Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Al-Aqsa Mosque

Showing posts with label Al-Aqsa Mosque. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Palestinian researcher reveals new fake information about "tunnels under Al Aqsa"

Today, Felesteen and other Palestinian sites reported:

Moaz Agbariya, a researcher specializing in Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque affairs, reported that there are 45 tunnels connected to each other that threaten the foundations of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the homes of Jerusalemites in the occupied city of Jerusalem .

Agbariya stated in a statement to the Felesteen newspaper that the majority of the tunnels are based on the foundations of Al-Aqsa Mosque from the western side, and there is a section of them on the southern side, and a tunnel on the northern side.

He pointed out that there is a tunnel that only Jews are allowed to enter, and it is located under Al-Aqsa Mosque, in addition to four tunnels that were established in the Roman era and restored during the era of the Ayyubid state, and they are designated for the exit of rainwater from the Blessed Mosque, and no one is allowed to enter them except cleaning workers after obtaining a permit from the occupation police.

Wow! A tunnel under the Temple Mount that only Jews re allowed to enter? And only one of 45? Sign me up!

Especially since no one has dug a tunnel under the Temple Mount (except the Waqf) for well over a hundred years!

He explained that the occupation's attempts to falsify the history of the city of Jerusalem and prove its alleged right to it do not stop, by digging tunnels, seizing and hiding everything that indicates authentic Islamic history.

In an earlier interview, he claimed that a new tunnel Israel was excavating had Islamic markings and phrases that the Israelis are destroying. That is of course absurd, since you can see lots of Muslim sites in the Old City that are preserved by Israel.

Palestinians have claimed for at least 12 years that Israel is building "Biblical gardens" on top of the Bab al-Rahma cemetery adjacent to the Temple Mount. Somehow, nothing has happened.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Palestinians force Tunisian Muslim woman out of Al Aqsa:"You walk with the Jews!"

Rabbi Yehuda Glick posted on his Facebook this photo and caption:

On the evening of Yom Kippur we prayed at the Temple Mount together.

Muslim Christian and Jew

We prayed for not one God that peace will come

About us and all mankind

May this place be a house of prayer for all nations.

In practically no time, the story spread and the woman - who is apparently Tunisian but traveling with a European passport - was refused entry to Al Aqsa when she tried to enter the site again on Tuesday.

In this video, a Palestinian man berates the Muslim woman woman who just wanted to pray. He tells her “Go outside, please. Oh, go outside. You walk with the Jews. You walk with Yehuda Glick. I never want to see you here again!"

The woman weakly protests but remains perfectly calm and while being berated.

Some angry Arabic sites identify her as Moroccan, which adds an extra layer of hate since Morocco had normalized relations with Israel.

The woman asked Glick to hide her face in his Facebook post, which he did. But it was too late; the original photo had already been published and spread.

Yet Glick's attempt to minimize the damage shows that he cares more about the welfare of this Muslim woman than Palestinian Muslims do.

Palestinians are cheering the man who forced a Muslim woman to leave the holy site.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Yom Kippur brings out the antisemitism in Arab media and officials

The Arabic language media has been obsessively reporting about Yom Kippur since before the holiday.

The most insane claim came from the Jerusalem Waqf. After claiming that Jews were dancing on the graves of Muslims at the ancient cemetery on the south side of the Temple Mount, it announced that there was no relationship between Yom Kippur and the Temple:

The Council stressed in its statement that it is not possible to accept such arbitrary measures under the pretext of Jewish holidays, which have no relation, even remotely, to the history, reality and message of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. Merely linking these occasions to an authentic Islamic mosque represents for us in itself an assault and a blatant violation of its right as a mosque. Islamic, with all its squares, facilities, prayer halls, roads, entrances, and its entire area of 144 dunums.

The Yom Kippur ceremonies were the emotional and religious apex of the year at the Jewish Temples in Jerusalem on the very spot that the Dome of the rock was deliberately placed.

