A Synagogue On The Temple Mount

While the "Permanent Intifada" being waged in the streets of Paris is certainly distressing, I think we may be seeing yet another front opening up in the War on the Global Jihad. This time, in Jerusalem, where Palestinian State TV is now claiming that the Western Wall belongs to Muslims (thanks to Olivia for sending me these links):


(IsraelNN.com) Palestinian Authority (PA) television has broadcast programs teaching viewers that Jews' first connection to the Western Wall was in the 16th century, and that the site actually is called the Al Buraq wall.

The programs state it was named after the horse of the Muslim prophet Mohamed, according to a dispatch from Palestine Media Watch (PMW).

"The Jewish connection to this site is a recent connection, not ancient, like the roots of the Islamic connection. Who would have believed that the Israelis would arrive 1400 years [after the beginning of Islam], conquer Jerusalem and would make this wall into their special place of worship," said Al Quds Encyclopedia founder Dr. Hassan Khader.


This might sound like just more of the same Islamic revisionism, and in a sense it is, but there is something more brewing here. Because at the same time as Palestinian State-run TV is enacting this policy of historical imperialism, there are plans being layed to build yet another wing of the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, complete with spiraling minaret.

Spiraling Out Of Control
Jerusalem Post ^ Oct. 19, 2006 15:39 Updated Oct. 23, 2006 0:49 KSENIA SVETLOVA

From the veranda of the Hebrew University on Mount Scopus, the call for the Maghreb (evening) prayer permeates the warm Jerusalem fall air. A thousand different voices repeat the ancient formula from all across the town, although the loudest call without a doubt comes from Al-Aksa's four minarets.

Soon, if the plan announced last week by Jordanian King Abdullah II becomes a reality, a fifth minaret will be added. The Hashemite monarch's announcement last week seems to have detonated a small bomb in both Arab and Jewish worlds, causing contradictory reactions and not a little antagonism.

Although the minaret in question, a tall spiral structure, will certainly not change the holy compound beyond recognition, some Israeli experts warn that the addition of another minaret, or any new building or sanctuary, might ruin the delicate and fragile status quo that has been achieved after many years of friction, pressures and suspicions.

Dr. Yitzhak Reiter of the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies believes that the agreements on holy places must remain unchanged, since even the slightest amendment might cause a great deal of trouble and unrest: "Even the amendment in the regulation of security arrangements on the Mount could potentially trigger trouble, let alone the addition of another sanctuary.

"Since Israel claims to be in charge of security in this troubled spot, it might not be wise to support such a decision since it may cause dissatisfaction among other religious groups. For example, the Jewish radical elements might say that if there is room for another minaret on Temple Mount, a place could also be found for a synagogue."

As if living up to Reiter's predictions, MK Uri Ariel (NRP-NU) announced last week that he was drawing up plans to construct a synagogue on the Temple Mount.

"This is not a new idea," Ariel stressed. "It has been brought up and considered countless times since the Six Day War."

He also told reporters that the plan would soon be submitted to the Jerusalem Municipality and the Committee for Construction and Planning for approval. Remembering the tragic days of September 2000, and the five years of intifada that followed - when thousands of protesters around the Arab and Muslim world burned Israeli flags with the name Al-Aksa on their lips - it's hard to imagine that either Wakf authorities or the Jordanians, considered Al-Aksa guardians, will be thrilled with the idea.

The plan may not be approved, but even discussing the issue adds fuel to the fire of religious intolerance and zeal.

"This [the construction of the synagogue] will be an ideal opportunity for the Muslims to demonstrate tolerance toward other faiths," Ariel told Arutz Sheva. The question is whether this rationalism will be accepted by any of the sides who are fighting the fight of their lives to call the Temple Mount their own.

In response to In Jerusalem's request, advocate Zahi Meijidat, a spokesman for the Islamic Movement in Israel, said that the movement's leaders are not yet seriously concerned about Ariel's plans.

"We don't think that these plans will be allowed to become reality. At the same time we want to remind everybody that Al-Aksa and Al-Haram al-Sharif [Temple Mount] are purely Islamic, and will remain that way forever. We do not recognize the right of any other religious denomination [to have authority over the area]. For more then 14 centuries this holy compound has belonged to the Muslims and will stay this way."


I have always expected that this war will, unfortunately, turn on what happens in Jerusalem with regards to the Temple Mount. We may be seeing the beginnings of some dramatic events.