Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Temple Mount

Showing posts with label Temple Mount. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 04, 2023

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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01/04 Links Pt1: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict can't be solved, only ended; UNRWA paving the road to conflict; Iran vows response to Khamenei cartoons in Charlie Hebdo

From Ian:

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict can't be solved, only ended - opinion

It’s not about what Israel does, but about what Israel is and represents. That’s why many oppose Israel and support its enemies.

Attempts to find “solutions” were based on leftist assumptions that in order to have peace, Israel must make compromises and concessions. This was the basis of the Oslo Accords that legitimized the PLO and created the Palestinian Authority. The “peace process” was a hoax, a hype to bring Arafat and the PLO back to Israel and empower them.

This confused way of thinking persists. It is the basis of what is called the “two-state-solution,” (2SS) an independent Arab Palestinian state based on the 1949 Armistice lines, and support for United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

In response to threats from the EU, UN, and even the Biden administration, Israel concedes, which always leads to more problems. The IDF, COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories) and police destroyed Jewish property for no rational reason and restrict building in settlements. Israeli leaders (including Netanyahu) went along with the fraud of trying to appease the Palestinians and those who supported them. Why should this absurdity continue? Who does it serve?

Jews who live in Judea, Samaria, and eastern Jerusalem are not “occupying Palestinian territory.” It is not “illegal,” and there is no basis for this accusation. Jews should be protected and encouraged wherever they live. That’s what Zionism means. That’s what the new government will hopefully do. Some are opposed, and some call for a “civil war.”

Our recent elections indicated that most Israelis want a realistic agenda that ensures their safety and security. Dealing with Palestinian terrorism is our first and foremost concern, and – as many understand, the PA/Hamas are unwilling and unable to stop it. Palestinian identity was and is based on a “one-state solution” – “from the river to the sea.” This goal, enabled and facilitated by the Oslo Accords, is why resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains elusive.

The most practical and realistic alternative to the 2SS is to recognize Jordan as the homeland of the Palestinians – all of those who want to live in peace. Engaging in and supporting terrorism and seeking Israel’s destruction is simply not an option. The conflict cannot be resolved, but it can be ended by understanding why it exists.

UNRWA paving the road to conflict

The 67 nations and 33 agencies which aid UNWRA do not demand a change in its policies that support the perpetuation of conflict. Op-ed.

Realizing the extent of incitement in UNRWA schools and summer camps, the Trump administration cut US funding to UNWRA in 2018 for lack of “accountability.” The Biden administration has resumed funding but only under the condition that its education curriculum is for peace.

Israel’s Ambassador to the United States and the UN, Gilad Erdan called for “countries to freeze contributions until UNRWA teachers expressing support terror are fired”. But the funding continues.

In 1967, following Israel’s victory in the Six Day War, when the IDF took control of the Arab populations of Judea and Samaria and Gaza, school textbooks used by Palestinian Arabs rejected Israel’s existence and incited violence. But, then placed under Israeli administration of COGAT,(Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories), new text books were implemented.

However, the signing of the Oslo accords on September 13, 1993, which would give the Palestinian Authority control over education in territories which they administered as a result of the agreements, saw a steady deterioration in the curriculum. Incitement to violence against Israel again abounded in what was supposed to be the beginnings of a process of reconciliation. With the OSLO Accords came the deterioration of UNWRA sponsored institutions, as anti-Israel propaganda proliferated in the territories.

Since Oslo, donor countries have not demanded accountability. Journalist, David Bedein who heads the Israel Resource News Agency and the author of ‘UNRWA Roadblock to Peace’, stated that when he posed the question to thirty-five of the sixty-seven nation which fund UNRWA, as to how they track the funds and where they are going, “they replied that they rely upon the rigorous oversight of UNRWA.”

Today, UNRWA facilities primes tomorrow’s generation for conflict. UNRWA should be seeking real solutions to what was the rejection by Arab nations of the partition of the land in 1947, according to UN resolution 181. Their leaders’ statements denying culpability belies their agenda, which is to allow perpetuation of conflict and the continued hope by Palestinian Arabs to flood Israel with refugees.

Iran vows response to Khamenei cartoons in French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo

Iran warned France on Wednesday it would respond after “insulting” cartoons depicting Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were published in the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

The weekly had published dozens of cartoons on the same day ridiculing the highest religious and political figure in the Islamic Republic.

The magazine said the cartoons were part of a competition it launched in December in support of the protests triggered by the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurd who was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

“The insulting and indecent act of a French publication in publishing cartoons against the religious and political authority will not go without an effective and decisive response,” tweeted Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

“We will not allow the French government to go beyond its bounds. They have definitely chosen the wrong path.”

The French magazine said the contest aimed “to support the struggle of Iranians who are fighting for their freedom.”

The most important unwritten law in the West: Don't piss off irrational, extremist Muslims

It is important to examine two events in recent days, as they both severely limit the freedom of Westerners - and signal far worse things that could come.

The first is the visit by Israeli minister of security Itamar Ben-Gvir to the Temple Mount.

The second is the publicizing of the removal of an instructor at Hamline University for including depictions of Mohammed in his art history course.

