Sunday, January 14, 2018
Elder of Ziyon
A week ago, the main prayer hall at the Cave of the Patriarchs was flooded after several hours of rainfall.
Video taken on Saturday night January 6 shows several inches of water in the holy spot.
Prayers that Saturday evening were moved to smaller rooms inside the building.
This is not the first time this has happened.
The prayer hall is in a courtyard that is used because the prayer halls in the building are too small to accommodate the worshipers. But it is only protected by a tarp, because no permission was given by the Muslim Waqf to build a more permanent roof and walls.
According to the State of Israel, the Muslim Waqf is responsible for the maintenance of the building itself.
The Waqf denies that there is any problem, and it is claiming that the Jews are the ones damaging the site. it says that any roof added to the courtyard would be a violation of the status quo and any repairs that would fix the situation would themselves be the causes of harm to the site.
With amazing nerve, the Waqf called on the international community and all legal, cultural and archaeological institutions to work to stop these violations by Jews for doing "actions harmful to this historic religious site."
The Jewish residents of the area have prepared a plan for a glass roof and walls that would preserve the character of the courtyard and allow worshipers to pray.
This is what the Muslim leaders will never allow.
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