Israel protects religious freedoms in Jerusalem
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a letter from the Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Secretary-General
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4/29/2014
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I am writing in regards to
the recent campaign accusing Israel of impeding freedom of worship and denying
access to religious sites. These preposterous allegations are part of an
ongoing and concerted effort by the Palestinians and some Arab States to
undermine Israel
Israel respects and protects
religious freedoms and grants full religious rights to people of all faiths,
not a common practice in our region. After reuniting Jerusalem in 1967, Israel
abolished discriminatory laws that denied Jews any access to holy places.
Israel introduced religious freedoms that allow millions of Muslims and
Christians to visit and pray in their holy sites in Jerusalem. Today Jerusalem
is an open city for all faiths that celebrates religious tolerance and
diversity.
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Large celebrations such as
the Easter weekend “Holy Fire” ritual pose considerable challenges owing to the
influx of thousands of visitors crowding Jerusalem’s narrow alleys around the
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Despite these challenging conditions,
Israeli authorities managed crowd-control measures sensitively and
professionally. In fact, Christian communities that took part in the
event applauded the Israeli authorities for their conduct and composure.
Against this backdrop, and instead of taking constructive actions to help
mitigate the sensitive situation, Robert Serry, the U.N.’s special envoy to the
Middle East, took disruptive steps that exacerbated tensions on the
ground. It is unfortunate that a U.N. official abused his position and
the U.N. platform to express personal opinions.
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As you are aware, over the
weekend riots broke out on the Temple Mount. The unrest was a deliberate
provocation on the part of Hamas and The Islamic Movement. In a premeditated
effort, extremists stockpiled rocks and explosives in the Al-Aqsa Mosque and
proclaimed their intention of clashing with police and preventing visits to the
Temple Mount. It is outrageous that an internationally recognized
terrorist organization has given itself veto power over one of the world’s
holiest sites. By desecrating the sanctity of the mosque, Hamas demonstrated
that it has zero tolerance for the religious practices of others and zero
respect for its own religion.
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Indeed, along the years,
Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations showed their disrespect for
holy places - Jewish, Christian and Muslim alike, by attacking them and abusing
them by their violent activities. One need only recall the takeover by Palestinian
terrorists of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, when some 200 monks were
held hostages for about a month; the destruction and desecration of Joseph's
Tomb in Nablus; as well as the abuse of Mosques by Hamas in Gaza during
operation "Cast Lead".
Despite the current blatant
provocations on the Temple Mount, Israeli Police did not set foot inside the
Al-Aqsa Mosque. Still, such police action as was taken on the Temple Mount was
strictly designed to prevent attempts of stone throwing, aimed to harm people
at prayer in the Wailing Wall Plaza, in accordance with the police's obligation
to preserve law and order.
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For years, Israeli
authorities have been actively committed to cooperating with the Waqf on all
matters related to the security and management of the Temple Mount.
Israel provides ongoing assistance in this regard and expects the Waqf to do
its part to restore calm by safeguarding religious freedoms and permitting
access to people of all faiths.
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Since 1994, Israel and Jordan
have enjoyed peaceful relations and a strong bilateral relationship. Israel
respects Article 9 of the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement, which states that
the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has a “special role” in all matters concerning
Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.
Instead of making false
accusations and wild exaggerations that fan the flames of incitement in a
volatile region, the Palestinian and Arab leadership should make constructive
efforts to ease tensions and work towards a peace process.
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