Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Freedom of Religion

Showing posts with label Freedom of Religion. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

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.

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Palestinian media warn about dangers of upcoming Jewish holidays - including some you've never heard of

Palestine Today published this poster warning about all the upcoming Jewish holidays and how Jews use them as excuses to defile Al Aqsa Mosque.

And when they say "Al Aqsa Mosque," it is obvious that they are referring to the Kotel (Western Wall) as part of it.

The photo is a Photoshop, showing the twin threats that Palestinians see: Zionists and religious Jews.

The poster gives a description of how Jews supposedly celebrate their holidays, some of which are mysteries to me. They know some amazing things about Judaism.

Jewish holidays
An imminent danger that violates the sanctity of Al-Aqsa

Hebrew New Year's Day
From September 15-17, includes major raids with the participation of occupation leaders, during which the trumpet is blown.

Yom Kippur
From September 24 - 25, it includes massive raids into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, during which bird sacrifices are offered.

Throne Festival
From September 30 to October 5, massive raids take place, plant sacrifices are made, and a canopy of palm trees is set up.

Eid Simchat Torah
On October 7, the Torah scrolls are brought into the courtyards of Al-Aqsa and circulated around them

Feast of Isru Hag
On October 8, its most prominent pillar was the dining table, which is a Talmudic ritual performed by settlers in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa.

The feast of Hosea, our Lord
On October 10, the settlers hold a Talmudic ritual in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa

The Feast of Prostration
is on November 13, during which Al-Aqsa is stormed and Talmudic prayers are performed

Hanukkah
From 8 to 12 December, Al-Aqsa is stormed in large numbers, and lit by candles with huge candlesticks

Interestingly, they do not mention the tens of thousands of Jews who have gone to the Kotel every day this Hebrew month to say Selichot prayers.

It is clear that to Palestinian Muslims, a Jew worshiping at the Kotel is just as offensive as one worshiping on the Temple Mount.

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Latest EoZ memes and comics

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Italy set to pass law making Islamic worship much more difficult. (And it might affect Jews, too.)

From IndiaTV and ShiaWaves:

Italy-- home of over 2.5 million Muslims-- is set to pass a controversial law that would ban prayers in public places and unauthorized worship buildings. According to Anadolu News Agency, if passed, the law could shut down thousands of Islamic prayer spaces amid the fact most of the prayers are being held in private spaces.

The bill, which was drafted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, will target prayer spaces that are not in mosques or those that have never received formal approval to be used for worship.

According to a report published by the Union of Islamic Communities and Organizations in Italy (UCOII)in 2017, there were 1,217 Muslim prayer spaces in Italy, of which only six of these were officially mosques.

Approximately 50 others have obtained authorization for religious activities.

The remaining spaces, predominantly situated in garages, warehouses, apartments, and basements, are classified as cultural associations but are also used for prayers.

Proponents of the bill openly acknowledge their aim to prohibit these non-mosque Islamic worship spaces.

I did not read the text of the draft law itself. From the first report, it appears to apply to all religions that hold informal prayer services outside official houses of prayer. But from other media, including the second one quoted here, it appears that the law is deliberately meant to target Muslims, who are by far the largest religious community that regularly engages in ad-hoc prayer groups.

There is huge opposition when Muslims try to open up a new mosque which is why there are so few mosques in Italy for two and a half million Muslims. The "cultural associations" are the only way they can pray.

There are only about 30,000 Jews in Italy. If this law does not explicitly mention Muslims, that means that Jews who put together a minyan - during a charity dinner, when sitting shiva, at the airport - may also be breaking the law.

If true, this wouldn't be the first time that Jews are caught in the wake of anti-Muslim legislation. Some of the European regulations prohibiting religious slaughter also appear to be primarily aimed at Muslims, and religious Jews get caught in the wake.

But there is another important angle to this story.