In both cases, nobody did anything wrong by any reasonable metric:

- Even though many would say that he has the right to pray on Judaism's holiest site, Ben-Gvir did not. He did exactly what tens of thousands of Jews and hundreds of thousands of Christians have done in 2022 and earlier - he took a quiet stroll on the Temple Mount, without even reporters. There was no violation of the (illusory) status quo.

- In the case of Hamline University, the instructor told the class ahead of time - in both the syllabus and verbally - that two medieval images of Mohammed, painted by Muslims, would be shown to the class, and he gave any Muslims the opportunity to not look at them.

In both cases, there is no consensus that even Islamic law was violated:

- Noor Dahri, a religious Muslim and counterterrorism expert, tweeted, "The rule to allow only Muslims to pray in Makkah is conditioned by the Holy Quran, however such conditions dsn’t apply to the Temple Mount. Islam doesn’t forbid Jews to worship at the Temple Mount, [just a] political agreement which is called “Status Quo”. It is nothing but racism and religious discrimination against the Jewish people. Jews can freely worship at the Temple Mount according to Islamic rules because the land belongs to them, not Muslims - it’s only holy to Muslims."

- Muslims have included Mohammed in their own artwork for centuries, and Shiites do it today. And while mainstream Sunni Islamic law nowadays is against Muslims creating such depictions, it does not (and cannot) say that non-Muslims cannot create or view such pictures.

In both cases, ignorant Westerners who should be supporting freedom and equality are in the forefront of quashing that exact freedom in order to avoid hurting the feelings of irrational, potentially violent Muslims:

- State Department spokesman Ned Price repeatedly said in response to Ben-Gvir's visit that the US supports the "status quo," implying that the visit violated it and was "provocative:" "We oppose any unilateral actions that undercut the historic status quo. They are unacceptable.... it’s absolutely critical that all sides exercise restraint, refrain from provocative actions and rhetoric, and preserve that historic status quo at Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, both in word and in practice....We’re deeply concerned by any unilateral actions because – precisely because they have the potential to exacerbate tensions, or worse. "

- Hamline University issued a statement claiming, falsely, that what the instructor did violated Islamic law: "Students do not relinquish their faith in the classroom. To look upon an image of the prophet Muhammad, for many Muslims, is against their faith." But it is not at all clear that Islamic law addresses viewing such depictions, only creating them. And as mentioned, the Muslim students could have chosen not to view them.

These are perfect examples of "proleptic dhimmitude," where Westerners act (often beyond what Muslims demand) in fear of anticipated Islamic responses that had not even occurred.

This illustrates the real unwritten law that has increasingly dominated the West: "Don't piss off the Muslims." All of the moral posturing about "tolerance" and "status quo" are fig leaves to obscure the fact that Westerners live in fear of Islamic terror, and are willing and even anxious to give up on our own freedoms to pander to the most extreme Muslim positions, human rights be damned.

By using the yardstick of banning anything that is "provocative," the West is allowing the most intolerant and violent Muslims to dictate Western behavior in all aspects of life. Because anything and everything can provoke Islamists.

Because in both cases the dhimmified Westerners are giving a green light for extremist, potentially violent Muslims to expand their demands ad infinitum:

- Palestinians do not only claim that Jews are violating their feelings by visiting the Temple Mount, but the Western Wall as well - which they also consider part of the "Al Aqsa complex." In fact, every single Jewish holy site, from the Tomb of the Patriarchs to Rachel's Tomb to Joseph's Tomb and scores of others - are all claimed by Palestinians to be Muslim shrines. If Israel gives in to western pressure on abandoning Jewish rights, it wouldn't be the end - it would be only the start of the bigoted, antisemitic demands that Jews have no rights in Israel altogether.

- The same Islamic law against creating depictions of Mohammed also apples to every Muslim prophet. This includes Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus and, according to many, Mary. Beyond that, depictions of Roman and Greek gods would similarly violate Islamic laws against idolatry. The exact same logic that caused Hamline to cave to Muslim intolerance can eviscerate every single art history course in the Western world.

It isn't hard to picture that as only the beginning, not the end. Imagine a world where every website, every encyclopedia, every outing, every college course, every newspaper article and indeed every activity must be approved by extremist Islamic gatekeepers. We've already seen most Western media refuse to print the Mohammed cartoons from Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005, even though they are undoubtedly newsworthy and important to see to understand the story. But that and similar incidents are exactly what is driving today's cowardice: the fear of pissing off Muslims, because they might murder you.

Jews will only write angry letters, so offending them is "free speech" and "brave." Muslims might kill you, so submitting to their dictates is twisted into "tolerance."

Unless there is serious pushback by those who still value freedom, this is where things are going.

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

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

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The official Palestinian Wafa news agency reports:

The President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, decided to assign the Palestine Mission in New York to take immediate action in the United Nations and the Security Council to condemn and stop the attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque by members of the Israeli government and extremist groups, in a serious violation of the historical and legal status in occupied Jerusalem.

His Excellency stressed the importance of this international move to stop this dangerous Israeli escalation against Islamic and Christian sanctities, noting that this move is taking place in coordination with the brothers in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and working with brotherly and friendly groups in the United Nations.

Haaretz adds:

The United Arab Emirates – a member of the United Nations Security Council – is expected to call for an emergency meeting of the council in order to discuss the violation of the status quo on the Temple Mount, following Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to the holy site on Tuesday.

