In recent weeks, Palestinian religious and political leaders have brought tensions over Jerusalem’s Temple Mount to a boil. During Sukkot, Jerusalem’s muezzins called on Palestinians to rally around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, reportedly warning that “Jews will try to break into it.” A little more than a week earlier, Palestinian worshipers at the site hurled rocks at French tourists, mistaking them for Jews attempting to pray on the Mount.
Palestinian charges that Israel is plotting against the mosques on the Mount are, of course, false. The irony is that Palestinian leaders have themselves been engaged in a very real effort — both rhetorical and physical — to undermine the Jewish history of the Mount.
This summer, the Palestinian Authority’s chief Islamic judge, Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Tamimi, told The Jerusalem Post that there was no evidence that a Jewish Temple had ever existed in Jerusalem. Nor is he the only Palestinian cleric who feels this way. Two years earlier, Jerusalem’s former mufti, Ikrema Sabri, had insisted that “there was never a Jewish temple on Al-Aqsa” and said of the Western Wall: “There is not a single stone with any relation at all to the history of the Hebrews.”
Much as Holocaust denial gained traction in Tehran, Temple denial has become a central tenet of Palestinian nationalism.
The denial of the existence of a First or Second Temple on the Mount, however, is a relatively new phenomenon. Indeed, early Muslim leaders eagerly acknowledged that the Temple Mount was the location of Solomon’s Temple.
It is said that in 638, the Islamic conqueror Caliph Umar Ibn al-Khattab had scarcely entered Jerusalem when he asked for the location of the Solomon’s Temple. Upon seeing the rubbish heap on the Temple Mount, he supposedly began clearing it with his own hands. The early Muslims referred to Jerusalem as the “City of the Temple.”
As late as 1925, the Supreme Moslem Council in Jerusalem proudly included an unequivocal reference to the Temple in its official guidebook to the Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary, which is the name used by Muslims for the Temple Mount. “Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute,” the guide asserts.
The modern process of politicization of the Temple Mount began with Grand Mufti Haj al-Amin Husayni, who served as president of the Supreme Moslem Council in the 1920s and 1930s. Seeking to mobilize Arab opposition to the influx of Jewish immigrants, Husayni used the Temple Mount as a rallying point. He accused the Jews of trying to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque, a kind of Arab blood libel that remains popular today.
For the Mufti, the Mount was foremost an earthly political battleground, not the transcendent, sacred place it was for Caliph Umar 13 centuries before. At one point, the Mufti deliberately heightened tensions by suggesting the stones of the Western Wall be dismantled and used to pave a highway.
After 1967, we see evidence of Islamic rhetoric undergoing its final evolution toward the outright denial of the Temples’ historic presence on the Mount. In 1973, Saudi Arabia’s King Faisal announced on Radio Riyadh, “The Jews have no connection whatsoever with Jerusalem and have no sacraments there…. The Temple of Solomon does not exist in Jerusalem…. Therefore the Jews have no connection or right to have any presence in Jerusalem.”
But it was Yasser Arafat who elevated Temple denial to the level of statecraft. During the 2000 Camp David Summit, Arafat stubbornly insisted that the Temple had not been located in Jerusalem.
The campaign to erase the Mount’s Jewish history, however, goes beyond mere rhetoric and has included actual destruction of Jewish antiquities. In recent years, the Waqf, the land trust that administers the Islamic holy sites on the Temple Mount, has used bulldozers to excavate vast underground mosques beneath the Mount’s surface, systematically removing thousands of tons of archaeologically rich soil, and dumping them in the adjacent Kidron Valley.
All too often, the international community has treated this aggressive physical revisionism on the Temple Mount as little more than a dispute over ancient history. But Palestinian efforts to erase the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount have great contemporary significance. They are the centerpiece of a decades-long campaign to deny historic Jewish ties to the Land of Israel and thus call into question the State of Israel’s legitimacy.
Before the United Nations General Assembly last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Holocaust revisionism by holding up a copy of a Nazi document that outlined the planned extermination of the Jewish race. But he also took aim at the variety of revisionism that denies ancient Jewish history. Quoting the inscription across the street from the very building in which he spoke — “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation” — Netanyahu reminded the assembled delegates that those words were spoken by the prophet Isaiah in the Land of Israel some 2,800 years ago.