While "progressives" claim that Israel is engaged in Jewish supremacism, a law like this would never happen in Israel. There are anti-Muslim laws throughout Europe but essentially none in Israel (besides things like anti-polygamy laws.) Israel has no limitations on mosques, although it does limit the volume of the Muslim call to prayer (as do many Muslim countries.)

Israel is more tolerant of Muslims than France (burkini bans), or Switzerland (minaret bans), or Belgium (halal slaughter bans) and now Italy. But no one complains about "Christian supremacism," when in fact that is often exactly what animates these laws.

It is the usual double standard for Israel - and much of it comes from these oh-so-liberal Western democracies that truly do discriminate against Muslims.

Instead of castigating Israel, they should learn religious tolerance from Israel.

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Algeria voted to Security Council. Let's spend five minutes looking at this wonderful country.

Mahmoud Abbas congratulated Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Tuesday, on the election of Algeria as a member of the UN Security Council.

Let's take a quick look at what life is like in Algeria today.

- A law was passed in 1962 that ensured that anyone without a Muslim grandparent couldn't be a citizen. Some 140,000 Jews had to leave, and the laws, while changed, ensure that they cannot become citizens today.

- Algeria routinely arrests human rights activists.

- There are credible reports of torture in prisons.

- The judiciary is not independent and effectively controlled by the president.

- There are laws that restrict women's rights.

- Men who beat women can be pardoned if the woman is pressured to marry him.

- There are laws that criminalize many forms of speech, both in mainstream and social media. Some journalists were harassed and intimidated.

- Laws restrict activities of any religion besides Sunni Islam.

- Gays can be imprisoned under the law for homosexual acts.

- Movies and books must be approved before being allowed into the country.

- Protests in Algiers are essentially illegal.

- Black Algerians, Black migrants and non-Muslims are widely discriminated against.

So Algeria is a racist, homophobic, misogynist, apartheid dictatorship whose citizens have no freedom and limited rights.

One reason you don't hear much about countries like Algeria in the news is because if the media and human rights groups would judge all countries with the same standards and campaign against all abuses with the same energy, criticism of Israel would be invisible in the tsunami of actual serious human rights abuses worldwide. And they don't want to live in a world like that.

A set at the Security Council is a very high honor. Outside of groups like UN Watch, who is protesting giving this honor to a country as contemptuous of human rights as Algeria is?

No one cares.

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Palestinians who eat publicly during Ramadan can go to prison

There has been a kerfuffle in Israel over a proposed law that would allow Israeli hospitals latitude to ban visitors from bringing items that are not kosher for Passover into their facilities during the seven day holiday.

It plays out in the media as a typical battle between the religious and the secular in Israel on basic rights, of religious coercion versus freedom of religion, even though the number of hospitals that are likely to post guards to check visitor bags for chametz is probably roughly zero.

But meanwhile, Palestinian laws are quite explicitly coercive against Christians and non-practicing Muslims. And no one seems too concerned about them.

Article 274 of Penal Code 16, originally Jordanian law from 1960, impose a fine and imprisonment of one month for any Palestinian who publicly eats during Ramadan: "Whoever publicly breaks the fast during Ramadan shall be punished with imprisonment up to one month or a fine of up to fifteen dinars."

According to Palestinian media, "this penalty is applied in all the cities of the West Bank, taking into account the areas where Christians reside, such as Bethlehem and some areas in Ramallah." But that only means that the enforcement of the law is more lax in Christian areas - but the law itself still applies.

About ten people are arrested every year for violating the ban on public eating during Ramadan.

There are other laws to protect Muslim feelings. Article 278 is the more draconian:

A penalty of imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months or a fine not exceeding twenty dinars shall be imposed on whoever:
1- Publishes something printed, written, picture, drawing or symbol that may offend the religious feeling of other people or insult their religious belief. or
2- uttering, in a public place and within earshot of another person, a word or sound that would offend the religious feeling or belief of that other person.

