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February 13, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
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February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
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Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
August 27, 2003
/ 29 Menachem-Av, 5763
Opening the Temple Mount: Making of a tinderbox or preventing historical destruction?
By
Michael Matza
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
(KRT)
JERUSALEM It was a tinderbox three years ago, and it is a flashpoint today.
The sacred plateau known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram al Sharif reopened last week on a limited basis to people of all faiths for the first time since violence forced its closure to non-Muslims in 2000.
But the situation remains edgy. Some Jews welcomed the reopening and took immediate advantage of it; some angry Palestinians called it a provocation.
Three officials of the Islamic Trust, which runs the site, were arrested Monday for obstructing access to the mount, but other than that, there have been no incidents since Israeli police last Wednesday began permitting morning visits by about 100 non-Muslims at a time through the tightly guarded Mugrabi Gate.
A visit Tuesday, however, found tensions clearly seething below the surface as Jews in skullcaps, Christian pilgrims and secular tourists moved uneasily among mostly grim-faced Arab men and women.
Scores of Israeli police wearing body armor and carrying riot batons circulated on the plateau.
"This Israeli policy is a recipe for friction and violence," Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement criticizing Israel for facilitating visits at such a volatile stage in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"This is a very important place for the Jewish people," countered Yoav Cohen, 20, an Israeli student. Jews revere the mount as the site of the First and Second Temples, while Muslims hold it sacred as Mohammed's stepping stone to Heaven.
Cohen was tailed by an official of the Islamic Trust, or Waqf, loudly accusing him of uttering Jewish prayers in violation of the "status quo" agreement. In effect since Israel captured the mount in the 1967 Six Day War, the agreement permits non-Muslims to visit but not to worship openly.
Cohen's Hebrew mumblings, which a friend acknowledged were Jewish psalms, infuriated the Waqf official, who tried unsuccessfully to get an Israeli policeman to stop him.
"We are Muslims. Allah said that the mosque is only for Muslims. Why are they coming here? What temple? Where?" said Mouna Kawasmeh, a Palestinian woman who looked askance at visiting Israelis and dismissed their assertions that two temples were built, and destroyed, on the mount in biblical times.
With archaeological inspectors from Israel's Antiquities Authority no longer a presence on the mount, said Dore Gold, an advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the Waqf removed "about 13,000 tons of unsifted archaeological rubble," some of which might have contained artifacts affirming that temples once stood there.
The opening the mount to non-Muslims was long overdue, added Gold. The status quo arrangement fell apart, he said, when the Waqf banned non-Muslims after the intifada broke out in 2000 and Israel responded by closing the site on security grounds.
"That developed into a new situation that was becoming dangerously permanent. And the Waqf was exploiting its self-declared exclusive control to engage in activity that involved removing archeological remains as part of their preparation of a huge subterranean mosque," Gold said.
"What you had from 2000 to 2003 was basically a deviation that was a product of Palestinian violence," said Gold. "All Israel is doing is re-establishing the pre-September-2000 status quo whereby access is guaranteed to all faiths, which has been a cardinal principal of Israeli policy since 1967."
"People don't understand the historical situation here," said Tsvi Rogin, 51, an Orthodox Jew who runs a center in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City dedicated to building a third temple on the site. He was visiting it yesterday with 11 friends.
"The Temple Mount was not conquered by the Jews. It was bought by King David for cash … so that no one could say the Jews stole it and no one has the right to give it away," said the black-robed Rogin, whose graying beard reached to his belt.
In an effort to defuse the violence, Israel has also sporadically kept Muslim men under 40 years old from attending Friday prayers at the site, infuriating many Palestinians.
Israel cannot expect a full return to the status quo, according to Adnan Husseini, director of the Waqf, as long as certain Muslims are banned from praying at one of their most sacred places.
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Michael Matza is a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Comment by clicking here.
© 2003, The Philadelphia Inquirer Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
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