I look forward to this.

Because either the Security Council will throw the issue out, because nothing in the status quo was violated in any sense, or it will prove itself to be an utterly worthless organization.

I am looking forward to seeing the wording of the draft resolution. It will reveal a great deal about the UAE, the larger Arab world and the Palestinians. And the vote, if it happens, will starkly show which members of the Council have any integrity whatsoever.

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!

01/03 Links Pt1: Israel should put an end to Palestinian diplomatic terror; The UN for Empowering Terrorists; Ismail Haniyeh’s Son Draws Scorn for Life of Luxury

From Ian:

Israel should put an end to Palestinian diplomatic terror

Palestinian Authority leaders should start to feel overwhelming pressure at every turn. They have become used to a limp response by Israel to its attacks in the international arena and have become further emboldened.

There is no better time than a brand-new Israeli government to state unequivocally that the rules of the game have changed, and there will be a strong and paralyzing response by Israel to the continued Palestinian attacks.

Israeli leaders shouldn’t just send threats behind closed doors but announce very publicly a series of steps it will take in response to the passing of the United Nations General Assembly resolution, with a further set of steps should they continue.

These steps should be designed with one singular goal in mind, to break the will of the Palestinian Arabs to continue fighting this war.

This is not just good for Israel; it will also be good for the Palestinians.

If their leaders end their obsessive war against Israel on all its fronts, legal, economic, diplomatic and of course, through violence, it will free up energy and resources for building Palestinian Arab society in all arenas, social, education and infrastructure.

The Palestinian Arab war against Israel is also a war against a decent future for the Palestinian Arabs.

Nevertheless, a more peaceful, prosperous and secure future for both peoples can only be attained once the Palestinian leaders have given up.

This can only happen when Israel forces them to do so.

It will take a change of direction by our security and political establishment, but all other paths have failed.

It is time for more drastic action.

It is time for an Israel victory against Palestinian Arab rejectionism on the front, which is crucial to ending the conflict.

The United Nations for Empowering Terrorists

Hammouri's affiliation with the PFLP and his involvement in planning terror attacks against Israelis, does not, however, seem to concern the UN Human Rights Office. Instead of condemning the convicted terrorist, the UN Human Rights Office chose to condemn Israel for daring to take measures to protect its citizens against terrorism.

This is also the same UN whose representatives have failed to condemn Hamas for building tunnels beneath schools run by its United Nations Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip.

Take note: here is a senior UN official sitting with representatives of a terror group whose charter calls for the elimination of Israel and who is expressing "concern" over the rise of right-wing parties in Israel.

The UN official appears unaware that many Israelis voted for right-wing parties because of the increased terror attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups.

It is ironic that a UN official, whose title is "Special Coordinator of the Middle East Peace Process", sits with a Palestinian group that is entirely dedicated to sabotaging peace.

As Article 13 of the Hamas charter states: "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

This is hardly how to "prevent and remove threats to peace," as the UN claims in its charter. In fact, the actions of the UN clearly demonstrate that the organization is actually cozying up to terrorists while denouncing those who combat terrorism.

In its defense of, and engagement with, terrorists, the UN is boosting the ability of Hamas and the PFLP to continue their slaughter and genocide.

Ismail Haniyeh’s Son Draws Scorn for Life of Luxury As Gazans Scrape By

One of the sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is living in luxury in Turkey and even received a Turkish passport to continue his expensive lifestyle, according to an Arab media report.

Elaph, a Saudi website based in Britain reported from its sources that Maaz Haniyeh recently received a Turkish passport enabling to travel the world with his family while enjoying a rich life in Turkey.

A source in Gaza commenting on the Elaph report told the Tazpit Press Service, “The Hamas apparatus follows Gaza residents who go out for medical or commercial needs and collect sums of money from them and part of the profits, and on the other hand, Maaz was awarded a Turkish passport for free, due to his father’s status.”

The article, titled “Maaz Haniyeh: A Life of Extravagance, Alcohol and Women,” reports that Maaz is known in Gaza as Abu Al Aqarat, or “The Father of Real Estate” for his ownership of several apartments, villas and buildings in different areas of the Strip. Its sources said that outside of Gaza, Haniyeh’s sons drink alcohol — which is prohibited for Muslims — and hang out prestigious clubs accompanied by women.

A journalist who lives in Gaza told TPS, “Maaz Haniyeh was forced to leave the comfortable life in the Gaza Strip and embark on the difficult and arduous resistance missions in the streets of Turkey and in its hotels.”

Two years ago, Maaz was photographed next to his father, Ismail, when he was showing off a new luxury car on the streets of Gaza.

Maaz, one of Ismail Haniyeh’s 13 children, is not the only family member drawing scorn.

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount today to mark the Jewish observance of the 10th of Tevet fast day.

He didn't even pray there, as far as I can tell from reports.

He has visited the site before without incident. Other ministers have visited the site without incident. Between 50,000 and 60,000 Jews visited the Temple Mount in 2022, according to Palestinian sources.

So what exactly makes this a major news story? Nothing happened that hasn't happened many times before without incident. The only thing slightly out of the ordinary is that there was more security than usual, which makes sense given the threats by jihadists.