Of course, Jews visited the Temple Mount on Yom Kippur - as they do every weekday. But because it was Yom Kippur, Egypt's Foreign Ministry condemned them:

Egypt called on the Israeli authorities to fulfill their obligations and stop such escalatory practices because they represent a clear violation of the existing legal and historical status of the city of Jerusalem and its honorable sanctities,

What did the storming look like? Here it is:

Al Jazeera decided to highlight that some of the visiting Jews on Yom Kippur eve were barefoot. The PA's Jerusalem Governorate said, "Some settlers deliberately storm Al-Aqsa Mosque barefoot, because they see it as the alleged temple - according to their laws - and therefore it is not permissible to enter it with leather shoes , so they enter it barefoot or with slippers of other materials....This is one of the most prominent manifestations of consecrating the moral foundation of the alleged Temple."

Again, that happens every day. Religious Jews who visit the Mount don't wear leather shoes, same as on Yom Kippur.

It is deeply ironic that Muslims are complaining about Jews going barefoot on their holy site when they remove their own shoes for prayer.

The Secretary-General of the Jordanian Royal Commission for Jerusalem Affairs, Abdullah Kanaan, complained that Israel's closure of Jerusalem on Yom Kippur was an example of an "apartheid policy," and "this holiday is accompanied by religious rituals and strict measures that include preventing the movement of transportation, closing roads, and comprehensive restrictions on the Palestinians. Mercy, tolerance, respect for beliefs, and freedom of worship are deliberately absent from Jewish holidays, including Yom Kippur, which is accompanied by the occupation authorities and settlers adopting all forms and methods of racism and the policy of killing, captivity, detention, and protection of Israeli incursions and attacks carried out by settlers."

Temple denial, and denial of Jewish history, is no less antisemitic than Holocaust denial, which is something else Palestinians and other antisemitic Arabs excel at. And it happens every day.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Palestinian Authority regards the term "Second Temple" to be "incitement and racism"

The Palestinian Ministry of Information puts out a regular listing of "incitement and racism in Israeli media."

It shows three examples from August of what it calls "provocative terms" it saw in Hebrew language media.

“A Palestinian bulldozer demolished an archaeological site from the days of the Second Temple."
.
Concerning Walid Daqqa: “Distorted ethics. A human rights organization demands the release of a terrorist with blood on his hands.”

“Construction in the West Bank is an appropriate Zionist response to terrorism.”

So, telling the truth is "provocative" and "incitement" and "racism."

I think the Palestinian Authority regards "1984" as a textbook and its "Ministry of Truth" is a model for the Palestinian "ministry of information."

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Egyptian, Jordanian, Moroccan and Saudi government ministries condemn Jews visiting their holiest site on Rosh Hashana

On Sunday, about 250 Jews visited the Temple Mount for Rosh Hashanah. There were no major incidents: one Jew blew a shofar and was quickly removed by police.

But since so much ink had been spilled in the Arab world about how "Al Aqsa is in danger" the Arabic media had to create the impression that the Jews who calmly and quietly visited - as they do every Sunday through Thursday - were disruptive and insulting.

Even Arab video shows they weren't:

Yet the lies spread throughout the Arab world. Countless articles claim that the shofar blower was supported by Israeli police, not detained. Al Jazeera has an entire article on the dangers of blowing a shofar there - a place where there are huge loudspeakers blaring much louder than any shofar five times a day, every day.

The Jordanian Council of Endowments, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites in Jerusalem issued a statement condemning the Israeli police for allowing a Jew to enter with his shofar.

But these condemnations of Jews visiting their holiest site are not relegated to op-eds and fringe groups. They come from the governments of nations at peace with Israel, or seeking peace with Israel.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry "condemned the extremists’ storming of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/the Holy Mosque of Jerusalem and their provocative practice under the protection of the Israeli police." They said that the Jews touring the area "represents a violation of the historical and legal status quo in the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/the Holy Mosque and a violation of the sanctity of the holy places." It also emphasized that the entire area of the Temple Mount is purely for Muslims, not only insulting Jews but also the thousands of Christians who visit every year.

Morocco's Foreign Ministry was reported also to have condemned Jews visiting the site, saying, "These escalatory actions inflame feelings and undermine efforts to calm the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories."

Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar Gomaa, the Egyptian Minister of Endowments, said that "the repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa are a sinful assault on one of the holiest sanctities of all Muslims, a blatant provocation to the feelings of Muslims from all over the world, and a blatant violation of all international laws, and the rational people of the international community must work to curb this extremism."

