Reflections on Holy days , Sinful violence & Hostile distortion
Introduction:
On the eve of the Jewish Holy day of the New Year (13 September) 150 radical Islamists unleashed a pre-meditated series of riots against visitors on the Temple Mount. The riots went on for three consecutive days and included rock throwing and the launching of fire bombs. As a result of this unprovoked aggression one person was killed and several police officers who tried to maintain the public order were injured.
On the 16th of September the President of the P.A in an interview on Palestinian TV referred to Jewish link to Jerusalem and said: They have no right to desecrate them( Al Aqsa and the Holy Sepulcher-y.l) with their filthy feet.
This latest round of physical and verbal aggression against Jewish millennia ties to Jerusalem calls for deep reflection by all decent people.
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Last Sunday night people of the Jewish faith welcomed the New Year 5776. The Jewish New Year marks the beginning not only of a new year, but just as importantly, it heralds the period of 10 days of solemn soul searching and the seeking of celestial as well as earthly pardon. We ask God and our fellow man for forgiveness for any transgression we may have committed over the passing year.
In Jewish history no place has occupied a more central place in the communion between God and the people as the Temple of Jerusalem and the “holy of the Holiest” where the High Priest would ask God for his merciful pardon.
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the two Jewish Temples were located, is the holiest site in Judaism. Its special place in our history and tradition did not diminish even though the temples no longer exist. Called Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) by Muslims, the site contains the al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the third holiest site in Islam, the iconic Dome of the Rock and many other small structures. The al-Aqsa Mosque is situated at the southern edge of the Temple Mount and covers a relatively small area of the Mount's surface.
Jerusalem is a unique place primarily due to its sacred status for all three monotheistic religions. Israel is fully committed to preserve open access to all faithful to the Holy sites. Israel has maintained the status quo whereby the Islamic Waqf continues to administer the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.
Furthermore, repeated governments have reiterated their adherence to the practice which allows non- Muslims to visit the Temple Mount, but out of respect for Muslim sensitivities do not permit Jews to hold prayers there.
Unfortunately, time and again we find ourselves facing a concerted attack against the historical link between the Jewish people and its holiest place.
In recent years, Palestinian radicals have been trying to violate the status quo by preventing Christians and Jews from visiting the Temple Mount. Palestinian rioters are funded and led by radical Islamist elements, including Hamas and the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel. They have attacked visitors, as well as the police, with rocks, fireworks, iron rods, explosive devices and Molotov cocktails. The young operatives use the al-Aqsa Mosque as their base of operations for premeditated attacks, concealing weapons and explosive materials inside the mosque and hiding in this holy site overnight. In addition, well-organized groups of older men and women physically and verbally harass Jewish visitors. As a result of these developments, two radical Islamist organizations, the Mourabitoun and the Mourabitat, were declared illegal organizations on 8 September 2015, due to the grave threat they pose to the public order.
The High holidays are a period of spiritual introspection and one would hope that they would be looked upon as a propitious moment to reduce the flames of incitement. Reality has sadly taken a different turn. Both extremist and so called mainstream personalities among the Palestinians have opted to raise the level of tensions buy falsely accusing Israel of trying to harm the Al Aqsa Mosque. These baseless libels unleashed violent attacks by fanatics on the mount as well as in other parts of Jerusalem.
http://tinyurl.com/votm0915Violence and riots have no place in holy places and Israel will act according to its responsibility to ensure that all people can enjoy access to the rich and diversified holy sites in Jerusalem and around the country. How sad it is that hot-headed gangs desecrate their own holy sites for the sole purpose of attacking others. It is even much more disturbing to hear the President of the P.A resort to vile and false accusations. His statement places him among those who try to undermine religious co-existence.No violence, no amount of incitement and libels will change history and the eternal link between the Jewish people and its ancient Capital.