This is a perfect example of terrorist supporters manufacturing a crisis, inciting Muslims into a frenzy, and the media happily doing their part to promote the idea that an utterly normal event is a precursor to an apocalypse.

The story isn't the visit.

The story is the incitement and the threats which are independent of anything Israel does or doesn't do. The story is the attempt for Palestinians to impose their own rules on Jews and Israel by using dire threats of war and a new intifada.

Everyone has a script in this play, and everyone plays their own role that matches their agendas.

For the New York Times, it was to describe the visit as a hugely provocative insult to Palestinians in paragraph 1, before admitting that nothing actually happened in paragraph 2:

In one of his first acts as Israel’s minister of national security, the ultranationalist Itamar Ben-Gvir made a provocative visit to a Jerusalem holy site that is sacred to Jews and Muslims early Tuesday under heavy guard, defying threats of violent repercussions from the militant group Hamas and eliciting a furious reaction from the Palestinian leadership.

The visit to the site, a frequent flash point in the Old City of Jerusalem where past Israeli actions have set off broader conflagrations, was the first by a high-level Israeli official in years, and passed without incident.

No, past Israeli actions haven't set off broader conflagrations. They were used as excuses for broader conflagrations.

In the case of former prime minister Yair Lapid, this was an opportunity to act counter to the interests of Israel, warning against the visit and saying that if Ben-Gvir visits, "people will die." But as a politician, he is more interested in bringing down the current government than in doing what is best for Israel. (And Netanyahu acted exactly the same when he led the opposition in the Knesset.)

In the case of reporter Barak Ravid, he immediately asked US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides for his reaction. Nides did his part by implying (but not saying) that the US was unhappy with the visit, saying, “To be very clear - we want to preserve status quo and actions that prevent that are unacceptable. We have been very clear in our conversations with the Israeli government on this issue.” Since this visit didn't change the status quo, I'm not sure why Nides said that - whether it was a warning or an implication that this visit was more than it was. I don't know the exact question Nides was answering, so it is possible he was not referring to the visit altogether, and this was Ravid's implication. His job depends on juicy quotes.

In the case of Arutz-7, they chose to interpret Nides' comments as a direct "slam" of the visit. Because that sells papers.

In the case of the Palestinian Authority, this was an opportunity to issue more threats. The PA spent yesterday telling its people that a Ben Gvir visit would be an insult to Islam, and today they are telling their people that it was an grave insult to Islam.

For terror groups, yesterday they warned that such a visit would ignite a religious war and an explosion over the region, and today they are calling for exactly that response - showing that it wasn't a warning but a desire.

For Palestinians, I cannot find any spontaneous protests about the visit. I'm sure that the interested parties are planning these "spontaneous" protests in the coming hours, though. Because that is their role in this play.

Just because nothing happened doesn't mean that the actors don't want to work.

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!

01/02 Links Pt1: UN's advisory board on Israeli 'occupation' is hypocrisy; 'Even animals get better treatment': Tortured by Hamas, man finds refuge in Israel

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: UN's advisory board on Israeli 'occupation' is hypocrisy

It asked the ICJ to define how Israel’s practices affected the legal status of Israel’s “occupation” of territory over the pre-1967 lines, which would include the West Bank (Judea and Samaria), Gaza (from which Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005) and east Jerusalem.

The UNGA resolution specifically included the “Holy City of Jerusalem” and referred to the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, only by its Muslim name of al-Haram al-Sharif.

When a preliminary vote on the request for an ICJ opinion was held in November, 98 countries voted in favor and only 17, including Israel, opposed it.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited the drop in support for the Palestinians’ position and the additional support for Israel to his efforts, along with those of President Isaac Herzog, the Foreign Ministry and UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan.
“This is once again a one-sided Palestinian move that undermines the basic principles for resolving the conflict and potentially harming any possibility for a future process. The Palestinians want to replace negotiations with unilateral measures. They are once again using the UN to attack Israel.”
Yair Lapid
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh praised the UN vote as “a new victory for the Palestinians.” Hamas also welcomed the UN vote.

It is a dangerous move that is far from solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is likely to further inflame it, giving the Palestinians no incentive to sit down and negotiate in good faith.

Furthermore, the UN and ICJ are making a mockery of their own mandates and are being hijacked by the Palestinians. This is similar to the open-ended UN Commission of Inquiry into Israel headed by Navi Pillay.

The Palestinian push for the ICJ ruling is part of its ongoing lawfare against Israel. The court must avoid giving the impression of built-in bias against Israel when choosing the panel it appoints.

'Even animals get better treatment': Tortured by Hamas, man finds refuge in Israel

E., a resident of the Gaza Strip, talks to us from an apartment in greater Tel Aviv, where he has been residing for the past week, helped by friends, who have provided him with a roof over his head. E. has been put on Hamas' blacklist after he made several public statements and published posts, in which he dared to criticize Hamas' policy in Gaza. He attacked the Hamas leadership for violating human rights, criticized the discrimination against women in public areas, and expressed his infuriation with the way Hamas' security institutions handle anti-regime activists.

It is quite bizarre that the one who initially defended political prisoners, eventually became one himself. The Hamas' long arm found E. and he very quickly found himself subject to threats, intimidation, and physical and mental harassment.