“We are not strangers to this land,” Netanyahu said. “This is our homeland.”
Without recognition of that historic fact, how can there be peace between Palestinians and Israelis? Palestinians need to get beyond the decades of denial and stop trying to snuff out the fire of history. They should embrace, once again, their own religious traditions, which for centuries not only acknowledged, but also honored, the last ember of the Temple Mount’s sacred past.
Daniel Levin is the author of the novel “The Last Ember” (Riverhead).
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In earlier times Muslims were proud that Aksa was built on the supposed site of the Holy of Holies of Solomon's Temple. It was a link to Abraham, Moses and Solomon and Jesus, supporting their view that they were part of this very ancient tradition. In recent times Arafat shocked Pres. Clinton by saying Jerusalem had always been Muslim and Solomon's Temple had been built in Yemen or Shechem ! This warped view of history, contradicting the Jewish and Christian Bibles and the Mishna and Talmud and earlier Muslim sources, now seems widely quoted by Palestinian leaders. It's sadly a reminder of the view that if you tell a big enough lie often enough some people will begin to believe it.
B"H Tishrei 28, 5770 The Muslims have Mecca, the Catholics have the Vatican and the Jewish nation was bequeathed the land of Israel by G-d himself. The spiritual and religious center of the Holy Land is Yerusholiam and it's most holy site is the Temple Mount. Every religion is entitled to honor and preserve their most important and revered holy site. The early Muslims knew the reality of what their eyes had seen; Jerusalem, "The City of the Temple".
If Muslims have turned a rubbish site into a beautiful mosque in the believe of their faith. What is stopping Jews to find their own land rather than seeking to destroy other peoples properties?
Ofcos, no Muslim will hand Al-Aqsa to a Jew for free. And ideas of "liberating" Al-Aqsa in the name of Judaism should not be entertained as it is criminal to advocate for violence.
Dr M suggests that "Muslim will hand Al-Aqsa to a Jew for free". This is precisely what Dr M suggests that "Muslim will hand Al-Aqsa to a Jew for free". This is precisely what happened during the 6 Day War. There was no fighting on the Mount, only in the city itself. And yet, we Jews, as stupid as we can sometimes be, gave the Temple Mount to the Waif for nothing to preserve as a Muslim holy place. We cannot expect gratitude from our Muslim brothers. They have no idea of what happened yesterday, and to expect them to remember what we did over 40 years ago is not realistic. But WE need to remember it ourselves. We cannot forget that the Temples stood on that spot, and that one day another will again stand there. We will not destroy the mosque, they will do it themselves.
"And ideas of "liberating" Al-Aqsa in the name of Judaism should not be entertained as it is criminal to advocate for violence."
Of course the Muslims did not use violence to "liberate" Jerusalem from the Byzantines, right? Every conqueror has always been there, until the next conqueror.
Often I find myself at odds with the views in the Forward, but in this case, a big Yasher Koach to Daniel Levin for presenting an honest and accurate portrait of this situation. I just returned from Yerushalayim, and was there during the aforementioned rock throwing incidents.
Our handing over the Har Habiet after the 6 Day War may have been the ultimate in politically correct stupidity. Unfortunately, too mamy Jews do not know that the site of this mosque is the holiest place in the world to the Jewish people. The Kotel (Western Wall) is an outside wall of the Temple, but the Har Habiet remains the site of many events sited in the Torah.
End it! End it!
Two things;
First I truly believe that the Jewish community should be making a much bigger stink about the destruction of the antiquities under Temple Mount. Anyone else would grab it as a huge PR opportunity, so should we.
Second, the denials began as refutation of Israels "Right" to exist, partly due to our own focus on religious history and recent world history as justification. We need to stop justifying. Israel exists. Period. The majority of Israelis are Israeli born and bred. There is a nation standing there, tall and proud. No other nation needs historical or religious justification. We need to drop our insecurities.
the empyrean,throne of Gd.
Dr. M. Jewish belief places the Third Temple in the Messianic era of universal peace and recognition that we all worship the same Creator. Nothing in Judaism suggests we should demolish the mosques. We follow the prophecy of Isaiah, 'And My House [Jerusalem] will be called a House of Prayer for ALL peoples.' It's not a case of either / or.
The so-called "Western Wall" is not Jewish ... it is the ruins of a Roman jail or guard-house.
There is no evidence of any Jewish Temple while the Ashkanazis who rule in Palestine today are not real Semites. They are Khazars from Poland and Russia who first set foot in Palestine during the 20th century. The Sephardic Jews are blood-related to the Palestinians and are second-class citizens behind the Ashkanazis from Europe.
It is foolish for Arab mouthpieces to deny a Jewish history on the mount. Somebody is lieing to score points not even realizing he is hurting himself.
It is also a recent development for Israelis and overseas Jews to be this obsessed about Jerusalem and the mount. It wasnt excactly the cause du jour before 67. In fact at the time many Israelis were plotting ways to move out of J.
All of this only shows that some partisan advocates dont take the responsible course of restraining themselves by the facts.
I dont have the facts at my fingertips but there was a recent poll showing that over 40$ of Israelis would like to see the beit hamikdosh built again. That is a complete change from the situation in 67 when all almost all the orthodox thought it could not be done by Jewish Law until after the arrival of the messiah and most chilonim thought it would be foolish and provocative to disturb the existing Muslim holy places.
Come on, at least 1-2 dozen folks have been arresting for trying, and there is a whole larger group who says we should, and and even a larger group which disingenously says, "it is not legal to do it right now, but if it happened . . . our mazal we get what we are entitled to (wink wink) That group includes a now deceased Israeli Chief Rabbi (Goren) and other people who are not nochshleppers but influential folks.
So it is perfectly reasonable to be worried about attacks on the mount I could see you countering with the technical argument that is not Israeli policy now. When I think blood libel I think Mendel Beilis, the Damascus Jews rescued at the turn of the 20th century and other Jews falsely accused of killing children to get their blood for matzos and wine.
I think that there are Jews and non-Jews who will be outraged and will respond to real blood libel. But if people like you keep on shouting blood libel you are damaging the next Jew who is actually faced with a real blood libel. You are undermining the credibility of that complaint.
I know from my own feelings of anger how the frustration makes me want to throw out a heavy torrent of nastiness. I have made the mistake at times. But I just think we will get further if we are careful about proportionality. In years past I hated it when I had some disagreement and terms like rapist or racist get thrown out. It just made me not want to listen. Please, give me an arguement that I will want to listen to even if I dont think exactly like you. Otherwise you render yourself ineffective.
The Arabs had no right to build a mosque on top of the Jewish Temple. If Islam is such a wonderful religion, why doesn't it respect the ancient religious holy places of other people?? Why did they have to destroy ancient Buddha sculptures in Afghanistan?? How would they feel if Christians built a church on top of their Ka’aba in Saudi Arabia?? The Arabs surely used Islam as a tool to conquer and dominate the whole world, from the south of Spain to the very Far East. But first of all, Judea and the Judeans ("Jews"), in the hope that the antiquity and prestige of Judaism would reflect on their Islam and give it the legitimacy it lacked. Islam is truly a power system that does a lot of harm to all the poor people that must live under it and abide by it, especially women. And their mosques should be built on virgin soil, not on top of other peoples' sanctuaries.
My temple mount is the 2nd avenue deli in NYC
[Denial in the Western Wall Plaza] Eitan Bronstein: Israelis confront Nakba denial IMEU, Mar 10, 2008
Eitan Bronstein has worked for years to tell a story many do not believe.
The 48-year-old, who moved to Israel with his parents when he was five, founded Zochrot, an organization that raises awareness among Israelis about the Nakba, or "Catastrophe."
"When it comes to the Nakba and what was there before Israel was created, it's a big hole, a black hole and people don't know how to deal with it," he said. "It's perhaps the most important period of our life in this region and it's not really known."
