Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Temple Mount

Showing posts with label Temple Mount. Show all posts

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Muslim Brotherhood leader calls for "holy Jihad" against Israeli Jews

Egypt’s foremost Muslim Brotherhood official called on the Arab world Thursday to replace negotiations with Israel with “holy Jihad,” claiming that if Jews are allowed to pray on the Temple Mount they will destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and supplant it with the third temple.

Mohammed Badie, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood, declared in a public message published by Egyptian daily Al-Ahram that “the Zionists only understand force,” and that Arabs cannot hope to achieve justice from the Jews “through the corridors of the United Nations or through negotiations.”

‘Zionists only understand the language of force and will not relent without duress,’ Badie continued. ‘This will only happen through holy Jihad, high sacrifices and all forms of resistance’

“The time has come for the Islamic nation to unite around one man for the sake of Jerusalem and Palestine,” Badie said. “The Jews have dominated the land, spread corruption on earth, spilled the blood of believers and in their actions profaned holy places, including their own.”

“Zionists only understand the language of force and will not relent without duress,” Badie continued. “This will only happen through holy Jihad, high sacrifices and all forms of resistance. The day they realize we will march this path and raise the banner of Jihad for the sake of God, is the day they will relent and stop their tyranny.”

Don't worry. We know that there will be dozens of Arabic op-eds decrying his warmongering and anti-semitic statements. Because we are told that most Muslims aren't extremists, and certainly we'll see the backlash from the moderates soon.

Except that this was first published 15 hours ago as of this writing, and so far...nothing.

Palestinian Arab sheikh reveals Israel's latest plan to destroy Al Aqsa mosque

Sheikh Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, has told Quds Media how exactly the Israelis plan to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque.

You see, the tunnels they have been excavating nearby (he claims, underneath) aren't meant to destroy the mosque directly. Rather, those wily Israelis are setting up a situation where an earthquake of only 5.0 on the Richter scale will cause the structures on the Temple Mount to collapse on their won, and then the Jews can blame the earthquake!

Sabri has, in the past, has stated:

"If the Jews want peace, they will stay away from Al Aksa. This is a decree from God. The Haram al-Sharif belongs to the Muslim. But we know the Jew is planning on destroying the Haram. The Jew will get the Christian to do his work for him. This is the way of the Jews. This is the way Satan manifests himself. The majority of the Jews want to destroy the mosque. They are preparing this as we speak."

"Six million Jews dead? No way, they were much fewer. Let’s stop with this fairytale exploited by Israel to capture international solidarity. It is not my fault if Hitler hated Jews, indeed they were hated a little everywhere. Instead, it is necessary to denounce the unjust occupation endured by my people."

"Anyone who studies The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and specifically the Talmud will discover that one of the goals of these Protocols is to cause confusion in the world and to undermine security throughout the world."

Which means that according to analysts as smart as Karl Vick, Sabri is a moderate.

Arabs riot on Temple Mount

Because throwing stones isn't a desecration of a holy place - but Jews peacefully walking around it is.

Following the conclusion of Friday prayers at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, hundreds of Arabs threw stones at security guards in the area. Police charged through the Mughrabi Gate in the Old City and fired stun grenades to disperse the angry mob.

Unconfirmed Palestinian reports suggested that several people were lightly injured.

Police officials, having restored calm, said that they would arrest some of the stone throwers in the coming days.

Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites of Israel Shmuel Rabinovitch expressed shock following Friday’s violent demonstration, assessing that it was meant to prevent Jewish worshippers from praying in the area during Sukkot. He said that it was up to the police to arrest those who “wish to harm the delicate fabric of the holy sites in the Old City, and to harass worshippers.”

Rabbi Rabinovitch called on the public to continue observing the holiday at the Western Wall.

On Thursday, a confrontation at the Temple Mount plaza led to six arrests as a group of Muslim worshipers threatened Jewish visitors to the site.

According to a police spokesperson, about 30 Muslims began chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and tried to attack a group of Jews who were visiting the site. Police broke up the altercation, and arrested five Arabs and one Jew.

Israeli judge says, but doesn't rule, that Jews should be allowed to pray on Temple Mount

From Ha'aretz:

A Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court judge said Wednesday that the police should allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount – an exceptional remark given that the High Court of Justice has ruled that policy on the Temple Mount is the sole purview of the police.

Police currently enforce the Muslim ban on Jewish prayer at the site, citing security concerns.

“There is room to allow for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount,” said Judge Malka Aviv, during a remand hearing for Hagai Weiss, the son of Prof. Hillel Weiss, who was arrested on suspicion of trying to pray at the site.