"In the initial investigations I was severely beaten, with bruises all over my body; it was very brutal. Even animals are not treated this way. One investigator would walk past me, punch me, then another one would come and beat me mercilessly," says E. "In the later investigations, I suffered less physical torture, but more mental torture. They would offend me, curse my mother and father and threaten them. For example, on one occasion they threatened to kill me and told me, 'Tomorrow we will shoot you and throw you to the dogs, and tell everyone that you collaborated with Israel'."

Another time they wanted me to sign a document saying that after I was released I was forbidden from talking to anyone about what they did to me during the investigation, and not to share what I went through with human rights organizations. Each time after you are arrested and released, you have to take painkillers and rest for three to four days to physically get over what happened. Mentally, it stays with you. You can't forget. This is one of the things that made me leave Gaza."

A Journey in search of livelihood
Two years ago, E. was forced to leave the Gaza Strip following an investigation, during which it was made clear to him that the Hamas security forces had information about his plan to initiate mass demonstrations in Gaza. E. went to Egypt, tried to make a living from a restaurant business, and last August he managed to return to his family in Gaza. "I saw that I had returned to the same Gaza, with the same problems. There is no freedom, there are no jobs, and the jobs that are there are given to Hamas and their loyalists. There is no stability in life. The situation is bad and people live from hand to mouth. Everything I earn – it all goes, nothing is left.

"The children grow up, they have needs. You have to buy them clothes for the winter and heat the house. There are so many everyday needs, and then you ask yourself, 'what future awaits them and me? It makes you think, is this how I want to live? It doesn't make sense. The family eats fresh meat only once a week. Some people eat half portions just so that they can get through the day. Every house in Gaza has debts to the electricity corporation and people have to pay off loans that they took.

"It's getting to the point where residents are not using their cars unless there is something essential because they do not want to waste money on fuel. Many factories in Gaza are closed. Business owners are in and out of prison because of debts, but it's not just because of money. It's in almost every area of life. There is no infrastructure and no projects. People avoid going to hospitals because they don't trust the medical treatment there. Hamas doesn't provide services. There is no future."

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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Modern antisemitism: Amnesty's annual report criticizes Israel more than ANY OTHER COUNTRY

When the utopian vision of a one-state socialist "Palestine" crashes into Palestinian Islamism

Popular Saudi newspaper says it is time to stop supporting Palestinians

New @Amnesty report makes up yet another fake definition of apartheid - just for Israel

Black conservatives engaging in casual antisemitism while being clueless why Kanye is offensive

I demolished James Zogby's "Israel is Apartheid" arguments on Twitter so thoroughly, he blocked me

Columbia BDS professor a little unclear on what "academic freedom" means

Buffalo shooter's manifesto shows the cross-pollination between Right and Left antisemitism

Seven inconvenient and under-reported facts about the Munich Olympics massacre

Spanish Christian tourist on Temple Mount freaks out Palestinians as a "naked Jewish settler"

France moves to outlaw pro-terror Palestinian groups. They respond that calling for murdering Jews is a "human right."

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12/25 Links: Melanie Phillips: Happy inclusive holidays!; Israel should terminate the Oslo Accords; Israeli mayor attends funeral of terrorist who wounded 3 policemen

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Happy inclusive holidays!

What a minefield this whole identity thing is. Thank goodness Chanukah doesn’t present this problem, eh?

For many diaspora Jews, Chanukah is regarded as Christmas-lite with gifts, diet-destroying delicacies and a lighted menorah in place of a glittering tree.

And there can hardly be much danger of offending anyone with a card displaying a chanukiah, dreidel or doughnut, or standard anodyne message such as “Festival of lights”, “Love, light, latkes” or “Peace, love and miracles”.

Hold on a minute. Chanukah is not actually a festival of peace and love. It celebrates instead the victory of the Maccabees who went to war against both the Seleucid Greeks and the Hellenists, Jews who were themselves drawn to the pagan ways of their Greek overlords.

The Maccabees were not apostles of peace. They were more like resistance commandos, fierce and uncompromising warriors who fought their Greek oppressors.

Moreover, they also committed violent atrocities against the Hellenised Jews who had absorbed Greek universalism and as a result had taken aim at circumcision, Shabbat observance and Torah study.

The Maccabees regarded those overly-assimilated Jews as traitors to Judaism and dealt with them accordingly.

In the saccharine world of much Chanukah observance, the Maccabees are commonly presented as heroes fighting and defeating the tyrannical Greeks. This was undoubtedly true.

But other commentators equally plausibly describe them as zealots, violent religious extremists who forced Jews to conform to a strict interpretation of Judaism and expelled non-Jews from the land. To the Hellenised Jews, they were religious nuts.

Ring any bells? Today, many diaspora Jews (and liberal Israelis) are hyper-ventilating over the likely inclusion in the new Israeli government of three men whose agenda has distinct echoes of the Maccabees.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the putative security minister, called in his younger days for the expulsion of the Arabs from Israel (although he says he has changed his views). Bezalel Smotrich, tipped as a finance minister, has said his ultimate aim is an Israeli theocracy.

And Avi Maoz, who is set to run an office of “Jewish identity”, has taken explicit aim at the “Hellenising Jews” of the Israeli left and progressive denominations whom he terms “the real darkness”.