Bronstein and his colleagues at Zochrot work to tell the suppressed story behind Israel's creation. They post signs of the names of the more than 450 Palestinian villages that were destroyed or depopulated when Israel was established in 1948. The work is all in an effort to educate Israelis about the story underneath the lands they live on.
Bronstein says the idea for Zochrot came after the Argentinean native visited Canada Park, an Israeli national forest built on top of four Palestinian villages destroyed during the 1967 War. Bronstein was amazed that the guide's explanation of the Park did not include any mention of this.
"I was surprised to see signs detailing the presence of Jews, Greeks, Romans and Byzantines on the land but no mention of Palestinians who had lived there most recently," he said. "I said to myself that we should come and put signs here. And then I thought why only here? We have to do it all over the country."
Because Zochrot's work challenges the orthodox narrative of Israel's creation, the group faces criticism from many Israeli Jews. Bronstein has received angry letters and threatening phone calls. Yet Bronstein knows that Zochrot is tapping into a current of Israeli society that wants to know the truth about their history. The signs Zochrot puts up are routinely taken down, but there are always more volunteers to replace them.
"What many Israelis know today, they know it's not all lies, but a lot of it is lies," he said. "Many Jews are really interested to know the truth."
For Bronstein it is critical for Israelis to understand and acknowledge what happened to the Palestinians in 1948.
"1948 was the year that constructed relations between Jews and Arabs, that made it okay for Israelis to shoot Arabs in 2000," he said referring to the 13 Palestinian citizens of Israel who were shot and killed by Israeli police during a protest against Israeli practices in the Occupied Territories. "You can't understand what happened in 2000 without understanding the Nakba. Anyone who understands what happened in 1948 cannot continue to be blind." http://imeu.net/news/article001240.shtml
Ralph Osbon. The DNA proves you are wrong ! Cohanim are the priestly descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses. DNA tests from Jews around the world show that they have a common gene whether Ashkenazic or Sephardic. Jews do have a shared ancestry, although there have always been converts as well. There has been a Jewish presence in Israel since the time of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah -- who are all buried in Hebron. A mosque and a synagogue share that holy site as Arab and Jews are both descended from Abraham. There is no doubt about the Western Wall and the Temple Mount. To say there was no Temple is to deny the Old and New Testaments, early Islamic literature, plus Mishna and Talmud and substantial Roman evidence. Have a look.
Everyone needs to realize that Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Koran even once!
Jerusalem is mentioned in the Jewish Tanach hundreds of times.
Who has a claim to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount? The Jewish People.
The Moslems would take over the Vatican and make it the "fourth holiest" site in Islam given the chance.
The same way the Moslems do not respect human life (Homicide bombings), or women (female mutilation and "honor" killings), they do not respect history.
Raed Kami. For us Jerusalem is the focal point for all human spirituality. We're inclusive and accept the right of Muslims and Christians to share this Holy City. There were once Jewish communities in Saudi, but the Muslims drove them out. Saudi is holy only to Muslims, not to be shared with non-Muslims. We acknowledge the right of Arabs to rule themselves in East Jerusalem but the city would remain the capital of Israel. It's a complicated balancing act, of Solomonic proportions !.
Michael Levine. You raise a valid point, BUT to be 'even handed' you would need to point out the homes, communities, synagogues of the 800,000 Jews pushed out of Islamic countries beginning in 1948. Jews had lived in Iraq or Babylon, for example, from 586 BCE onwards, a thousand years before the arrival of the Arabs and Islam. These Jews began new lives in Israel, the UK and the USA, while the world's 57 Muslim countries left the Palestinians in refugee camps. Israel includes about 23% of Mandatory Palestine, 77% was made ito the Kingdom of Jordan, which was intended to be the Arab state in Palestine. Populations do move, otherwise all the Arabs would still be in Arabia, not all over North Africa and the Middle East !
Did you ever read The Temple of Doom?
Jeremiah 7....The word that came to Jeremiah from the lORD, saying: Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say: Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of host, the G-D of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying: 'The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, are these.'
Hosea 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of G-D, rather than burnt offerings
Read Isaiah chapter 6