Even though this and other laws do not mention Islam or Muslims explicitly, they are only only meant to protect Muslims. This is obvious because Article 276 punishes anyone who intentionally disturbs any religious rites - but Palestinians attack any Jews who worship at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, forcing the Israeli army to protect them.

The people and media who pretend to care about human rights of Palestinians go silent about Palestinian laws that violate basic human rights of non-Muslim or non-religious Palestinians.

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Some Arabs very upset by a synagogue in Abu Dhabi

Last week, to much fanfare, the Maimonides synagogue was formally opened in Abu Dhabi as part of the Abrahamic Family House interfaith project spearheaded by the UAE royal family.

Many reports say that this is the first synagogue in Abu Dhabi, but in fact there was a modest synagogue that had been operating quietly for years in a rented villa for Jewish businesspeople in the Emirates.

Most of the Arabic language articles about the new synagogue have been respectful, but many - especially from outlets sympathetic to Iran - have been upset over this.

It appears that the articles that are upset over the complex are trying to manufacture and stoke the outrage rather than report on it.

Watanserb dug through social media to find critics of the synagogue. They found a couple of prominent critics but they also sought out Tweeters with only a few dozen followers to fill out the story.

Ahmed al Khalili, the Mufti of Oman, believes that giving equal weight to Christianity and Judaism with Islam is a violation of the Quranic decree not to take Christians and Jews as allies.

Popular tweeter HureyAksa also says that the complex is "heretical" and fights against Islam. (More recently, he took video of the "Chief Rabbi of Saudi Arabia" promoting the Saudi Neom project, saying that it will be built specifically for the use of the "occupation.")

Some Saudis seem to be afraid that the UAE is trying to supplant the Kaaba as the central religious site in the world. A Yemeni site even said that the UAE is trying to change the direction of the qiblah, the prayer direction, away from Mecca.

Of course, many in Arab media are calling this house of prayer more evidence of "normalization" with Israel, citing Israeli newspapers who are reporting on the story.

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Israel allows a lot more Palestinians to visit the Temple Mount than you would know from the media

This morning's article at the official Palestinian Wafa news agency is pretty much identical to articles written every Friday for months:

Tens of thousands performed Friday prayers at the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, despite the strict military measures imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities at the gates of the mosque and the entrances to the Old City in occupied Jerusalem .

The Islamic Endowments Department in Jerusalem estimated that about 60,000 worshipers performed Friday prayers in the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, from Jerusalem and the West Bank, and within the lands of 1948 [how Palestinians refer to Israel.]

Our correspondent reported that the occupation forces deployed in the streets of the city and the vicinity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and stationed at its gates, and stopped the worshipers and checked their identity cards .

I read these every week, with the only difference being the number of estimated worshippers - 70,000 last week, 75,000 two weeks ago, 55,000 three weeks ago.

But what I hadn't noticed is that the worshippers are coming from the West Bank as well as Jerusalem and Israel.

I thought that Israel didn't allow West Bank Palestinians to enter the compound. That's how things used to be, except for Ramadan.

Apparently, Israel eased the restrictions last Ramadan - and continued easing them. From AP, April 5:

Israel will allow women, children and men over 40 from the West Bank to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Friday in an apparent bid to help calm tensions during the holy month of Ramadan.

The government said in a statement that it could further relax restrictions if things stay quiet.

I cannot find any articles since then on whether Israeli officials further loosened restrictions since then, but it appears that they have, even after Ramadan. In previous years articles would complain that "occupation forces prevented the entry of hundreds of citizens from the West Bank to Jerusalem to perform the Friday prayer at Al-Aqsa." That verbiage is gone. Now I'm only seeing that Israeli police are checking identity cards and not allowing a few people to enter, probably based on their inciting disturbances in the past.

If younger men from the West Bank were being restricted from coming, I think that Palestinian media would be reporting it. Probably young men need entry permits to worship, but that's it.