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a statement, in English:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's condemnation and denunciation of the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by a group of extremists under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces. The Ministry affirms that these practices are considered a blatant violation of all international norms and conventions, and a provocation to the feelings of Muslims around the world.

In reality, international law would prohibit the banning of Jews from the Temple Mount that these members of the United Nations are explicitly demanding.

In the history of Jerusalem, only Jewish rulers have allowed all people to visit their holy places. Gentiles were allowed to offer sacrifices in the Temples. There is a huge irony that the people who have been the most liberal and accepting of all have been the ones accused of intolerance - by people who proudly say that no one has any rights on the Temple Mount besides Muslims.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

A 10th century Muslim historian refutes today's Palestinian "Temple denial"

It really is quite absurd to see today's Muslims insist that there was no Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, and that somehow Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock were always there. Especially when one of the Arabic names of Jerusalem is "Bayt al-Muqqadas" - which comes straight from "Beit HaMikdash," the Hebrew name for the Holy Temple.

I've previously mentioned a 15th century work by Jalal-addín that goes into detail about Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.

But if you want an earlier Muslim historian, we have al-Masudi - a 10th century Arab historian and geographer who has been called "Herodotus of the Arabs."

Al-Masudi's works are quoted in the 1890 work by Guy Le Strange, who translated a number of medieval Arab historians and geographers in "Palestine Under the Moslems."

Al Masudi clearly admits that Al Aqsa is on the site of Solomon's Temple:

Every literate Muslim knew this quite well - until the 20th century, when hate of Jews reached a level high enough to see Muslims and Arabs deny their own most famous and best historians.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

What is the Waqf doing on the Temple Mount? The Israel Antiquities Authority says it is "classified."

From The Judean:

A recent report detailing the "supervision of the preservation of antiquities and heritage values on the Temple Mount" has revealed disheartening findings. Published this month by the Knesset's Research and Information Center, the report asserts that the Waqf, supported by the King of Jordan, exercises unilateral authority on the Mount, while the Israeli government seemingly abets it by concealing the realities from its citizens.

In recent times, there had been an impression that matters regarding the Mount were progressing positively, particularly concerning the preservation of antiquities. The antiquities law, enacted by the Knesset in 1978, mandates the approval of a special committee of ministers before any renovation or construction on an antiquities site designated for religious purposes can take place. This rule predominantly refers to the Temple Mount, where the religious authority – an entity deeply entrenched in political maneuvering – recurrently conflicts with Israel's archaeological interests.

The intended structure for this committee is to be chaired by the Minister of Culture, accompanied by the Minister of Religion and the Minister of Justice. However, in practice, the committee remained un-convened until 2009. In the thirty years that elapsed between the law's enactment and its implementation, the Mount witnessed immense destruction. Islamic authorities clandestinely removed 400 truckloads of dirt from a pit in 1999, ostensibly to create an emergency opening for an underground mosque. Archaeologists continue to sift through the excavated dirt even now. Many other damages, such as the digging of a deep electrical trench at the temple site in 2007, have occurred without prompting any ministerial committee meeting.

According to the newly released report, the committee convened nine times between 2009 and 2015 to approve 19 works demanded by the Waqf on the Mount. These works included the renovation of the marble in the walls of the Dome of the Rock, conservation work, engineering operations in the entrance vault to “Solomon’s stables,” and the replacement of the Al-Aqsa Mosque doors. After 2015, the committee met only once, in January 2019, in a session defined as classified.

The report painfully concludes that "information regarding the state of supervision of the preservation of the antiquities of the Temple Mount in recent years is extremely scarce." In response to a request by “Makor Rishon” to acquire details about damages to antiquities from 2011 onwards, the Antiquities Authority disconcertingly responded, “The Antiquities Authority has information regarding the aforementioned. We can provide details in a classified discussion only."

The report, in Hebrew, is here.

We already know how the Waqf likes to deny and destroy any hint of Jewish history on Judaism's holiest site. And there is been scant evidence that the Israel Antiquities Authority is doing anything to stop it (occasionally I see a complaint in Arabic media that some restoration work is being delayed.)

