As is by now widely known, it was Haj Amin al Husseini, the
Mufti of Jerusalem, who first used
the vicious libel that Jews were threatening the Al Aqsa mosque to incite
murderous violence in the 1920s. Husseini is now notorious as “Hitler’s Mufti”
– and has even been described
as “Hitler of the Holy Land” – but his legacy is alive and well: all over the
Arab and Muslim world, political and religious leaders as well as the media are
eager to invent ever new versions of Husseini’s libel when there are tensions
around the place Muslims claim as Islam’s “third holiest” site, while ignoring,
if not outright denying, that this is also Judaism’s most holy site.
So it is perhaps not surprising that “progressive” icon
Linda Sarsour is happily joining in, sharing her version of the Al-Aqsa libel on
Facebook. In recent days, she published two related posts.
“On this holy Friday, I pray for my
Palestinian sisters and brothers, for Al Aqsa, for a free and liberated
Palestine. Israeli government continues to collectively punish Palestinians and
deny them entrance to Al Aqsa mosque, they are met with tear gas and rubber
bullets and they still stand strong - they continue to show resolve and
resilience as they pray in the thousands on the streets outside the gates in an
act of non-violent resistance. Muslim Palestinians joined by their Christian
Palestinian siblings.”
You see: Muslim Palestinians and Christian Palestinians are just
wonderful, pious and peaceful; whereas Israel – i.e. the world’s only Jewish
state – is a brutal and cruel oppressor. But Linda Sarsour was simply lying,
just as Husseini lied back in the 1920s. The Israeli government wasn’t denying
Palestinians entrance to the Al Aqsa mosque; instead, Muslim leaders had called
on Palestinians not to enter the site in protest against metal detectors that
had been installed well away from the mosque, at the entrances to the Temple
Mount, after three Arab-Israeli Muslims had used the mosque a week earlier to receive
guns from an accomplice for a deadly terror
attack targeting Israeli police
officers. Sarsour’s false claim that the “Israeli government continues to
collectively punish Palestinians” was the only hint that might be construed as
referring to this murderous terror attack – which Sarsour didn’t find
worthwhile mentioning, let alone condemning.
Given that Sarsour never tires of emphasizing her
religiosity, it is also noteworthy that she has apparently no problem with
terrorists using the Al Aqsa mosque to get weapons; indeed, her enthusiastic
support for the protests against the newly installed metal detectors and her
failure to condemn the terror attack arguably amount to
an implicit endorsement.
This is especially true since Sarsour followed up her first
post with another that merely repeated what she had already said, but was
posted a day after a Palestinian terrorist had slaughtered
three members of a family at their home. Again, Sarsour pointedly ignored the
horrific massacre (and of course the fact
that Palestinians were proudly celebrating
it); and as in her previous post, she also preferred to ignore the fact that
the protests were not all as peaceful as she claimed, but escalated into violent
riots.
“This is resilience. This is perseverance.
This is faith. This is commitment. This is inspiration. This is Palestine.
Denied access to pray at Al Aqsa Mosque in their own homeland, Palestinians
pray on the streets in an act of non-violent resistance. They are met with tear
gas and rubber bullets. But you still can’t keep them from God. While the world
powers continue to turn a blind eye to the blatant injustice against and the
suffering of the Palestinian people, they remain steadfast and teach us life,
determination and patience. Palestine will be free, it’s not a question of if,
its when. Long live Palestine!”
Interestingly, one of her followers challenged
her about her lie that the Palestinians were denied access to the Al Aqsa
mosque, asking where this had been reported and pointing out that a link she
provided in response did not support her claim. Sarsour was clearly upset and
replied:
“it sounds like you are justifying
the current situation. The point is that the Palestinian people are engaging in
mass non-violent civil disobedience to bring awareness to the longstanding
brutal military occupation and the increased control over Jerusalem which is
still international terrain. Israeli govt continues to violate the human rights
of Palestinians and denies them religious freedom.”
But as Sarsour knows full well, the only people being denied
religious freedom in Jerusalem are Christians and Jews who want to visit the
Temple Mount: due to the rules set by the Muslim authorities that Israel left
in charge of the Temple Mount plaza in 1967, non-Muslims can visit only at
severely restricted hours and are strictly forbidden from praying and
performing any religious ritual.
Interestingly enough, this time around, Sarsour’s lies and
her studied silence about Palestinian violence and terror attacks were widely noted.
Even Ha’aretz found it newsworthy and published an article under the title
“Linda Sarsour Praises Non-violent Palestinian Resistance, Fails to Mention
West Bank Attack” – which could be read as: Linda Sarsour is a hypocrite and
liar who tries hard to whitewash Palestinian violence and terrorism.
But the man now known as “Hitler’s Mufti” would surely
applaud her: on Facebook, she has more than 184K followers – which means that
her posts praising Palestinian “resistance” reach a fairly wide audience. And
the way she tries to whitewash Palestinian terrorism reminds me of what the
mufti said in an interview
in September 1929, shortly after he had incited the notorious Hebron massacre
and the subsequent Arab violence, which left 133 Jews dead:
“When politely told that world
opinion is holding him personally responsible and partially guilty for the
savagery and unspeakable assaults, the Mufti smiled and with a sweeping
gesture, showing delicate manicured hands, he declared: ‘My hands are clean, I
declare before God. Moreover, it is untrue that the world is siding with the
Jews. Telegrams are pouring in from all parts of the world expressing sympathy
and offering to help the Palestine Arabs. We have telegrams from Moscow, also
the Paris and Berlin branches of the Anti-Imperialist League. We are further
assured of the solidarity of the entire Moslem world and have actually offers
of armies to help us if necessary. Help is unnecessary. We will win through an
economic boycott.’”
As it happens, Linda Sarsour is of course also for an
economic boycott.
And as it happens, in 1929, many Jewish homes in Hebron
looked pretty much like the home of the family who was attacked by a
Palestinian terrorist last Friday evening.