If this conjecture is true, that means that Israel quietly, without fanfare, allows thousands of Palestinians to enter Jerusalem every week to pray, very possibly including young men.

And no one has reported this change in policy!

This is yet another proof that there is no "apartheid." Israel is concerned about the security of its citizens. The level of restrictions against non-citizen Palestinians has nothing to do with their being Arabs or Muslims or non-Jews; it is entirely based on their potential threat to Israeli citizens and whether they are inciting violence.

The media, keenly interested in Israeli restrictions on Palestinians, loses interest when those restrictions are eased. After all, no one is rioting so why inform readers that things have changed?

If anything, Jews in Jerusalem should be concerned that there are so many more potentially violent West Bank Palestinians coming every Friday.

What are the rules? How is security done? What is done to ensure that the visitors don't stay in Jerusalem after prayers? These are the sorts of questions that Israeli media should be researching.

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Lebanese condemn a book about Chanukah that was distributed in a Christian school. Nah, nothing antisemitic here.

Al Akhbar reports:

A picture of a booklet titled “Hanukkah” was circulated on social media, distributed by UNIFIL forces to the students of Our Lady of the Annunciation School in Rmeish, south Lebanon, on the occasion of Christmas. .

Indeed, it is stated in the pamphlet that Al-Akhbar reviewed, under the title Facts, that “thousands of years ago the Jewish people lived in a land called Judea (now Israel) and there were rulers who were not kind and respectful to the Jewish people... In about 165 BC, The king of Syria destroyed the temple of the Jewish people in Jerusalem, although he knew that this building was the cradle of the Jewish people, and he was deliberately trying to disturb them and make them feel despair.

According to an informed source in the town, “the Irish battalion distributed it,” describing the matter as “very dangerous, because it comes in the context of attempts to normalize relations with the occupying enemy, and it includes a denial of the right of the Palestinian people to their land, and it is a kind of introductory cultural normalization because it was distributed to students.”

A source in the school administration, who refused to reveal his name, ... reduced the seriousness of what these books contained, stressing that he burned them or what was left of them, “to avoid any problem.”

The story of Chanukah is a serious danger to Palestinians because it proves that Jews lived there first and that the Temple existed.

Better to burn it than to expose children to a story about fighting for religious freedom!

In case you don't think that Lebanon is institutionally antisemitic, the earliest tweet about this story I could find was from Mays al Jabal News, which was aghast that the book "talks about the Jews, and asks the student at the end to color elements symbolizing the Jews!"

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Jews singing, dancing, and breathing are "provocative" - but not Arabs assaulting Jews

If you are Jewish, it is really easy to get major media coverage in the Arab world.

Just dance.

A group of about ten Jews danced at Damascus Gate yesterday. This huge news was published by the UAE71 news site:

On Thursday evening, a number of Israeli settlers stormed the "Damascus Gate" area in the center of occupied Jerusalem, raised the Israeli flag, and performed provocative dances.

The witnesses indicated that "the Israeli police were present at the site to protect the settlers."

In turn, the Palestinian Hamas movement considered the settlers' storming of Damascus Gate Square in Jerusalem "a dangerous step and playing with fire."

"The occupation is escalating its attacks on Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, and we are facing an unprecedented attack by the occupation on Al-Aqsa Mosque," said Hazem Qassem, the movement's spokesman, in a statement to the media.

The occupation authorities are intensifying their efforts to Judaize Jerusalem and obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity.

Meanwhile, last night, an Arab woman threw a bag full of garbage at a group of Jews in Jerusalem. Here's video (from Yedidya Epstien*, who is pictured in the top photo):

Assault seems a little more newsworthy and provocative to me than dancing, but the Israeli police on the scene didn't even arrest her - let alone there being any news coverage of the incident.

-----

* Yes, that's how he spells his name.

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EU delegation storms the Temple Mount, seems to agree it should be Judenrein

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that a delegation from the EU visited the Temple Mount this morning, where they politely listened to anti-Israel and antisemitic propaganda spouted by the head of the Waqf, Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib.

