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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Palestinians upset that Abbas gave New Year greetings to Herzog, Gantz

On Monday, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas sent Rosh Hashanah greetings to Israel's President Isaac Herzog and to Defense Minister Benny Gantz. (For some reason, he did not send any such greetings to Prime Minister Yair Lapid.)

Naturally, the Palestinians are upset. 

Felesteen quotes angry analysts who are convinced that New Year greetings are yet another sign of how Abbas is collaborating with Israel.

 Politicians believe that the congratulations of PA President Mahmoud Abbas to the leaders of the Israeli occupation on "Jewish holidays and occasions" reflect the extent of the state of political weakness that the PA has reached in front of Israel, and proves that "its president tweets outside the flock."

Member of the Future Electoral List, Hatem Shaheen, considered that the PA President's congratulations to Gantz and Herzog show the state of disregard and humiliation of the rights that the authority has reached, at a time when the occupation is escalating its violations in the occupied territories. Shaheen explained to Felesteen that such a position constitutes an affront to our people and our capabilities, and is completely rejected, because of what our people suffer from Israeli crimes. "Abbas's congratulations to the leaders of the occupation express a state of weakness, lack of self-esteem and confidence, and a lack of belief that we are able to extract our rights in the future, and it represents begging."

Writer and political analyst Khaled Sadiq said: "Abbas' contact with Gantz and Herzog comes within the framework of the relationship with the occupation, which he is trying to strengthen with the aim of returning to the negotiating table." He cautioned that "this congratulations encourages the occupation and its leaders to commit more violations and crimes against our people and realize its ambitions, so that the authority appears to be a partner in the tragedies and crimes that the occupation causes against our people, and attempts to change the reality in Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque." 

However, Abbas knows that Israel has nothing to offer the authority. Sadiq continued: "The positions of Abbas and the PA do not reflect the will of the Palestinian people, but rather reflect the positions of the personality of the PA president, to maintain his presence at the head of the PA, to please Israel and to return to the path of settlement and achieve personal gains."

 The researcher and writer Magdi Hamayel stressed that the congratulation on Jewish occasions reflects the state of contradiction in the head of the Palestinian Authority. While he calls at the United Nations to protect the Palestinian people from the violations of the occupation, he contacts his leaders to congratulate them on the arrival of a new Hebrew year. He pointed out that the state of anger among the Palestinian people is supposed to be accompanied by the anger of the presidency and the authority, and to take a political position commensurate with the sacrifices it is making against the occupation, and the president of the authority must be in harmony with the position of the Palestinian street and the revolution in Jenin. Hamayel stressed that "Abbas is still gasping for the leaders of the occupation and the mirage of the settlement project," and this will not make him gain anything, as the occupation wants to control all of Palestine.

Abbas regularly sends greetings on other countries' national holidays; in fact such greetings take up at least half of the press releases from his office.

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Vatikin Minyan: Where the Seats and the Light are Free (Judean Rose)

(photo: Aharon Epstein)

Vatikin—the sunrise prayer service—was a revelation. I’d thought about it before—about getting up at the crack of dawn to pray with the faithful on the High Holidays. And the idea held some appeal. I liked the idea that I’d be finished with the endless hours of holiday prayer way before the rest of my family. I’ve always been the sort of person who prefers to get things out of the way.

I pictured it like this: I’d finish davening and be free as a bird. I could see myself in that space, in the afterglow of duty fulfilled. I could wiggle my toes and rest on the cool bed linen to rest until the afternoon meal.

I also just liked imagining myself as someone who rushes to shul to beg for another year from God, the very moment when it becomes possible to do so. I liked seeing myself as a zealot, at least in this matter if not in others. But the idea remained something I toyed with only. Vatikin was for me, a vague temptation, but not an altogether persuasive one. My bed was too comfortable, the hour of departure too dark. I’d stay in bed rather than stumble about and wake everyone, possibly hurting myself in the process of getting to shul on time.

The catch was that a seat in shul costs a hefty sum. And while our 12 kids are now grown, back then, finding a way to seat us all was a serious problem. You would have had to be a millionaire to pay for 14 seats. And so I decided to give the sunrise minyan a try, because the seats at the Vatikin minyan are free.

As it turned out, I liked the Vatikin service for its own sake, irrespective of cost or lack of same. In a Vatikin minyan, every congregant is absorbed in the act of prayer. No one is yawning with boredom or riffling the pages of the mahzor prayer book to see how much longer we have to mumble before we can go home and eat.

Vatikin is a pleasure. It’s prayer without vanity or status. You wear your comfortable shoes because prayer—and not your Manolo Blahniks—are what counts. It's one of the pleasures of Vatikin that begin before you even get to shul. Imagine —if you are of the gender that wears them—not having to walk to shul in heels. 

