Arab leaders promote Temple Mount travesties

ISRAEL July 18, 2013 — There is an oft-told story about Napoleon Bonaparte and his visit to a Jewish town in Europe. Napoleon walked into a synagogue on the 9th day of the month of Av, the somber fast day observed each year that marks the anniversary of the Holy Temple’s destruction. Upon learning that the Jews were in deep sorrow for a tragedy that had befallen them1700 years prior, he remarked, “Such a people as this will never be destroyed! If they still remember to mourn for their Temple of so long ago, they will surely see it rebuilt.”

It was the Jew’s respect for, and their devotion to, their holy Temple and what it represented that assured the great conqueror of their prominence as a nation and the quality of their character.

If this is a measure of a nation’s character what does the recent events on the Temple Mount say about the Arabs in Israel today?

Forget the fact that the Temple Mount was secured by Israel in 1967 but was given back to the Arabs as a sign of good will shortly afterward.

Forget the fact that Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Mount in 2000 is the official given impetus for the Second Palestinian Intifada, which saw the slaughter of more than 1,000 Jews, blown up for committing such heinous atrocities such as patronizing coffee shops, grabbing a bite to eat at pizza shops and heading home from work on buses.

Forget the fact that any Jew, if he is lucky enough to gain permission to visit the Temple Mount, is so much as caught moving his mouth in a way that can be construed as prayer or bending over in a way that can be interpreted as prostrating is immediately evacuated.

Even if one is to forget all of the above, although it would be no easy task, two events that transpired just this past week, are sufficient to tell the story of the Arabs and their ‘beloved devotion to and respect for’ Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, both areas being Arab pre-conditions to any final peace agreement in the past three decades.

Firstly, this past Wednesday, the Jews around the world mourned yet again the destruction of the Temple. Israeli Police informed the Jewish and Christian communities that they were banned from the Temple Mount during the 9th of Av because a very large group of Muslim worshippers threatened to riot violently.

However, the use of violence by the Arabs on the holiest of holy grounds may not be all that shocking to everyone. To those familiar with Friday morning prayers at the Western Wall where the Arabs, fresh off of rabble-rousing sermons at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, rush out to the Temple Mount courtyard and sling dozens of rocks over the wall, hoping to (and often times successfully) injure Jewish worshippers on the other side.

People familiar with this disgraceful weekly act will perhaps be offended by a desecration of another kind. In a recent report by IsraelNationalNews.com the Jewish Temple Mount organization expressed its outrage over the “‘desecration’ of Judaism’s holiest site, as Muslim authorities encourage ball games, among others, and oversized dolls, on what is considered hallow ground by both Jews and Muslims.’ The Temple Institute said that the Islamist “Al Aqsa Fund” is behind most of this activity on the Mount, and that it seeks to attract Muslims – mostly from northern Israel – to the Mount in this way.”

For those bleeding-heart human rights/politically correct enthusiasts who are worried about the racist stereotyping that every Arab loves soccer, have no fear! A volleyball court has been set up just steps from where their holy prophet Mohammad ascended to heaven.

The Jews want to ascend to the Mount to pray as close as they can to where G-d descended to be close to them. They are denied because it will incite Arab anger and violence.

The Arabs take to the Temple Mount to throw rocks and play sports and there is no news coverage, no outrage and no riots.

If Napoleon’s declaration that the Jew’s devotion and reverence for their long-destroyed Temple shows their tremendous respect and undying commitment to G-d and the land he gave them what on earth would he say about the Arab’s unadulterated defilement of the holy site?

It would be clear to him, and should be clear to all, that the Arabs have no historical connection to Jerusalem, the Temple Mount or the rest of the Land of Israel. Heck, they don’t even have basic decency for it!

It is time the world stopped conducting business in accordance with the fabricated Arab narrative and recognize that Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the Land of Israel has and always will belong to the Jews.

That’s RIGHT I Said It!

Muslim Extremists Force Jews From Temple Mount Hundreds of pilgrims forced from Judaism's holiest site by Muslim mob. Activist: "Police failed to carry out their duties again"

Hundreds of Jews came to the Temple Mount Monday in honor of Tisha B'Av, the anniversary of the destruction of the two Jewish Temples by the Babylonian and Roman empires respectively.

But their visit was cut short as Muslim worshippers physically blocked them and appeared to be preparing a riot.

Michael Fua, of the Jewish Leadership faction of the Israeli Likud Party, was at the Mount.

“Today, on the eve of Tisha B'Av, the Israel Police failed do discharge its duties again,” Fua accused. “Hundreds of Jews who came to the Mount from all parts of the Land of Israel, were kept waiting for a long time at the entrance to the Mount, at the only gate where Jews are allowed to pass, while hundreds of Muslims entered from the other gates without any check or delay.

"As the third group that the police allowed inside entered the Mount, many Muslims began to gather and shout. As usual, instead of preventing the rioters from ascending to the Mount and grouping together, the police quickly informed the Jewish pilgrims that it will not allow them to carry out a full tour of the Mount, and quickly made them leave through the nearest gate.”

Fua, who videotaped the event, explained: “The video shows Dr. Yoel Elitzur and some of the ascenders, faced by the Muslim mob that is familiar to us from the previous days. It s amazing to see how the Israel Police plays into the hands of the Muslim rioters, and actually encourages them to threaten and run amok.

"This scenario is one that is known in advance and it is time that the police change their behavior, so that the scenario may change, too.”

"Freedom of religion"

This latest incident comes as Likud-Beyteinu MK Moshe Feiglin challenges a banpreventing him from ascending the Temple Mount.

In the letter to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, Feiglin said the ban was in contradiction to three basic laws: the Jerusalem Basic Law, the Knesset Basic Law and the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom. Feiglin also claimed the prohibition went against the freedom-of-religion clauses of the Declaration of Independence.

The Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest site, where the two holy Temples once stood before being destroyed by the Babylonian and Roman empires respectively. This Tuesday marks the anniversary of the destruction of both temples (which occurred on the same day in the Hebrew calendar - the 9th of Av).

Despite its supreme importance to Jews worldwide, Jews are subject to draconian limitations on the Mount, including a ban on praying, due to the presence of an Islamic complex, administered by the Waqf Islamic Trust, and threats by Islamist groups. The Israeli police are able to bypass court decisions upholding the Jewish right to prayer there by citing unspecifiied "security concerns", either to ban individual activists or even to issue blanket prohibitions on Jews ascending at all.

Religious Jews are followed closely by Israeli police and Waqf guards to prevent them from praying, or from carrying out any other religious rituals.

Non-Jewish visitors are not subject to such restrictions.

Apart from pressuring authorities to ban Jewish prayer, the Waqf has also been accused of destroying Jewish artefacts on the mount, in a concerted effort to Islamize the site and deny all Jewish connection to it.

Palestinian Media Watch, an NGO set up to monitor extremism within the Palestinian media, reports regularly on what it claims is a campaign by the Palestinian Authority and Islamist groups to erase the Jewish connection to Jerusalem entirely.

Who is Really Desecrating Holy Sites? Palestinians claim that the mere presence of Jewish visitors is a 'desecration' of the holy site. By: Khaled Abu Toameh

Originally published at the Gatestone Institute.

Tensions have been mounting in recent months in Jerusalem over visits by Jews to the Temple Mount, or al-Haram al-Sharif [the Noble Sanctuary].

There is nothing new about Jews visiting the holy site: this has been taking place since 1967.

The visits, which are being held in coordination with the Israeli authorities, have triggered many confrontations between the Israeli police and Palestinian protesters.

Palestinians claim that the mere presence of Jewish visitors is a “desecration” of the holy site.

That is why some Palestinians have been resorting to violence to stop Jews from visiting the holy site.

The Palestinians say they are only trying to prevent Jews from destroying the mosques and rebuilding the Third Holy Temple.

But the truth is that the vast majority of Jews visiting the holy site are no different from other non-Muslim tourists who come to the area every day.

The Israeli authorities, in fact, require all visitors to the holy site to respect the feelings of Muslims by appearing in modest dress and without weapons.

Moreover, Jews visiting the compound are not allowed to bring sacred Jewish objects [prayer shawls, prayer books, etc].

Some Palestinians, however, are now exploiting these visits to incite the Arabs and Muslims against Israel.

Throwing stones, empty bottles, shoes and petrol bombs at the Jewish visitors and the policemen accompanying them has become almost a daily practice.

This, in addition to regular demonstrations that are staged at the holy site, where protesters chant slogans against Israel, Jews, the US and even some “moderate” Muslims.

The protests are primarily aimed at dragging Arabs and Muslims into war with Israel under the pretext that the Jews are plotting to destroy the Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The ultimate goal is to turn the conflict into a religious war between Jews and Muslims.

Some Palestinians are hoping that the current protests against visits by Jews will spark another intifada [supposedly spontaneous uprising], like the one that erupted after former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s tour of the holy site in September 2000.

Then, the Palestinian Authority depicted Sharon’s visit as part of a Jewish conspiracy to destroy the mosques.

Those who are now using the visits by Jews to initiate violence and incite violence against Israel and others are hoping that Arab and Islamic armies will launch a war against Israel over its “desecration” of the holy site.

If anyone is desecrating the holy site, it is those who smuggle petrol bombs and stones into the compound to use them against visitors.

Originally published at the Gatestone Institute.

Muslims harass Jews on Temple Mount

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?