The delegation included 35 representatives and consuls from the European Union.

Al-Khatib "stressed the importance of their visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque as an Islamic mosque under the tutelage of King Abdullah II, the guardian of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds Al-Sharif."

Al-Khatib accompanied the 35 representatives and consuls on a tour where he described "the occupation’s attempt to change the status quo" on the site.

He then told them that the only ones that should be changing the status quo were the Muslims, claiming that there were many Hashemite construction projects there that Israel prevents from being completed.

In a sane world, new construction projects on the Temple Mount would be considered a violation of the status quo.

Al Khatib then described his description of the status quo: he called for a "return to the historic status quo of the mosque as an Islamic mosque for Muslims alone, with its 144 dunams, with all its prayer corners, courtyards and complexes, below the ground and above it."

According to Jordan News, the delegation aimed to "confirm European support for the legal and historical status quo of the holy site and its Hashemite Custodianship."

No one seemed to disagree with the Waqf's definition of that status quo as not allowing any Jews to ascend.

The signed agreement between Jordan and Israel does not give the Hashemites custodianship over the Temple Mount. It says "Israel respects the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem. When negotiations on the permanent status will take place, Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines."

Which means that Israel makes the decisions, while respecting and giving priority to Jordanian wishes. But the language makes it clear that the ultimate decisions are up to Israel.

Notice also that the agreement says nothing about Jordanian influence on Christian sites, which al-Khatib claimed are under Waqf custodianship as well.

I doubt that anyone from this delegation has ever read the actual agreement, which is the only document that matters under international law - an agreement that explicitly gives Jews "freedom of access to places of religious and historical significance."

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

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What really is the Temple Mount "status quo?" According to Arabs, whatever they claim it is

First photo of the Temple Mount

The Arab Center in Washington, DC published a paper by Mounir Marjieh that described the "status quo" on the Temple Mount, and of course accused Israel of violating it.

Marjieh's honesty is suspect from the start:

Since the 19th century, the Al-Aqsa compound has been governed by a Status Quo arrangement, a modus vivendi that prevents discord among conflicting parties. Accordingly, Al-Aqsa’s administration belongs to a Muslim institution, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, which is under the custodianship of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. This custodianship has repeatedly been reaffirmed and recognized by the international community, including the United Nations, UNESCO, the Arab League, the European Union, Russia, and the United States, and was officially recognized in the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

Actually, Israel 's treaty with Jordan doesn't say anything about "custodianship," only that Israel will "respect" Jordan's "special role" in Muslim (not Christian) holy sites in Jerusalem. The language makes clear that Israel is the one that makes decisions, not Jordan. Furthermore, the language implies that Jews can pray in the Temple Mount by referring to " freedom of access to places of religious and historical significance" and "freedom of religious worship, and tolerance and peace."

Jordan's signature on the treaty makes it binding international law.

Now let's look at his description of what the status quo supposedly is, which seems a bit inconsistent and contradictory.

After many disputes among European states in the 19th century for control over various holy sites in Jerusalem, the Ottoman Empire issued a series of decrees to regulate the administration of Christian holy sites by determining the powers and rights of various denominations in these places. The most important of these decrees was an 1852 firman by the Ottoman Sultan Abdulmejid I, which preserved the possession and division of Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and forbade any alterations to the status of these sites. This arrangement became known as the Status Quo.

In 1878, the Status Quo was internationally recognized in the Treaty of Berlin, which was signed between European powers and the Ottoman Empire following the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. Article 62 of the treaty stated that: “It is well understood that no alteration can be made to the status quo in the holy places.” Article 62 of the Berlin Treaty extended the Status Quo to include all holy places and not only Christian sites. The Status Quo arrangement is a unique and delicate legal system that contains a specific set of rights and obligations that were created over centuries of practice and are now considered binding international law. It therefore supersedes any and all aspects of domestic law.

