TEHRAN (IQNA) – The leader of an extremist Israeli group has called on illegal settlers to demolish the Dome of the Rock in the upcoming so-called “flag march”.Bentzi Gopstein, head of extremist group Lehava invited the illegal settlers to take part in the event which will be held later this month and mark it by demolishing the Dome of the Rock in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.He shared a photo on social media that showed a bulldozer beside the Dome of Rock which is situated in the Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound."We will come to demolish the Dome of the Rock," read the photo's caption.The march is due to take place on 28 May.
It shows part of a poster that they claim Gopstein posted:
First of all, May 28 is a Saturday. There is no march set up for a Shabbat.
It turns out that this picture is a detail of a poster posted by Gaza Now, and maybe other places:
It turns out that the poster is completely fake. Someone Photoshopped a real poster published by left-wing Israeli groups where they claim they will go and demolish the outpost of Homesh - on Saturday, May 28, this year.
I don't know if the fake poster was created by Arabs to spread a libel about Jews or if a Jew created the Photoshop to respond to the left-wing promise to demolish an outpost that had previously been demolished by Israel.
Thousands of Arabic speakers, however, are convinced that Jews are readying to demolish Al Aqsa on May 28. Since I first saw this fake poster this morning, the "destruction" has condemned by PA Adviser for Religious Affairs and Islamic Relations Mahmoud al-Habbash, who parroted the story that right-wing Jews from Lehava posted this graphic. So did the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
When these rumors pop up, people sometimes get killed.
The Israeli government has started to debunk rumors in an effort to forestall violence, for example their denial that they will allow a Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount was reported in Arab media. Perhaps they should set up a webpage to monitor these rumors and instantly debunk them. Even though Arabs will say that the Jews are liars, over time the site can show over history how these rumors never come true and perhaps their denials will at least be read.
(h/t Moshe Kwiat)
UPDATE: Gopstein did post this on his Telegram channel. It was obviously a joke to make fun of Peace Now et. al., but it is a stupid and irresponsible thing for him to post. He is literally putting Jewish lives at risk for lolz with his buddies? No, thanks, we don't need him to represent those who love the entire Land of Israel.
(h/t DigFind)