This is not something that should be "classified" or secret. This is extraordinarily important and must be made public.

There are no doubt legitimate repairs and improvements that the Waqf can legitimately do to Al Aqsa and the Dome of the Rock, but everything that happens there must be scrutinized and publicly known.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Jordan's "Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs" issues another antisemitic statement: "Zionists created the Temple myth"

The Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs is a quasi-governmental Jordanian organization, with many members who are also ministers of the Jordanian government, whose purpose is "working to raise awareness of the importance of the issue of Jerusalem and not to separate it from its Arab and Islamic dimension, expose the Judaization and daily Israeli violations it is subjected to, and increase efforts working to stabilize Jerusalemites, support their steadfastness and publicize their suffering."

It issues a multi-page daily bulletin on supposed Israeli "violations" of the city - like Jews strolling on the Temple Mount.

Its latest accusations are particularly ludicrous - and antisemitic.

As reported in the official Jordanian news agency Petra:

The Israeli occupation exploits many occasions and events as a climate to conduct Talmudic rituals, incursions and attacks against Islamic and Christian sanctities in Palestine, and Jerusalem in particular.

Abdullah Kanaan, Secretary-General of the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs, says that the Israeli occupation is trying to take advantage of the month of August (Av) in a systematic and deliberate process, which includes Israeli measures to create an alleged history and culture through a dramatic industry that shows the Jews as victims to win the positions of the superpowers and sympathize with public opinion towards them.

He said to the Jordan News Agency (Petra) "The Jews claim that on Av 9, 586 BC, the alleged temple was destroyed, and the Jews were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, and that on Av 9, 70 AD, the alleged temple was destroyed again by Titus the Roman, and on August 8 1877 AD, the Jews established the first settlement north of Jaffa, and it was called Petah Tikva, and in August 1897 AD, the First Zionist Congress was held, which transformed Zionist thought into a political movement seeking to establish a national home for the Jews in historical Palestine."

He continues, “On August 21, 1969 AD, the Zionist Dennis Rohan burned parts of the Al-Qibli Mosque, and in August 1979 AD, an extremist group (Gush Emunim) planned to destroy the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, but it failed. On August 3, 2011 AD, the Knesset discussed the project to build a cable car to link the western and eastern parts of Jerusalem with the aim of changing the historical identity of the city and facilitating the transportation of settlers. to occupied cities."

And he goes on to say: "These are maliciously invented occasions to consolidate the legend of the Temple and the Promised Land."

He called for educating the world public opinion through all the media about the seriousness of the so-called sad month of Av for the Jews, and stressing that it is a Talmudic, political, settlement month that has nothing to do with historical facts that confirm the absence of the alleged temple or any archaeological evidence that supports Zionist myths in historical Palestine.

This committee, whose entire purpose is to deny any Jewish ties to Jerusalem, is respected and has been quoted by the UN.

Temple denial and the claim that there is no proof of the Temples is ludicrous and antisemitic. As I've mentioned before, the entire Temple Mount was built by Jews, in sections, from the time of the Biblical kings to the Hasmonean extensions to the Herodian extensions. These extensions with their differing characteristics can be seen from the Eastern Wall of the Mount.

The entire Temple Mount is proof of the Jewish Temples and Biblical history!

It is bad enough that Jordanian media spouts pure antisemitism every day. Just this past weekend one writer quoted 18th century antisemitic philosophers to "prove" that Jews are selfish, greedy, ugly, and their consciousness is that of animals.

But this is an official Jordanian organization, whose members are in the government, and which was established by the Jordanian royal family. They deny even Islamic sources that prove the deep connection of Jews to Jerusalem and the existence of the Temples, and Islamic tradition admits that the Dome of the Rock was purposely built on the site of the Temples in order replace them.

Their Jew-hatred runs so deep that they are willing to discard even their own historians.