The Imperial Firman of 1852 only concerns itself with Christian holy places, not the Temple Mount.

The Treaty of Berlin does not refer to the firman in any way. It does mention a status quo, without giving details of what it is. However, it can easily be read to say that Jews have the absolute right to worship in their holy places, including the Temple Mount. Article 62 says:

The Sublime Porte having expressed the intention to maintain the principle of religious liberty, and give it the widest scope, the Contracting Parties take note of this spontaneous declaration.

In no part of the Ottoman Empire shall difference of religion be alleged against any person as a ground for exclusion or incapacity as regards the discharge of civil and political rights, admission to the public employments, functions and honours, or the exercise of the various professions and industries.

All persons shall be admitted, without distinction of religion, to give evidence before the tribunals.

The freedom and outward exercise of all forms of worship are assured to all, and no hindrance shall be offered either to the hierarchical organization of the various communions or to their relations with their spiritual chiefs. ...

The rights possessed by France are expressly reserved, and it is well understood that no alterations can be made in the status quo in the Holy Places.

So we have a contradiction: the Treaty of Berlin says it supports freedom of worship, but also the status quo must not be changed.

Whatever that is. (The placement of that phrase in a paragraph about France implies that the "status quo" comment is only referring to Christian holy places.)

The Ottomans banned all non-Muslims from the Temple Mount until the early part of the 19th century. Marjieh claims that the status quo was "created over centuries of practice and are now considered binding international law." But if it was created over centuries, and for most of that time non-Muslims could not ascend, doesn't that mean that the status quo allows non-Muslims to be banned forever?

Moreover, Marjieh adds another dimension to his definition of the status quo:

Until August 2000, and despite occasional breaches and escalations, the Status Quo functioned relatively smoothly, with the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf collecting small fees from non-Muslims and tourists, who were allowed to enter the holy site provided they followed the rules of the Waqf....

[Now,] Temple Mount groups and Israeli extremists enter from al-Magharbeh Gate as well, and the Waqf is prohibited from preventing them from entering the site. The Waqf can no longer prevent Israelis in military fatigues from entering, although this act is banned per the mosque’s regulations.

So now the Status Quo is defined not as "the conditions for centuries before the Treaty of Berlin" but as "whatever the Waqf decides it is." The Waqf used to ban Jews and Christians, then they allowed them for a fee, then they came up with a rule to exclude religious Jews (as Marjeih complains that cannot do under horrible Israeli law.)

According to this new theory, the Status Quo is subject to the whims of the most extremist Muslims in Jerusalem.

If it can change for any reason, it is not a status quo by definition.

However, as mentioned, both the Treaty of Berlin, and the Israel/Jordan peace treaty, as well as numerous instruments of international law, guarantee freedom of worship for all. None of them say that you can define a space that has been historically the holiest spot on Judaism as an exclusively Muslim place of worship.

According to the Arab Center, the status quo means that the Muslims can make up any rules they want - and that this is international law. It doesn't take much to show that this argument is not only false but nonsensical and contrary to actual, signed international treaties and conventions - including the one they use as Exhibit A.

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What is the rational response to irrational threats by Palestinians?

Leaders of Palestinian terror groups, and the PA government, are making threats in response to Itamar Ben-Gvir's plan to visit the Temple Mount.

Islamic Jihad leader Daoud Shehab said such a visit would be a "declaration of war."

Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO, Hussein Al-Sheikh, called for a "Palestinian, Arab and international" response.

Hamas said that Ben Gvir was "adding fuel to the fire" and holding Israel responsible for any violence. And there are reports that Hamas sent a message though Egypt to Israel that they would shoot rockets at Ben Gurion Airport if such a visit occurs.

Should Palestinian threats affect Israeli actions?

It is easy to flatly say "no." But if there was a credible threat of a thousand rockets being shot into Israel, is it worth it?

I'm no expert on game theory, but we have a history of threats and violence that can help shed light on what the reality is and what these threats are meant to accomplish.

Nearly every Palestinian threat of violence does not turn into anything. Look at the empty threats of war if the US opened an embassy in Jerusalem as a prime example. Even last March, Hamas threatened violence ahead of the last time Ben Gvir visited the Temple Mount. Nothing happened.

And on the other side of the coin, nearly every case of real Palestinian violence had little to do with reacting to specific Israeli actions, although they would use Israeli actions as an excuse after the fact. The terror spree in 2022 was not preceded by specific threats.

The Second Intifada was supposedly sparked by Ariel Sharon's similar visit to the Temple Mount, but we know now that it was only an excuse - Arafat had planned the intifada beforehand, and the visit provided the pretext to implement the plan. If it wouldn't have happened then, it would have happened a week or month later.

When Hamas tells Egypt to warn Israel and the threat is leaked, that is not a real threat - that is trying to manipulate Israeli public opinion while providing Hamas with deniability when the war does not break out.

In this case, the 2021 Gaza war is instructive. In that case, Hamas gave a very specific warning and threat: Israel must remove its forces from the Temple Mount and Sheikh Jarrah by 6 PM on May 10 or else face a rocket barrage. Indeed, they started shooting rockets right at the deadline. But in that case, just as with the PLO in 2000, Hamas already planned the attack; it knew very well that Israel was not going to accede to their demands. It was a way to blame Israel for a Hamas-initiated war. Hamas wanted the war regardless, it had a specific goal to tie the actions happening in the West Bank with those in Gaza. At any rate, it wasn't a threat meant to change Israeli behavior, it was an excuse for a war they chose to start.

If you define terrorism as the unlawful use of violence and intimidation against civilians in the pursuit of political aims, Palestinian threats are simply a form of terrorism. Their occasional outbreaks of violence give credibility to the threats, but that actual violence has its own logic divorced from Israeli actions.

If Israel would cave to these threats, however - as some in the Israeli opposition demand - then the threats will have accomplished a great deal. The terrorists would learn that their threats can force Israel to do what they want without them firing a single bullet. That's about as successful a terror attack as is possible.

The armed groups in Gaza and the terror supporters in Ramallah generally don't want war. They would much rather have Europe and the US and the Knesset opposition pressure Israel to do what they want. That's the logic behind the threats.

Perhaps one can argue whether Ben Gvir should visit the holy site to begin with. But once he announced his intent, he must go through with it, because the downside of caving to Arab threats is far, far worse than the minuscule chances that it would spark a new war or a new intifada.

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48,000 Jews visited the Temple Mount this year. Al Jazeera: "Worst year ever!"

Al Jazeera's headline says it all:

The year 2022 is the worst in terms of occupation violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque.. More than 48,000 settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque

Remember, this isn't a Palestinian news site. This is Al Jazeera, trusted and praised throughout the world.

The article says,

The Director General of the Department of Islamic Endowments and Affairs of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, described the year 2022 as the worst and highest in terms of violations by the Israeli occupation and extremist settlers of the Holy Mosque.

Al-Khatib said in a statement yesterday, Thursday, that "the intensity and pace of the raids increased during this year, bringing the total number of Jewish extremists who stormed from the Mughrabi Gate side of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque to 48,238 extremists."

He pointed out that the unprecedented provocative actions included prayers, prostrations, and the performance of public Talmudic rituals, chants, singing, and dancing inside the courtyards, in addition to raising Israeli flags inside the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jewish occasions and holidays during this year.

Horrors!

For context, the average Friday sees about 50,000 Muslims visiting the holiest Jewish site. Their provocative actions include multiple prostrations, raising Hamas flags, singing, summer camps, screaming at Jewish visitors, studying, playing soccer and volleyball, gymnastics, throwing stones and storing weapons.

But hey, we don't need to care about the feelings of Jews.

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