Celebrating the Maccabees might therefore be seen as celebrating Ben-Gvir, Smotrich and Maoz.

Well that’s the end of Chanukah cards, then.

PMW: Jesus the Palestinian terrorist and his 72 dark-eyed virgins

One of the many ways in which the Palestinian Authority distorts history in order to invent a centuries-old Palestinian identity, is to turn Jesus the Judean (Jew), who promoted peace on earth, into a Palestinian terrorist who was murdered by the Israelis, thus becoming the first Palestinian “Martyr,” who is now reveling in heaven with Allah, in the arms of 72 dark-eyed virgins.

While the language the PA uses to describe Jesus as a terrorist and as someone enjoying his virgins is less direct, the meaning is the same.

When referring to Palestinian terrorists, the PA calls them “self-sacrificing fighters,” or “fidai”. So, when the PA and its officials use the same terms to describe Jesus, they are in fact saying he is a terrorist.

As Palestinian Media Watch has shown, here, here, here, here, and here, among other places, the definition of Jesus as a terrorist enjoying his virgins is not a fringe idea, but rather one expressed by the highest order in the PA.

Jesus the “Palestinian” terrorist murdered by the Jews

When PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh sought to declare Jesus a terrorist, and link him to Palestinian terror, he referred to him as a “Palestinian self-sacrificing fighter” who, similar to the PA descriptions of suicide bombers, “paid for his mission with his life” and whose birth takes place “at the same time as the anniversary of the outbreak of the Palestinian revolution” – i.e the anniversary of the first Fatah terror attack:
“The birthday of our lord Jesus, peace be upon him - the first Palestinian self-sacrificing fighter from whom we learned Martyrdom-death, and who paid for his mission with his life - takes place at the same time as the anniversary of the outbreak of the Palestinian revolution (i.e., the anniversary of “the Launch” of Fatah, counted from its first terror attack against Israel), for which thousands of Martyrs have paid with their lives so that we will live and remain, and so that our children will dream of a better future.”

[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 28, 2020]

Muwaffaq Matar, a member of the Revolutionary Council of PA leader Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party and regular columnist for the official PA daily similarly adopted Jesus as a Palestinian and compared him to terrorists calling him a “self-sacrificing fighter”:

Why did the Muslims put a menorah on their coins? Could be to symbolize Islamic supremacy.

Back in 2013, I wrote an article about a curious phenomenon: some early Muslim coins, minted mostly in Jerusalem, featured a menorah.

The earliest such coins were clearly copied from older Judean coins that featured the Temple menorah, with a seven branched menorah clearly visible. Here's an astonishing example that also includes a six pointed star on the other side, although Muslims also used that star in various motifs.

But soon they morphed to a different styled menorah, although the menorah was still associated with Jerusalem.

This one says on the obverse, "Aliya, Madinet Bayit al-Maqdis" - meaning Aelia Capitolina, the Roman name for Jerusalem, and "City of the Holy Temple."

There were two main differences between the original Jewish style menorah and the one that Muslims started putting on their coins. The Jewish representations of menorahs during the Byzantine period on medals and mosaics had seven branches and a three legged base:

The new Muslim "menorahs," though, while still associated with Jerusalem, changed the base to 2 legs, the number of branches to 5, and they put a line across the top of the menorah.

At the time, some Muslim coins used "visual puns" where a different picture would be seen upside down than right side up. Back in 2013, I mentioned that coin collectors had noted that the upside down version of the Muslim menorah resembles the Dome of the Rock, with the two-pronged Islamic crescent on top.

Another dome-like coin:

Once you see it upside down, it's hard to think it is a coincidence. After all, what kind of candelabra has a solid bar across its cups?

This could account for the changes to the menorah appearance to look more dome-like.

A few years after my post, some Israeli researchers came to the same conclusion, which was debated in certain circles. But a new proof for the upside down theory came from the discovery of an important inscription that was found in Nuba, near Hebron, in 2016:

A team of archaeologists revealed the existence of a 1000-year-old text, dated to the beginning of the Islamic era, which indicates that the Muslims perceived the Dome of the Rock as a reestablishment of the earlier Jewish Temple. They referred to it as “Bayt al-maqdis” in the inscription, which derives from the biblical Hebrew terminology as ‘Beit Hamikdash’, known as the Hebrew reference to the Holy Temple.

Turning the coins upside down could easily symbolize replacing the Jewish Temple, represented by the menorah, with the Dome of the Rock where early Muslims performed their own Temple-like rituals - and called it the "Bayt al-Maqdis," a term that later on started referring to all of Jerusalem.

Whatever the intent of the early Muslims were, though, the menorah on their Jerusalem coins proves that they associated Jerusalem with Jews and the Temple - both of which Palestinians deny today.

They are also trying to turn Jerusalem's history upside down.

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12/20 Links Pt1: Secret document reveals EU plans to help Palestinian takeover of Area C; Palestinian stubs toe, U.S. demands investigation; The UN's not-so-Interim Force in Lebanon

From Ian:

Secret document reveals EU plans to help Palestinian takeover of Area C

A document composed by the European Union’s mission in eastern Jerusalem and defined as secret exposes the E.U.’s intention to help Palestinians gain control over Area C of Judea and Samaria, commonly known as the West Bank, Israel’s Channel 13 revealed on Monday.