She added that “the [police] explanation that Muslims don’t approve of Jews praying on the Temple Mount cannot, in and of itself, prevent Jews from fulfilling their religious obligations and praying on the Temple Mount.”

To her mind, she said, Jewish prayer should be permitted on the Temple Mount “in a structured fashion, in a place designated for it,” that would maintain the security of Jewish worshipers.

It should be noted that despite her clear, unequivocal statements, Aviv was not instructing the police how to act, but merely expressing her opinion.

Fifteen Jews have been arrested over the past few days for trying to pray on the Temple Mount, including right-wing activist Moshe Feiglin, who was arrested Tuesday.

Naturally, this story was immediately picked up by Arabic media. Tomorrow, the Aqsa Heritage Foundation and Qudsmedia are going to freak out.

Here is one scandalous photo of Jews "storming" the Temple Mount today, which caused a mini-riot.

Video of Muslims harassing peaceful Jews on Temple Mount

Yesterday, there were some clashes on the Temple Mount as Muslims harassed and tried to attack peaceful Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount. Here is video from the Al Aqsa Foundation site:

As Arutz-7 reports:

Police ignored threats by Arabs to butcher Jews ascending the Temple Mount but arrested an Arab for trying to stab a police officer. The police also arrested Likud nationalist Moshe Feiglin for attempting to pray there.

A number of Jews, including those from the Our Land of Israel movement, went up to the holy site on Tuesday despite rumors Monday night that Arabs planned to cause problems. The police were alerted but provided no protection for the group of Jews.

“When we went up on the Temple Mount, we were greeted with cries of ‘Allah is Great,’” said Asaf Fried, one of the members in the group.

”The police again did nothing, even towards the end of the visit when the Arabs really came close to us and blocked our exit, shouting, 'We will expel the Jews in blood and fire and will butcher Jews.’

“The police still did nothing,” and the group of Jews escaped without harm.

The Arab media is reporting it quite differently, talking about Jews "storming" the site and performing "Talmudic rituals" as usual.

Here are some of those "stormers:"

Scary looking, aren't they?

"Tens of thousands desecrate Al Buraq with Talmudic rituals and loud chants"

Last night, as Yom Kippur approaches, the Kotel plaza in Jerusalem was packed with Jews praying.

And the Muslims are seething.

The Al Aqsa Foundation has dozens of photos of what they called "Israelis desecrating Al Buraq" with "loud chants" and "Talmudic rituals" whose prayers were described as being led by "senior rabbis, accompanied by noisy songs up to the middle of the night."

They clearly took these photos from some Jewish site, but the photos show that the Kotel plaza was overflowing:

They write that they "asserted that the Western Wall is an integral part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and the occupation is showing contempt for Al Aqsa with storming by the settlers and Jewish groups, and profaning the Buraq [kotel]area, does not give the occupation and their tentacles of any kind of presence or sovereignty over the Al-Aqsa Mosque."

This photo seemed to upset them. Interesting composition though:

Earlier in the day dozens of Jews "stormed" the Temple Mount itself. Here are the scary photos:

Jews walking peacefully in their holiest site certainly makes Muslims' blood boil.

Arab media: "Thousands of Jews desecrating the Wailing Wall"

The Al Aqsa Heritage Foundation's latest press release, picked up by other Arab media, is upset over the thousands of Jews who attended the midnight Selichot on the eve of Rosh Hashanah.

Thousands of Israelis last night desecrated the Wailing Wall and surrounding areas, where they had gathered from late night to dawn in the squares and performed biblical and Talmudic rituals, and loudly chanted, on the eve of the so-called "festival the Jewish New Year," which falls tomorrow and beyond. there is expected to be an increased presence of Israelis at the Wailing Wall over the next two days, guarded by the Israeli occupation forces.

And they have photos of this "desecration:"

But even worse are the Jews who ascended to the Temple Mount this morning:

In a related matter some sixty settlers stormed the Aqsa Mosque Sunday morning around 9:20, arriving via the Mughrabi Gate. They wandered in the area, while performing some Talmudic rituals, accompanied by elements of the occupation forces. Witnesses said that the atmosphere in the al-Aqsa mosque was very tense, and the number of intruders on the mosque may increase in the coming hours under repeated calls from the Israeli bodies to intensify their storming of Aqsa during the so-called "festive Jewish season" which begins this afternoon and lasts about a month.

Here are the offensive photos of those scary Jews "storming" the Temple Mount:

Tourists jump on Temple Mount, upsetting Muslims

The latest outrage: A group of (apparently Christian) foreign tourists jumped and danced on the Temple Mount.