Accusing Jews of inventing a new history for Jerusalem is a perfect example of Arab psychological projection.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Palestinians really spooked by the Red Cow

The Fort Worth Star Telegram reported last month:

Byron Stinson has always been a man of strong faith.
And recently that faith came into play for a mission. Jewish faith leaders he knew needed a red heifer to replicate a ceremony depicted in the Bible.
“I felt like it was my duty as a Texan to go out and look around Texas and see if I could find some completely red, pure red cows that fulfill the requirements of the red heifer and, if I could, then try to ship them here to Israel,” Stinson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Stinson, of Glen Rose, didn’t just find one heifer. He found five.
Those five, perfectly unblemished red heifers landed in Israel in September 2022, a feat that cost around $500,000 when you factor in the first-class plane tickets for rabbis to come examine the heifers and the American Airlines trip to Israel.
They’re now being taken care of at a secure location, and Stinson and others hope to hold the ceremony they’ll be used for during Passover in 2024. Stinson runs a nonprofit called Boneh Israel that helps build up and revive Biblical sites.

This story has been all over Arab media for the past week as the Muslims are concerned that the Jews will use the ashes of the red heifer to start the purification process that will result in the building of the Third Temple. Al Jazeera notes that while the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and other prominent rabbi s are against Jews ascending to the Temple Mount, if they are purified with the ashes of the Red Cow they could visit even according to them.

The latest story comes from the preacher of the Al Aqsa Mosque:

The preacher of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri , confirmed that the occupation had failed to find any stone indicating ancient Hebrew history through excavations under Al-Aqsa, so today it seeks to promote the imaginary slaughter of cows to obtain international legitimacy and cover up its failure.
Sabri said, in a dialogue session, "He will not allow the Zionists to harm the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque."
He pointed out that the occupation seeks to impose its hegemony over Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that all the measures it takes are conducive to this goal, including converting Al-Aqsa Mosque into a military barracks to allow non-Muslims to enter it during the morning period, as part of its endeavor to impose the so-called "time division" on it. The imam and preacher of Al-Aqsa Mosque stressed that the occupation will not succeed in implementing its goals, and will not obtain any right for it in Al-Aqsa, and that Muslims will remain present in the blessed mosque to thwart these ongoing plans.
Sabri stressed that Al-Aqsa is for Muslims by a decision from the Lord of the Worlds from above the seven heavens, and not by a decision of the United Nations, indicating that all Muslims are obligated to protect, rebuild and defend the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and that non-Muslims will not be allowed to pray in it or commit any attack on it.

I'd love to know the Quranic source that the Temple Mount belongs to Muslims, especially since Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran once.

Palestinians are far more afraid of religious Jews linking Jerusalem to Hebrew Scripture than they are of Israel's military. Because they know that Jews were there first, and that religious Jews have an even longer institutional memory than Muslims do.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

So is it US policy that some Jews must be banned from the Temple Mount?

From the Jerusalem Post:

The United States slammed as “unacceptable” National Security Minister Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the Temple Mount on Thursday, to mark the annual Tisha Be’av fast.

“We reaffirm our long-standing US position in support of the historic status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites,” State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters in Washington.

“Any unilateral action or rhetoric that deviates or jeopardizes the status quo is completely unacceptable,” Patel emphasized.

The US Embassy in Jerusalem issued a similar statement and US Ambassador Robert Wood echoed his country’s displeasure in a speech he delivered to the United Nations Security Council.

“This holy place should not be used for political purposes. We call on all parties to respect its sanctity,” he said.

No matter what one thinks of Ben Gvir, what is unacceptable is for the US to say that some Jews have a very limited right to visit their holiest spot, which is bad enough, and then to make it worse by saying that some Jews should have no rights to visit it at all.

From a Jewish perspective, it is the Muslims who visit the Dome of the Rock and the areas around it who are desecrating the holy spot. Every single day.

Jewish sensitivities towards the most sacred spot in Judaism are meaningless to the State Department.

But for some reason, Muslim sensitivities to make the entire area Judenrein is not something to be condemned by the US government..

Even when they give antisemitic speeches there.

Even when they wave Hamas flags.

Even when they stockpile projectiles and fireworks.

When those things happen, the State Department never issues sanctimonious statements urging Muslims to "respect its sanctity."

Anything and everything that Muslims do on the Temple Mount is somehow part of the mythical "status quo" while anything Jews do is a threat and a potential powder keg.

There is something very wrong here.