Under the Oslo Accords, Judea and Samaria is divided into three zones with Area C falling fully under Israeli control.

The six-page document calls for mapping the territory in order to prove Palestinian rights to the land and monitoring Israeli archaeological activity, as ancient Jewish ties reinforce Israeli claims.

The document also recommends strengthening Palestinian infrastructure in Area C and supporting Palestinians with legal aid.

In response to Channel 13‘s expose, the E.U. said, “As a general rule, we do not refer to documents. The policy of the E.U. is created by its 27 member states. Our policy has not changed—we are committed to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the future capital of both states.” Subscribe to The JNS Daily Syndicate by email and never miss our top stories

The report raised an outcry among politicians and various Israeli groups.

“It is not by chance that the European Union chose to classify the document as secret since it reveals its antisemitic attitude towards Israel for all to see,” tweeted Religious Zionism Party Chairman Bezalel Smotrich.

“It’s not content with accelerating the Palestinian takeover of Area C, it is important for it to thwart Israeli archaeological activity in Judea and Samaria lest the truth be revealed: ‘We have not taken foreign land, nor foreign property of our own; but the land of our ancestors…,'” he said, quoting the Book of the Maccabees.

Israel Can’t Allow Bigots to Control the Narrative on the Temple Mount

The trope that Jews are trying to seize and desecrate Muslim holy sites — “Judaizing the Temple Mount”– has been used to foment violence since the 1920s. If Israel is “Judaizing” the Temple Mount, it is certainly taking its sweet time. One might even argue that Israel is going about it all wrong.

For instance, when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, they did not work out a deal by which Eastern Orthodox clerics and Byzantine authorities retained control over the Hagia Sophia. They just conquered it and converted it into a mosque. Israel by contrast won control of the Temple Mount in a defensive war, after imploring Jordan not to attack. Upon its military victory, Israel then gave control over the Temple Mount to the Jordanian Waqf. There is no historical precedent in which a militarily victorious country made such a concession to a vanquished foe. One might have expected that the world would credit Israel for its tolerance.

Today, the concepts of human rights, dignity, equality, and tolerance are thankfully considered to be paramount in most of the world. The demand to bar only Jewish worship at a site that is sacred to multiple religions is akin to the worst examples of segregation. Jewish worshipers on the Temple Mount are not guilty of disrupting Muslim prayer. They are not the ones rioting, shouting, burning tires, throwing rocks, or even murdering worshipers. Indeed, neither Jews nor Israel even consider banning Muslim worshipers from the holy site.

While most controversial issues in the Middle East have some shade of gray, this is one of the most black and white ethical dilemmas. Jews want to pray and let Muslims pray. Those manufacturing a crisis want the Jews banned, period.

Unfortunately, many international leaders and the international media outlets automatically blame Israel and thus, peaceful Jewish worship, for the tension. Even the US State Department called upon Israel to defuse tensions caused by Arab rioting on the Temple Mount. It is amazing that this centuries-old excuse for violence still bears weight.

Israel cannot allow bigots to control the narrative around the Temple Mount, and it is high time its leaders get out in front with a well-articulated explanation. While many Jews and Israeli officials have made this case, Israel’s leadership must make an articulate, public, and unapologetic case to its Arab neighbors and the world, that it respects religious freedom, demands that same respect, and explains that it is those perpetrating violence who are truly desecrating this holy site. This is urgently needed, not just to combat antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment, but to save the hopeful promise of the Abraham Accords.

Will Mahmoud Abbas and PA Leaders Face ICC Prosecution for Murder

In a statement, the Banat family directly accused PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of being responsible for their son’s death, because of his responsibility for the Palestinian security forces. The family announced their determination “to go to the end and bring justice to the gang that murdered Nizar Banat.”

The PA’s trial in Ramallah of those accused of the murder opened following heavy pressure exerted on the Palestinian Authority by the Biden administration, the European Union, human rights organizations, and the Palestinian street, which held a series of demonstrations, mainly in Ramallah and Hebron, against the dictatorial regime of Mahmoud Abbas.

Until the start of the trial, the Palestinian Authority tried to reach a compensation settlement with the family in exchange for canceling the trial. It offered them a large sum of money and jobs in the PA, but all its offers were rejected.

Even after the killing of Nizar Banat, the PA continued to use force and its security forces violently suppressed the demonstrations that called for the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas, the punishment of the murderers, and the establishment of an international commission of inquiry in the case.

According to Palestinian law, the PA defendants face prison sentences ranging from seven years to life. However, this is not going to happen. The Palestinian Authority is determined to protect them. Therefore, the Banat family appealed to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to put pressure on the Palestinian Authority by opening an investigation into the case.

Meanwhile, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is taking advantage of concerns over the PA’s possible collapse and the consequences of this for regional stability, in order to delay the trial.

The murder of Nizar Banat was intended to send a clear message to all the political opponents of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who will continue to forcefully suppress his critics and opponents, just like the other dictatorial rulers in the Arab world. There is no difference between them.

