Thursday, March 30, 2023
Elder of Ziyon
The Jordanian Waqf and Israeli authorities agreed that Muslims would not be allowed to stay overnight in the Al Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan - a ritual known as i'tikaaf - except on Friday and Saturday nights, and on the last ten days of Ramadan.
Here's the Waqf's memo:
When Israeli forces peacefully removed the Muslims who were in the mosque last Sunday night, there was immediate outrage among Palestinians - but when they saw this memo, their anger has been redirected towards the Waqf itself.
This is because Palestinians had been calling for Muslims to stay overnight specifically to attack Jews who visit the holy site in the mornings. (Jews are not allowed to visit in the afternoons during Ramadan, and also not during the last ten days of the month.)
Now there is a campaign to force the Waqf to change the policy and allow i'tikaaf every night. The reasons given by the activists start off claiming that it is a religious right - but invariably they end up saying that it is political.
Political analyst Yasser Al-Za'trah, tweeted, "Not allowing i'tikaaf in the Al-Aqsa Mosque throughout the month of Ramadan is tantamount to an implicit recognition of the Jews' right to storm it every day."
Activist Nidaa Walid, tweeted, "We will not allow the Al-Aqsa Mosque to be defiled. It is our duty to gather and bind in it," adding, "O heroes of Palestine, do not allow settler gangs to slaughter their alleged offerings inside Al-Aqsa."
Here's a case where religion is being used as an excuse to attack Jews. Al Aqsa has never had i'tikaaf during the first half of Ramadan, and the only previous time there was a call to do so was in 2015, again specifically to be used as a means to go after Jewish visitors.
And even though this is an attack on the status quo of the Temple Mount, we are not hearing any voices of concern from the Europeans and Biden administration officials who are so quick to defend the status quo when it is supposedly threatened by Jews.
If the status quo is only enforced one way, then it is meaningless. And those who pretend it is sacred in only one direction prove that they are just using it as an excuse to limit Jewish rights.
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