the lack of freedom of worship for Jews in
the Jewish State has not ceased. In response, the Islamists have increased
their death threats against him: “This time we will make sure the job is
completed.” Some on the left have even implied that it is Yehudah’s provocation
that is at fault, that he brought the attack on himself, that his actions gave
rise to the wave of terror attacks we have recently experienced in Israel.
In a twisted world, the result becomes the cause. The
victim becomes the abuser. Shut up, sit down, go away.
As if ignoring the source of the problem will solve it,
as if telling the victim to “go along to get along” ever works…
No one is talking about the rights of Jews to be free in
their own land, to worship in the place holiest to the Jewish people. No one is
talking of the Islamic provocation of creating violence and bringing weapons in
to the most holy place on earth. No one is talking about the soccer games and
picnics Muslims hold on the Temple Mount. Or the political rallies they have
held, calling for the destruction of Israel.
To be more accurate, there are a few who are talking
about these things. They are called “extremists,” “religious looneys”, told to
shut up and sit down. Yehudah Glick was shot because he spoke out against these
offenses against Jews and Jewish freedom.
Despite the increased death threats the police have not
assigned any specific security detail to protect Glick. As a result, concerned
citizens decided they would not wait for the police to save Yehudah. A group of
people, trained and licensed to carry arms, friends and strangers, volunteered
to be his protection detail, travelling everywhere with him, to protect Yehudah’s
life and freedom.
In an interview Amir Ohana, the leader of the group
explained: “We know the death threats are very real. Yehudah has to go back and
forth between his home and the hospital for treatments until he recovers
completely. He should be safe and free to move in his own country shouldn’t he?
I’m not religious. I’m gay and I don’t believe in God but if Yehudah wants to go
pray on the Temple Mount I think he should be free to do so and I will be
there, right by his side.”
That is a real freedom fighter! That should be the role
model – a man who does not wait for police or government to “save” him, a man
that decides to protect his fellow man because he believes in his right to life
and right to freedom. Nothing more, nothing less.
Religious affiliation, sexual orientation and any other
categories and definitions are not barriers when thinking is straightforward.
Freedom to live, to worship, to speak one’s mind etc. are basic rights, due to
everyone – even if they are Jewish.
I am thankful for the real freedom fighters. I am
thankful that Yehudah’s voice was not silenced by the bullets of the terrorist.
I am thankful for those who have decided to protect Yehudah. These are the real
freedom fighters: people who defend, not attack, people who simply do not
accept being wronged.
Rosa Parks and others like her who did not accept the
injustice of segregation are the freedom fighters, not the rioters of Ferguson.
Mahatma Gandhi led India to Independence by example – not
by suicide bombs.
Freedom is a choice of those who refused to be caged, who
refuse to be silenced. Israel is in danger and so is the rest of the world. It
is up to each and every one of us to decide what definition of “freedom
fighter” we find acceptable.