Hamas threatens war resulting from Jews visiting the Temple Mount during Chanukah; Jordan joins the antisemitic, anti-Chanukah jihad

Hamas issued this press release in English:

The planned mass incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque, orchestrated by Israeli settler groups under the cover and protection of the hardline right-wing Israeli occupation government to mark the so-called Hanukkah holiday, constitute a dangerous development aimed at provoking the feelings of the Palestinian people and of all Muslims.

We hold the Israeli occupation government fully responsible for the repercussions of such raids and provocations. We emphasise that such policies and incursions threaten to explode the situation in the face of the Israeli occupation and colonial settlers.

We call on the Palestinian citizens of Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque by intensifying their presence at the Muslim sacred compound in order to foil all schemes intended to impose a new fait accompli and divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque temporally and spatially.

The Palestinian people will continue to defend the Al-Aqsa compound with all means possible and at any cost.

Note that even in English, the antisemitism shines through. Not only are they saying that Jews hve no rights to visit our most sacred site, and not only are they saying that the only reason Jews might want to visit the site is specifically to provoke Muslims, and not only are they saying that their own natural violence that might erupt in the anger of seeing Jews walking around peacefully would be the Jews' fault, but they imply that Chanukah itself is a fake holiday - "so-called Hanukkah holiday" - perhaps as an excuse to do these "provocations."

In Arabic, of course, they are even more strident in their threats.

Abu Obeida, the military spokesman for the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, called on the masses of our people and our nation to mobilize to protect the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in the face of the continuous crimes of the occupation, stressing that the battle with the occupation is long, extended, complex and has multiple fronts, mechanisms and means.
Today, Sunday, Abu Obeida stressed that the occupation's threats about the further storming of Al-Aqsa are serious, and indicate the nature of the criminal structure that came to power in the entity, adding, "This requires a state of alert for our people and our nation to protect the place of their Prophet from this miserable fragmentation."
He stressed that the battle of Saif al-Quds (2021 Gaza war) was the detonator that exploded latent energies and removed the ashes from blazing embers in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and occupied Palestine in the year 48, and was an inspiring model.
Abu Obeida called on our revolutionary youth in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the occupied Palestinian interior, to continue to escalate the resistance against the occupation and settlers, stressing that the extended and escalating resistance movement is the natural state to respond to aggression and establish the next liberation stage.
He added, "We are facing a battle of existence, right, history, and the future, but victory is an hour's patience, and if the martyrs are planted despite the pain, a revolution and a real victory will grow."

Leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad met in Lebanon, somehow escaping the Gaza "open air prison" whenever they want to, and they included threats to Israel for Jews visiting the Temple Mount:

Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Sheikh Mujahid Saleh Al-Arouri, Secretary-General of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, met with Brother Mujahid Ziyad Al-Nakhala, in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, yesterday .
The two parties emphasized joint cooperation in strengthening and activating the resistance of our people in all of Palestine in the face of the Zionist occupation and criminality, especially in the West Bank, and to confront the Zionist plans that seek to undermine the resistance and liquidate the Palestinian cause, the aggressive threats targeting Jerusalem, and the repeated storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The inflammatory and inciteful rhetoric isn't only the domain of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups. Jordanian officials joined the anti-Chanukah, anti-Jewish party:

Secretary-General of the Royal Commission for Jerusalem Affairs, Abdullah Kanaan, confirmed that the concept of holidays is usually associated with peace, unlike what is happening in occupied Palestine, which activates and intensifies the Israeli attacks and incursions against the Islamic and Christian sanctities in the city of Jerusalem.
He said that the Jews perform alleged rituals related to their festivals in a way that threatens the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque directly, and makes the idea of demolishing the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and establishing the alleged temple in its place a sacred religious principle, as is the case in the doctrine of the holiday (Hanukkah), which provokes the feelings of Muslims and Christians whose sanctities are also exposed. It clearly shows the occupation's plans to Judaize Jerusalem, and efforts to change the existing historical situation, which endangers peace and security in the region and the world.

The Ammon News site then goes on a bizarre, antisemitic reading of history, not only denying Jewish history itself but then blaming Jews celebrating Jewish holidays for Arabs slaughtering Jews:

Today, Sunday, the Jews began their celebrations of the Hanukkah or Lights)festival, which is a celebration to commemorate the so-called alleged temple, and to restore freedom of worship to the Jewish people after the success of the popular revolution led by Judah Maccabee and his brothers, according to legends on which they built their fabricated beliefs, and at the same time they oppress Muslims and Christians in the occupied territories to prevent them from celebrating their festivals.

The Jewish holidays, including Hanukkah, are dominated by the nature of violations and assaults in alleged religious dress, which creates a difficult and even dangerous reality for Jerusalemites by preventing them from freedom of worship, and the exercise of economic and social activities, due to checkpoints, closures, holding Talmudic prayers, lighting candlesticks, and incursions by herds of settlers under protection and direct participation of the Israeli police and army.

It is noteworthy that the Zionist gangs carried out an attack during the Prophet Musa season on 4/4/1920 under the pretext of celebrating the Jewish Passover, and on 8/15/1929, which coincided with the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday, they attacked the Palestinians under the pretext of celebrating the day of the alleged destruction of the Temple, so that occupied Palestine would witness the Buraq Revolution.

This isn't "anti-Zionism." This is Jew-hatred, and anyone who denies this simple equation supports it.

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

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