This was enough to elicit a press release from the Al Aqsa Heritage Foundation, where they condemned "the reprehensible repeated recent actions by foreign tourists who were encouraged and under the protection of the occupying forces. The tourists played games and performed disgraceful acrobatic movements and dances in the Al Aqsa Mosque, along with accompanying obscene words and resounding voices."

Apparently, dancing is disrespectful, but soccer and volleyball are OK. As long as the players aren't, you know, non-Muslim.

For good measure, they also complained about Jews defiling the Jewish holy spot.

This time they didn't mention Talmudic rituals, but the foundation did say that the Jewish visitors would bring with them posters that were biblical and Talmudic. Also that the Israeli government is trying to turn it into a public square.
This photo of a tour guide - again, probably Christian - really got under their skin:

"Settlers storm Joseph's Tomb" and "Al Aqsa Mosque"

Palestine Press Agency reports that "Hundreds of settlers stormed at dawn Tuesday, the 'shrine of Joseph' east of Nablus under guard by the Israeli occupation army, as clashes broke out in the vicinity of the Balata refugee camp."

Surprisingly, Ma'an's coverage this time is reasonable, and contradicts claims of clashes:

Hundreds of settlers visited Joseph's Tomb in Nablus overnight Monday, local sources told Ma'an.

More than 20 buses carrying the settlers were seen by the tomb amid a heavy Israeli military presence, locals said.

Settlers performed prayers until the early morning hours before leaving the area. No incidents were reported.

Under the 1993 Oslo Accords, the site was to remain under Israeli control. But the Israeli army evacuated the premises in October 2000 shortly after the start of the second intifada, or uprising, and it was immediately destroyed and burnt by the Palestinians.

The restoration of the tomb was completed recently, and following improved security cooperation with the Palestinian Authority, the army allows Jewish worshipers to make monthly nocturnal pilgrimages to the site.

Meanwhile, Hamas' Palestine Times says that "usurpers" had "stormed" the Temple Mount, what they call the Al Aqsa Mosque. Significantly, it also complained about "foreign tourists" on the Mount, indicating that they are almost as upset over any non-Muslim on the Mount as they are about Jews.

Arabs complain of "Talmudic rituals"at Solomon's Pools

From Palestine Times:

Usurpers perform Talmudic rituals at Solomon's Pools

A large group of usurpers, under the protection of Israeli soldiers, stormed the Solomon's Pools in al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem. About 70 usurpers accompanied by Israeli soldiers stormed the ponds and settled on the third pool. The usurpers performed the ritual and religious hymns and rituals in the water, which is the fourth time in a row this has occurred.

Solomon's Pools is not an Islamic holy site. It has nothing to do with Islam. And at least one of them was undoubtedly built during Maccabean Jewish rule.

So when Arabs complain about "Talmudic rituals" (meaning, Jewish prayers), for example in the Temple Mount, it is not because they are Jews are desecrating a supposed Islamic holy site.

It is because they are Jews practicing Judaism.

By coincidence, historic photographs of Solomon's Pools were the subject of yesterday's "Israel's Daily Picture" blog.

Abbas continues to lie and incite

From Ma'an:

President Mahmoud Abbas stressed Tuesday the need to protect Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian holy sites, speaking on the anniversary of an attempted arson of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Abbas said the fire, which was set by an Australian in 1969, was "the first (attack) in a series that aimed to demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque to make way to build the (third) temple."

The president's office said in a statement that Israeli excavation work in Jerusalem and tunnels underneath the holy site would not undermine the fact that the city has an Arab identity.

Exactly which Muslim holy sites are in danger under Jewish rule? Can Abu Mazen name one?

Besides the single example discovered earlier this year - of an ancient Muslim school accidentally demolished in 1967 - Israel has treated Muslim and Christian holy sites with respect and even helped discover new ones.

The contrast with how disgustingly the Muslims have treated ancient Jewish holy sites - most egregiously, the Jewish artifacts on the Temple Mount itself, wantonly destroyed with heavy equipment, or the recent desecration of graves at the Mount of Olives, not to mention and destruction of dozens of Jerusalem synagogues under Jordanian rule - cannot be starker.

The simple fact is that Abbas is inciting his people against Israel, period. He knows quite well that the 1969 attack was not done by any Jews or by Israeli authorities, but by a deranged Christian from Australia. Israel is hardly responsible for the actions of a crazed Australian.

Abbas, on the other hand, is directly responsible for the terror that occurs because of the lies and incitement that he directly pushes as well as that which comes from his official PA newspapers, schools and announcements.

The man is not an honored peace partner. He is a thoroughly despicable human being.

How many people can fit on the Temple Mount?