As a child I was a morning person,  who liked to greet the sun and the promise of the new day ahead. But the dark was equally enchanting. The night was fireflies blinking in your hands and the hope that our mothers would give us a little longer before calling us in for bedtime. Night was both quiet and loud, with purple-black skies and crickets that were heard but not seen. Now, as an adult, I find that Vatikin holds all of these elements, elements of morning and night.

I have to tell you what it feels like to get up before dawn, when all is dark, and everyone else is fast asleep. You get ready in silence and leave quietly, armed with your supplies—tissues, a scarf for kneeling on, a bottle of water, and a High Holiday prayer book—in a plastic bag slung over the crook of your arm. As you walk out under the glow of the street lamps, you feel caught somewhere between the light and dark, in the hush of your own private world.

As you inch closer to the building designated for the Vatikin service, you see, here and there, others who like you, have ventured out into the silent dark to be first at prayer. One may nod at an acquaintance, but mostly all are quiet, intent on getting to the main task of the day: prayer. Besides, it’s too early to talk.

Once inside the building, we concentrate on the task at hand, heads to our books. And at a point somewhere between the prayers—it always surprises me when it happens—I look up from the page to see through the window that night has become day and I have missed the moment. 

Sunup is like that: like a watched pot of water that never boils. You look away for a second, and that’s when it chooses to happen. That’s when light comes to slowly lift the coverlet of night, to peek into the windows of a small room somewhere in the Judean Wilderness. The light rises in company with the voices of a handful of supplicants, raised in prayer.

I have always felt that the in-between times of night and day are different in Israel, where night and day seem to tussle for pride of place. You still hear the dissonant call of the muezzin creeping in through your open bedroom window, even as the dew begins to sparkle on the golden stones of Jerusalem with the first light of dawn. 

The light in Israel is big and powerful, the night forcing your gaze upward. As you look up at the stars, you wonder why the hairs on your arms are standing up and if you really belong in this, deserve to be in this: the holiest spot on earth.

These doubts have no place in the Vatikin minyan; there's no oxygen for them to breathe. There's always this moment when the congregation lifts its voice in prayer, and your heart fills, because now you know that you belong here in this room with these people, and the only light that matters is the light that comes from prayer.

Shana Tova to all my readers, their families, and friends. 

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Waqf asking Muslims to perform "Talmudic rituals" on the Temple Mount (sort of)

Palestinian and other Arab media have been whipped into a frenzy over the idea that more Jews will be visiting the Temple Mount during the upcoming holidays, with daily stories about how the Jews want to blow the shofar and bring the "arba minim" during Sukkot.

The Waqf wants Muslims to respond with  large turnout of their own during the Jewish holidays. 

The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs has warned of the danger of reviving “Jewish holidays” inside Al-Aqsa Mosque, and desecrating its sanctity and profaning it through the implementation of provocative rallies, calling for a public mobilization to travel to Al-Aqsa and to confront the settlers’ incursions into it on the eve of the alleged holidays.

She stressed that "Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa are a red line, and it is a sacred right that belongs to Muslims and the Jews have no connection with it..."

The Awqaf called on the Palestinian people in Jerusalem and all those who can reach Al-Aqsa to intensify their presence in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Rabat there during the festive period to limit the implementation of these incursions and marches.

This will make the Temple Mount look more like it did...in the times of the actual Temple!

During the Second Temple period, according to Josephus, there was an outer court of the Temple where gentiles could gather and buy animals to be sacrificed by the Jewish priests. It is mentioned in Christian scriptures as well. I don't believe that this courtyard is mentioned by name in the Talmud but Menachot 73b does say that many Gentiles did come to the Temple (or send offerings to the Temple from remote regions) to relay various kinds of sacrifices of their own. 

The site of Al Aqsa Mosque, which is built on one of the Herodian extensions of the Temple Mount and therefore of lesser sanctity, is very possibly part of this so-called "Court of the Gentiles." (Various Christian maps of the Temple place this court in different locations, but most of them seem to say that the southern part where Al Aqsa Mosque is was at least part of it.)

Effectively, the Waqf is asking that Muslims make a pilgrimage to the site of the Temple on the Jewish holidays, including Sukkot, the same occasions that one may presume that gentiles traveled to the Temple Mount two thousand years ago to be part of the Jewish pilgrimage holidays.

So in a small and indirect way, the Waqf is asking Muslims to mimic what non-Jews did at the Temple so long ago. They are coming to the Temple at the times the Jews flock there to show their respect for what everyone knows has always been the most sacred Jewish spot.

Hajj Sameach!

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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!

 

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