Even now, after Jerusalem’s 1967 reunification and the strange Israeli decision to continue to allow the Islamic Waqf to administer the Temple Mount, Jews and non-Muslims in general suffer from discrimination there.
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 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.
The nation’s prophets watched sadly as their people sinned and were sent into exile. They foresaw, however, that they would ultimately return and rebuild – exactly as is happening in our own times. The eternal Jewish people and its ever-patient land have finally been reunited.
Is genuine co-existence between Jews and Arabs in Jerusalem possible? Rami Levy, owner of Israel’s third largest supermarket chain, believes it is, and he has put up $50 million to prove it.
I would like to share with you my reflections on the tremendously tumultuous period that my family and I experienced this past week. It was marked by the two extremes of the death of our three-day-old grandson at the hands of murderous Arab terrorists, and the absolutely miraculous survival of our daughter, Shira, in the same attack.
As the early Zionists used to say, “One dunam at a time, one goat at a time.”
It is a given in our tense, war-torn world that Jerusalem is a “hot spot,” a focal point of conflict and hostilities that could easily bring about the next world war. And everyone knows why: Because Jerusalem is sacred to all the great religions and they’re all fighting over the same piece of “real estate.” Right? Not quite.
During his visit to Israel last week, Prince William placed a prayer note between in the Western Wall’s ancient stones. He did not offer a prayer on the Temple Mount, which he perceives as Muslim-run. In other words, he is naturally drawn to the Jewish sanctity of Jerusalem.
Jews thrown out of their Jerusalem homes by Arabs decades ago may not be able to return to their property.