Arab media are reporting that some half a million people are expected to go to the Temple Mount today, the last Friday of Ramadan. Similarly, they reported that over 400,000 people came to the courtyard on the night of Laylat al-Qadr earlier this week.

The Temple Mount is about 35 acres (14 hectares); this number would be reduced by the many structures on it where people cannot stand.

Approximately 5000 people can fit in an acre assuming one square yard (meter) per person. Certainly you can jam pack more in that space but not if they want to kneel and prostrate themselves, which the Muslims do in prayer.

Here's a photo from last Friday when the number of worshipers was estimated at "250,000," showing how much space is between them:

So at no time can the Temple Mount support more than 150,000 people, and probably the number is significantly lower than that.

I supposed it is possible that people are not staying the entire time, but I'm not sure.

However, it seems likely that the figure of half a million visiting the Al Aqsa Mosque today is a very large exaggeration.

A tree falls on the Temple Mount. Must be the Jooz!

A palm tree collapsed in the courtyard of the Temple Mount on Sunday, near where the Al Aqsa Mosque currently is.

So of course the conspiracy theories started flying right away.

One thing they all have in common - it was the fault of the evil Jews.

Theory number 1 is the always popular idea that Jewish excavations under the mosque - which are wholly imaginary - have weakened the trees and caused this one to fall.

Theory number 2 is that Jewish "settlers" are spraying chemicals to kill the trees when they visit the Temple Mount.

Theory number 3 is that the Israelis have placed a camera on the Dome of the Rock and the trees were in the way, so they somehow knocked this one down.

The Al Aqsa Foundation concludes:

All this evidence suggests that occupation is the cause of such cases, and it remains for the competent Muslim Arab Palestinian engineers and agricultural engineers to examine such cases, in a professional and scientific manner, and come to their conclusion.

It is nice to know that they want to find competent authorities to confirm what they already know. Otherwise one might think they weren't being fair in their wild conspiracy theories.

Today's nutty Al Aqsa rumor: Jews dissolving foundation with chemicals

Palestine Today reports that Jamal Amr, who is responsible for architecture affairs for the Al Aqsa Mosque, charges that he found traces of chemicals that the Israelis are using to dissolve the foundations of the mosque.

Who knows, maybe they are dissolving the entire Temple Mount.

Amr said in a speech that Israeli experts are deploying the solvents during the night and removing them during the day to hide their nefarious plans. This is the biggest attack against Al Aqsa in three years, he said.

Yes, the Israelis can use this wonder chemical to dig tunnels, or safely take down buildings, but they choose to use it to weaken the Al Aqsa Mosque. Because that's how they roll, apparently.

By the way, this story was also reported back in February. And Mondoweiss swallowed it, naturally. Because republishing absurd anti-Jewish conspiracy theories is how they roll, in reality.

Archaeology news part 1: "Mass grave from Temple destruction"

From Israel HaYom:

Remains of thousands of Jews massacred by the Romans on the Temple Mount at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple may have been uncovered in Jerusalem, according to a veteran archaeological journalist.

During a conference on Thursday at Megalim – the City of David Institute for Jerusalem Studies, journalist Benny Liss screened a movie recorded a few years ago that clearly shows thousands of skeletons and human bones in what appears to be a mass grave.

Liss, veteran archaeological correspondent for Israel's Channel 1, told the amazed audience that the film had been shot in a spacious, underground cavern in the area of the Mercy Gate, near the eastern wall of the Temple Mount, but just outside it. Liss raised the possibility that the skeletons were the remains of 6,000 Jews, mostly women and children, killed on the Temple Mount when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple, as described in the writings of Flavius Josephus, who witnessed the destruction.

The movie shows a group of people accessing the cavern with construction tools. Liss goes in first, followed by a lighting technician and cameraman. The three first pass through a narrow passage and then enter the cave with the skeletal remains. Liss says he tried to work out the size of the pile of remains by putting his hand in as far as he could, but he could not reach the bottom. The movie shows Liss crumbling some of the carbonized materials near the skeletons. As soon as Liss left the cave, Antiquities Authority staff resealed the cave, he says.

During the lecture, Liss also cites historical sources that show that in the area of the Old City where the Muslim cemetery now stands, there was once a Jewish neighborhood and cemetery, which was moved to the Valley of Josaphat. He basis his theory that the skeletons are the remains of the people killed on the Temple Mount on the site of the mass grave, the soot in the cave and the written history.

"The Romans stayed on the Temple Mount for a month after the destruction of the temple until going on to conquer the upper city [today's Jewish Quarter],” says Liss. “They had to get rid of the thousands of decomposing bodies and the most obvious place to do this would have been the natural caves on the upper slope of the mount, around Mercy Gate."

