The Muslim world love to frighten Westerners with threats of holy war - holy wars that almost never materialize.
1921:
1941:
1953:
1956:
1969:
Clueless Westerners not only believe and are frightened of these baseless threats, they amplify them. Muslims use the threats to get the West to do what they want, and Western dhimmis love to play their role.
Which brings us to Rabbi Eric Yoffie, writing in Haaretz last week:
I hardly knew whether to laugh or cry when I read Rabbi Meir Soloveichik’s most recent article in Commentary magazine.
Entitled "The Real Truth About the Temple Mount," Soloveichik’s article calls for "freedom of worship" on the site for Jews, who, according to longstanding agreements with Muslim authorities, are permitted to visit the Mount but not to pray there.Let us be clear about what is happening here: A leading representative of mainstream American Orthodoxy is calling on Israeli officials to undermine longstanding agreements between Jordan and the State of Israel, and between Israel and Muslim religious authorities, and is encouraging Jews, at least indirectly, to disregard binding commitments made by their government and to begin praying openly at the Temple Mount.This is idiotic and potentially catastrophic. It would greatly weaken the Kingdom of Jordan, one of Israel’s most important Arab allies and the party ultimately responsible for administering the Mount.It would open the door to incitement against Israel by extremist elements throughout the Muslim world.It would strengthen the hands of Iran and Hamas in their struggle against Israel.It would generate violence on the Mount and elsewhere in the region and would trigger furious protests from moderate Sunni states that have been drawing closer to Israel.In short, on the grounds that the principle of "freedom of worship" entitles Jews to pray there — a point to which I shall return — Rabbi Soloveichik is prepared to call for steps that may lead not only to confrontation between Arabs and Israelis but to holy war between Jews and more than a billion Muslims.
Oh no! Jews, by insisting on their right to worship in their holiest spot, are provoking a holy war - a catastrophic conflagration where a billion Muslims will march and start killing Jews and Westerners because of the idiocy of the stupid religious Jews who want to exercise their rights of freedom of worship!
What Yoffie seems not to understand is that Jews have been quietly and communally praying on the Temple Mount for over five years now.
In full view of the Muslims there.
With the Jordanian Waqf watching them up close.
And nothing has happened.
No holy wars. No fighting. A little screaming, which died down years ago. There are lots of newspaper articles in daily Arab media about the "Talmudic rituals" done by "extremist settlers" in the "Al Aqsa Mosque" - so everyone who cares in the Muslim world already knows about this.
And there has been no war.
What will Muslims who read Haaretz think when they see a "rabbi" call for Jews not to exercise their rights to worship on the Temple Mount? It will empower them to encourage violence! After all, if Jewish leaders are against Jewish worship in areas that Muslims have stolen from Jews, Muslims can hardly be expected to do less.
So, paradoxically, a person who calls himself a leader of Jews is tacitly encouraging Muslims to rise up and kill Jews. Yoffie's pretense to "warn" about a holy war is giving Muslims an excuse for violence.
This isn't Jewish leadership. It is irresponsible, stupid leadership that justifies violence against Jews. Islamic Jihad and Iran couldn't ask for a better article to be written in Haaretz.