Ben Gvir did nothing provocative and said nothing that is offensive, certainly when compared to the Jew-hatred being spouted regularly on Al Aqsa. But the State Department feels that they can attack him without repercussions from the Jewish community, because he is so reviled by so many.

What Jews need to realize is that this attack on him was couched in terms of an attack on all Jews who want to assert historic rights to our most sacred place, and that is what is "completely unacceptable."

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Jordan quietly admits the existence of the Temples on the Temple Mount

We've noted previously that the Waqf tourist guides to the Temple Mount from the 1920s through 1950 freely admitted that the Dome of the Rock was built on the spot of the two Jewish Temples. Now the updated editions of the Waqf guide explicitly denies any Jewish connection to the Mount.

But a new photo book of the Temple Mount, "The Noble Sanctuary Book," has just been released and it was clearly made with the blessings of the Jordanian government and the Waqf, which granted the photographer Bashar Tabbah access to places not open to the public. The introduction was written by a member of Jordan's royal family.

The historical section of the book was written by an American archaeologist, Dr. Robert Schick. And his description indicates that the Temples were indeed on that site - and he brings proof from the Quran:

There is a little wiggle room there to say that it is possible that the Temples were elsewhere in Jerusalem, and it looks like Schick tried to thread the needle between honesty and the desires of the Jordanians. But his wording "Other verses associated with the Masjid al-Aqsa compound" immediately after the Quranic reference to the Temples makes it clear that the book says that the Quran is referring to the Temples on the Temple Mount.

Before anyone heard of Palestinians, this was not a controversial position. Many Muslim scholars over the centuries knew that the entire reason the Dome of the Rock was built where it was is because it was the site of the Temples and they wanted to build something that would approach the majesty of the originals. However, the official position changed in the 1950s and 60s, culminating in explicit Temple denial by Yasir Arafat at Camp David.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Palestinians keep freaking over possibility of Israel dividing up the Temple Mount

For decades, every since Israel divided up the Tomb of the Patriarchs into Muslim and Jewish sections to avoid bloodshed, Palestinians have been warning that Israel plans to do the same with the Temple Mount, dividing it up "temporally and spatially."

Last week, an obscure Likud MP named Amit Halevi gave them lots of ammunition.

A Likud lawmaker is proposing a plan to divide Jerusalem’s Temple Mount between Muslims and Jews and to remove Jordan’s custodial status over the holy site.

Speaking to the Zman Yisrael Hebrew news site, Knesset member Amit Halevi outlined a plan whereby Muslims would control the southern end of the 37-acre complex which contains the Al-Aqsa mosque, while Jews would receive the central and northern area, where the Dome of the Rock sits.

It would also allow Jews to enter from any gate, and it would get rid of the Waqf as custodian of the site.

Palestinian sites are reporting this as a "draft law" (it isn't) and they are certain that the current Israeli government is planning to do this.

In his weekly cabinet meeting, Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said "taking this step would cause overwhelming anger whose results cannot be controlled, because of the sanctity and religious value that Al-Aqsa Mosque constitutes for the Palestinian people and for Arabs and Muslims."

President of the Palestinian National Council, Ruhi Fattouh, called it "a fascist step by the racist settlement government to impose its control over the city of Jerusalem and its religious and historical places, especially the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque." He also called this a prelude to a religious war that will ignite the region.

Hamas media today quotes an analyst who says that this plan proves that they were right all along about Israel planning to divide up the area. And there have been daily articles across all Palestinian media railing against this idea.

The chances of such a plan becoming law is just about zero. It probably won't even be drafted.

Not that it is a bad idea. It would be more fair than the absurd situation now. But there is no way it would ever happen. Halevi is a marginal figure in Likud, and I haven't seen any grassroots support for the plan by anyone.

It is to Palestinians what the "Palestine is Jordan" plan is to Jordan - something they are intensely worried about but for which there is no realistic path. But it gives them endless nourishment for outlandish conspiracy theories.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Palestinian preacher at Al Aqsa: "Palestinians Have No Historical Right to Palestine"

From MEMRI:

In an address at the Al-Aqsa Mosque posted on the Aqsa Call YouTube channel on April 14, 2023, Palestinian Islamic scholar Issam Amira said that Palestinians are no more Canaanite than Egyptians are Pharaonic. Rather, he said that the Palestinians are Muslims, and had had no rights whatsoever prior to the advent of Islam. He added that when late PLO leader Yasser Arafat referred to the Palestinian people as a (Canaanite) "nation of giants," he was cursing and humiliating his own people.

Isaam Amira: "The people of Palestine have no historical right to Palestine. They have no right that dates back 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000 years.

"The right of the Canaanites to Palestine is equal to the pharaohs' right to Egypt. Is it conceivable that any Muslim in Egypt would say: 'I am Pharaonic and proud of it?' Well, it's the same if a Muslim in Palestine says: 'I am a Canaanite and proud of it.' To hell with your Canaanite identity and with his Pharaonic identity.

"People, our history is simple and it is not ancient. Our history dates back only 1,440 years. 1,440 years ago we had no rights of any kind. Absolutely none.
[...]

"It must not be said that the Palestinians have Canaanite roots. We can go back to the words of Yasser Arafat who lost our cause. He referred to you as the [Canaanite] 'nation of giants.'

"This is the first time I see a president who curses his own people. The Palestinians are Muslims.

"Calling them [Canaanite] 'nation of giants' is cursing them. It's humiliating to them. It sends them back to the infidel days of tyranny. The only thing you are allowed to say is: Oh Palestinians, you are Muslims."

I don't know if Al Aqsa during Ramadan is like open mic night at a comedy club where anyone can go onstage. The audience behind Amira seems less than interested.

Amira is a preacher in Beit Safafa in Jerusalem who has preached at Al Aqsa previously. He is a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is a virulently antisemitic and pan-Islamic movement that wants nothing less than a unified Islamic Umma'- and they even oppose Hamas for wanting a separate Palestinian state instead of a new caliphate.

This rant makes sense in that context, since he doesn't want Muslims to identify as any other people except as Muslims.

(h/t Josh K)

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Palestinians claim Israel will open a synagogue on the Temple Mount "Bab al Rahma" hall. (I wish!)

The Jerusalem Post reports:

The controversy surrounding the Bab al-Rahma (Gate of Mercy or Golden Gate) prayer hall, located east of al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, resurfaced on Saturday after the Wakf claimed that Israel Police officers halted renovation work at the site.

The site was closed by court order in 2003 after the police discovered that members of the Islamic Movement in the Israel-Northern Branch were using it for political activities. Despite the closure, Palestinian activists have made repeated attempts to reopen it.

In 2019, activists reopened the entrance to the prayer hall, allowing hundreds of Muslim worshipers to pray. When the police tried to close the area again, they were met with protests by Muslim worshipers, the Jordanian-controlled Wakf Islamic religious trust and the Palestinian Authority.

In the aftermath of the 2019 protests, Israel reportedly reached an agreement with the Wakf to keep the site closed, while allowing Muslim worshipers to pray near it.

There are no photos or video of the Israeli police doing anything at the prayer hall on Saturday, so this may be an excuse to start something up again. There have been condemnations across the Arab world for this event that may have never happened. (As is too often the case, I don't see any official statements from the Israeli authorities.)

Predictably, the rumors are starting. Palestinian news agency Safa says that Israel plans to turn the building into a synagogue:

The ambitions of the Israeli occupation did not stop the chapel of Bab al-Rahma, east of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. Rather, it is actively seeking to re-close it again, and empty it of worshipers and stationed, in a dangerous attempt to convert it into a Jewish synagogue, and impose spatial division in the mosque.

The building is built into the wall surrounding the Temple Mount. It would actually make a wonderful synagogue (Yisrael Medad joked to me when he gave me a tour of the Temple Mount that it already has separate entrances for men and women). But the chances that the Israeli government is planning to do such a thing is exactly zero.

Palestinians made the same accusations in 2020. I noted then:

In a fair world, though, the Bab al Rahma prayer room would be an excellent place for a synagogue on the Temple Mount.

I have been interested in the site for a while. To the immediate left of the structure are some old beams of wood, barely covered in canvas. (Here is a screenshot from a video I made in 2019.)

There is serious evidence that some of these beams could be from the First and Second Temple periods, and conceivably from the Temples themselves.

Matti Friedman wrote a fascinating article about them in 2013.