The veteran journalist emphasized that this was just a theory. "Now, after publishing this information, the experts should go into the field and examine what we found back then, evaluate it and publish their own findings," he says.

A host of senior archaeologists approached by Israel Hayom said that photographs were not enough to determine the history of the cave and that samples need to be taken from the site and dated.

The chances of the site being reopened are very slim as it is located in a particularly sensitive area, where the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf keeps a close watch and interprets every movement by Jews or Israeli authorities on the mount.

The Antiquities Authority said in response that it was unaware of the findings presented in Liss' movie, and it would be happy to receive the materials. One official told Israel Hayom that he was aware of unsubstantiated reports of a cave with a large amount of human remains in the area, but because of the extreme sensitivity of the location and its close proximity to the Muslim cemetery, the cave had never been explored.

Today's "usurpers of Al Aqsa"

Palestinian Muslim sites are freaking out over the third consecutive day of Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, saying that they are "desecrating" and "usurping" the Al Aqsa Mosque (which they, of course, never enter.)

They are especially upset over this man, who was taking photos and video using a tripod. I'm not sure why photography is such a desecration of the area, given that the Muslims are photographing the Jews every time they visit.

They said this is an "incursion," a "break in," and an "attack." Plus, of course, these Jews are accused of "performing Talmudic rituals," the worst possible thing anyone can imagine.

Today's horrible photos of Jews on the Temple Mount

Palestine Today reports about how Jews are brazenly ascending to their holiest spot during the nine days of commemoration for the destruction of the Temples.

According to the article, "extremist groups have today been performing Talmudic rituals and prayers in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa under the protection and escort of special occupation police units."

Qudsmedia says that they expect more Jews to "storm" the courtyards of the Mount as the upcoming Tisha B'Av fast day approaches next Sunday.

Fatah's Palestine Press Agency also covered this, as did Hamas' Palestine Times, which captioned the photo "Al Aqsa is in Danger." All of them emphasized the heebie-jeebie "Talmudic prayers" supposedly said by the visitors.

Because everyone knows that Talmudic prayers are especially heinous.

Since this is Ramadan, this essentially daily occurrence of Jews peacefully visiting the Temple Mount is being published far and wide in Arabic media, from Egypt to Jordan to the UAE. You see, they are upset that Jews, by breathing holy Al Aqsa air, are disregarding the feelings of a billion Muslims as they play soccer on Judaism's most holy site.

Complaint against Temple Mount soccer

Last year, for Tisha B'Av, I posted an article with videos and photos about the daily desecration of the Temple Mount done by Muslims, symbolized by the fact that they routinely play soccer in their supposedly "third holiest place."

And a couple of months ago I showed how AP justified the soccer (and volleyball!) by saying that it was one of the few open spaces for Muslims in Jerusalem, so it is essentially a park, not just a holy place.

One Israeli has apparently had enough:

David Vazna filed a complaint, Thursday, with the Moriah police in Jerusalem, regarding Arabs playing soccer on the Temple Mount. He says the game is an insult and desecration of a holy place, which carries a sentence of a year in prison.

He said that friends serving in police positions at the holy site asked for his assistance in dealing with the daily phenomenon. Vazna says the office of Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin told him it would respond to his request to use its influence to get the police to act to eliminate the practice.

The article is over a week old, and I haven't heard anything since, but we need more people to complain about this constant desecration of Judaism's holiest place.

(h/t Judge Dan)

Islamist sites have the best photos

From Qudsmedia, in an article railing against the idea that Israeli law extends to the Temple Mount:

Now if we can just get rid of that ugly spherical thing on the left side....

Jews again "profaning Al Aqsa"

Palestine Today writes:

On Tuesday, Jewish extremist groups continued the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, arriving via the Mughrabi Gate with special police units of the occupation.

Our correspondent says that the city's Jewish extremists profaned the mosque since the morning hours in addition to a group of uniformed soldiers in military dress, and these incursions are still continuing and are expected to be increased before the afternoon prayer.

He added that the Jewish extremists desecrated the mosque courtyards and squares and facilities in the area between the Dome of the Rock and the Marwani Chapel.

Yesterday, more than 190 Zionist soldiers and about 65 Jewish extremists stormed into the al-Aqsa mosque, accompanied by officers from the Zionist internal security.

Unfortunately, they don't have photos of this "desecration," but luckily Yisrael Medad from My Right Word was one of yesterday's "profaners" and has some pictures:

By the way, if you were wondering what people visiting the Temple Mount look like when they are not "profaning" it according to the Muslims, on Sunday dozens of Arab summer camps took a field trip to the holy spot: