Category Archives: Hillel Fendel

Islam’s Convenient Claims to Jerusalem

Jerusalem was first holy to the Jews, and the rest of the world jumped on the bandwagon. And thus it became “holy to the three main religions.”

Regarding Jerusalem, the Muslims have now gone one step further than the others, claiming the city has no sanctity or historic significance for Jews – even though the sole reason it was ascribed any Muslim holiness is because of its Jewish history.

When the Muslim-Arab world claims “spiritual” bonds with Yerushalayim, it disguises a long-term, nationalist, strategic plot to take full control over Jerusalem and rid its Old City of a Jewish presence.

Historically, Muslim ties to Jerusalem have always been based on little more than political expediency, disguised as religious fervor. We are now experiencing the fourth wave in Muslims’ aggrandizement of Jerusalem for their own political purposes.

The international community should relate to the secular Palestinian Authority’s claims to Jerusalem as nothing more than the desire to do away with Israel.
We happily grant freedom of religion and freedom of access to holy sites. But nothing can justify forcing the Jewish People to “share” sovereignty over its holy city with an opportunistic usurper, no matter how many times the latter seeks to abuse the city’s inherent holiness.

A Hamas Front in Jerusalem?

Hamas, recognized by many countries as a dangerous terrorist org, is seeking a foothold in Israel’s front yard – namely, the Arab suburbs of Jerusalem. Israeli intelligence helped arrest six terrorists about to run a day camp steeped in Hamas ideology.

The Hamas terrorist organization was thwarted this week in an attempt to open a summer day camp in the greater Jerusalem area. The ramifications of the concrete plans made to open the camp, as well as the fact that they almost succeeded, are extreme.

Jerusalem Police intelligence work led to the discovery of a bus filled with kids, counselors, and terrorists on its way to the camp in the Jericho area. Police stopped the bus in mid-trip, arrested six of the organizers for planning a Hamas day camp, and confiscated the bus.

The Hamas Covenant reads, inter alia, “Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it eliminated its predecessors… our struggle against the Jews [emphasis added] is extremely wide-ranging and grave… until the enemies are defeated and Allah’s victory prevails.”

Hamas has a long history of murdering many hundreds of Israelis. In 2007, it violently took over the Gaza Strip, and then began attacking Israel even more earnestly, with hundreds more suicide bombings, shootings, stabbings, ramming attacks – and balloon agro-terrorism.

Even more dangerous are Hamas’ ties with Iran. It was reported this that Hamas will open a war front against Israel from Gaza in the event of hostilities between Israel and Iran’s allies Hizbullah and/or Syria.

Hamas today has footholds in several neighborhoods of eastern Jerusalem, and is seeking even more.

Israel Wakes Up, Destroys Security-Risk Structures

Israel destroyed eastern-Jerusalem Arab homes last week because they are not only illegal, they are also a bona fide security threat.

The razing occurred just outside the south-eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sur Baher, practically adjacent to the Jerusalem neighborhood of Talpiyot Mizrach. Terrorist attacks originating in Sur Baher have not been uncommon in recent years.

The buildings had been built alongside the anti-terrorism wall, leaving no room for Israel’s anti-terror forces to safely patrol the area. Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan explained that the structures presented a security danger to the residents of Jerusalem.

The buildings would not have had to be destroyed, had the Arab residents not insisted on moving the anti-terrorism wall to include more of their houses on the Israeli side. Thus, the buildings were located outside Jerusalem-proper, on the Israeli side of the barrier, and inside PA-controlled territory.

Let us take this opportunity to reiterate why any thought of “dividing” Jerusalem is pure folly at best, and existentially dangerous at worst – in that it will not only not solve the urban, demographic, or security challenges of the Israeli capital, but will worsen them.

Trump Presents Plan, PA Contests, Israel Stands Firm

by Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein, www.KeepJerusalem.org
The Trump “Deal of the Century” has been presented, in part, and the Palestinian Authority has gone all out to condemn it – for the Arabs don’t want to come to any arrangement with Israel. A top Fatah official explained the PA’s refusal to participate in the Bahrain conference by calling it “the great plot that is being woven against our people… Palestine is not for sale and Jerusalem is not up for negotiation.”

The Jewish People have known and internalized for over 3,000 years that Jerusalem is the crux of the matter – and the Arabs wake up to this fact every few centuries as well, but only when they deem it politically necessary.

Regarding supposed “undying, historic” Muslim links to Jerusalem, we must remember that the awakening of supposed Muslim religious ties to Jerusalem means only that Islam wants to conquer Jerusalem for political, nationalistic, or military reasons. Muhammad was the first to enact this policy.

Israel’s Minister of Public Security signed an order Friday to prevent the PA from holding a conference entitled “Jerusalem the Capital of Palestine” in the Old City.

The Jewish People must not remain nonchalant or passive in this war; Aliyah to Jerusalem must continue and increase, and Israel must assert its sovereignty throughout United Jerusalem.

Beyond the Radar on the Temple Mount

A lone, dry headline gave no hint of its dramatic and historic significance: “Police Forces Operating on the Temple Mount.” The news brief below it added only that the Israel Police were moving Muslim worshipers out of the Temple Mount area.

A Temple Mount Movements spokesman told us the complete story, having to do with a Muslim meditative practice called Itikaf and terrorist intentions to hide out on the Mount, prepare riots and attacks, and prevent Jews from frequenting the holy site.

This, of course, is the end-all goal of these radical Islamist-funded terrorists: to detach the Jewish People from the source of their national strength and history.

The police responded quickly, firmly and quietly, emptying out the area within minutes. But they must continue to be on the alert to ensure, for instance, that the upcoming Jerusalem Day celebrations not be marred…

Another “front” in the battle for the Temple Mount is the Gate of Mercy compound, closed for years by police order. This past February, a hoard of Arabs broke into it and announced plans to establish yet another mosque on the Mount. It remains open to Muslims even now, though their plans to build a mosque appear to have been shelved.

The battle for Jerusalem and its holy sites thus continues in full force, even if beyond the radar of most news outlets and consumers.

The Jerusalem Butterfly Effect

The ongoing construction of and in Jerusalem cannot yet be taken for granted. Just this week, an IDF officer was critically wounded in a combination firebomb-car ramming Palestinian terrorist attack, 20 kilometers northwest of the capital – and the attack was promptly linked to the city’s construction growth. Hamas declared, “This proves that the Palestinian nation [sic] will not sit idly by in the face of the Judaization of Jerusalem…”

What Judaization are they referring to this time? It could be just “in general…” Or it could be the recent municipal approval of 23,000 new housing units in Jewish neighborhoods, including 8,000 in religious areas…

But the most likely reason for the Hamas rage is that the “Mukhtar Procedure” has apparently been stopped. This means that Arab neighborhood leaders can no longer arbitrarily assign “ownership” of Jerusalem land to whomever they choose. “Israel has decided to begin registering all lands in eastern Jerusalem. This will end the theft or takeover of private lands, belonging to both Jews and Arabs, and of state-owned lands.”

Yet another development in the capital: The U.S. is closing its famous consulate on Agron St., which has provided consular services to Arabs in Israel and the PA-controlled areas, and will merge it into the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. In short, an institution long considered a symbol of American recognition of the PA has been closed and merged into the more Israel-focused Embassy.

… This is our own home-grown butterfly effect: every house built in Jerusalem affects something in Washington, Moscow, Gaza… Jerusalem is truly the center of the world.