Which is as good a reason as any to keep people away from the site until the beams could be properly secured.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

May one play soccer in a mosque under Islamic law?

We often see videos of Muslims playing soccer on the Temple Mount, like this one this morning:

Here is an imam in Lebanon teaching a student how to play soccer inside a mosque.

This generated some controversy at the time, with some Muslims being viscerally upset at the scene, while others defended it.

Is this allowed under Islam?

There are a variety of opinions. Some allow it outright outside of prayer times; some allow physical activity in a mosque only if it can be used to defeat Islam's enemies.

But other fatwa sites are very much against it. Islamquest says:

Is it permissible to conduct sports programs in the mosque, such as popular games, wrestling and...? Taking care of the sanctity of mosques and adhering to the time of prayer?

Doing these things is not appropriate for mosques. Yes, if the mosque includes a special base or a place separate from it and the title of the mosque does not apply to it, and the endower did not stipulate a special type of behavior and actions, then there is no objection to holding cultural and sports ceremonies in it while preserving its sanctity.

Attachments:

The answer of the great tradition references to the question posed is as follows: [1]

His Eminence, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei (may his high shadow extend):

The mosque is not a place for sports and physical exercises, so matters that violate the sanctity of the mosque or the condition and direction of the endowment must be avoided.

His Eminence, the Grand Ayatollah Al-Sayyid Al-Sistani (May Allah Extend His Shadow):

This is not appropriate for mosques.

His Eminence, the Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Makarem Al-Shirazi (May Allah Extend His Shadow):

It is true that sport is necessary for everyone, especially for the young segment of them, but it is not appropriate for mosques or hussainiyas. You must choose another place for it.

His Eminence, the Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Safi Gulbaykani (May Allah Extend His Shadow):

It is not permissible to do the things mentioned in mosques.

Similarly, the IslamQA fatwa site says:

With regard to making the mosques, outside of the times of the prescribed prayers, a place where children can play in an organised fashion and on a regular basis, that is not permissible; rather it is obviously wrong, because of what it involves of imposing time restrictions on worshippers at that time, and making the mosque unavailable for the purpose for which it was built, and because it also will lead to the mosques not being respected and being exposed to the risk of contamination with dirt and impurities on some occasions, and it will expose some items in the mosque to damage, and expose the Mushafs and Islamic books to harm at the hands of children, because young children usually, if given free rein, do not refrain from spoiling things and damaging them, and doing whatever they please the place in which they play.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

The mosque should be protected from things that will damage it [like fireworks,, perhaps?] and disturb the people worshipping in it, even children and raising their voices and making dirty the carpets and so on, especially if it is the time of prayer, because that is one of the gravest of ills.

For some reason, however, no one seems to be upset at those who play soccer in the courtyards of Al Aqsa, or those who stockpile fireworks and rocks inside the mosque itself.

In the case of Al Aqsa, the hypocrisy is even more stark: for those who say that playing soccer is considered OK, Jews respectfully strolling and praying is considered to be a desecration. Especially since Islamic law says Jews may enter mosques (outside of Mecca) as long as they do not do anything disrespectful.

It seems that there is one sharia law for Jews in Israel and another one for everyone and everywhere else.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Jordan's Foreign Ministry reiterates that the Temple Mount - and the Kotel - must be Judenrein

The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement today saying that the holiest site in Judaism must never have Jews.

The Ministry condemned the "storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif." which it says "constitutes a violation of the historical and legal status quo existing in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and a violation of the sanctity of the holy places."

The official spokesman for the ministry, Ambassador Sinan Al-Majali, stressed that Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its entire area of 144 dunums, is "a place of worship for Muslims only."

Majali added "the Israeli government bears responsibility for the escalation in Jerusalem and in all the occupied Palestinian territories, and for the deterioration that will worsen, if it does not stop these incursions into Al-Aqsa."

What are the boundaries of Al Aqsa? Well, they include the Kotel. The Jordanian government considers the Kotel to be a part of Al Aqsa Mosque, and therefore they are saying that Jews have no right to be there, either, except perhaps for very limited times that the Ottoman Empire allowed Jews to visit since 1852, which they consider the beginning of the "status quo."