UN shoots down Arab push to condemn Israeli nuclear policy
Arab League move, blocked by 51-43 votes in Vienna, comes amid pressure on Israel to detail, relinquish its alleged WMDs
September 20, 2013, 3:40 pm
22-The Times of Israel
Temple Mount: Is it worth fighting for?
In 1967 Moshe Dayan shocked much
of the Jewish world as well as the Muslim world when he handed the keys
to the Temple Mount to the Islamic Waqf.He
did this on his own, without consulting with the Knesset, without
consulting with then Prime Minister, Levi Eshkol, and without a care as
to the sentiments of the Jewish nation.Moshe Dayan was likewise instrumental in
sustaining the continuation of the ban against Jewish prayer on Haram
esh-Sharif. This compound was our Har Habayit, our Temple Mount during
ancient times.
Since that dark day in 1967, the Muslims have
made a concerted effort to claim Jerusalem’s holy sites as Muslim sites
albeit lacking theological and historical proof. They completely ignore
the history and ancientness of the site.
Gen Moshe Dayan (on left) with Haim Bar Lev and Levi Eshkol (photo courtesy Illan Bruner, Israel National Photo collection)
Their motivation, roused by their objective to
de-legitimize the Jewish connection to the land and city is further
enabled by the passivity of the Israeli leadership. The Waqf has
systematically engaged in construction atop the Temple Mount and have
thrown out valuable antiquities that date back to the Beit Hamikdash,
the Jewish Temple. From the Mosques on Temple Mount, Muslim clerics
throughout the years instigate frequent violent rioting against Jewish
worshipers below at the Kotel.All this with nary a sound from the Knesset.Renowned Israeli archeologist, Dr. Eilat Mazar
of the Hebrew University and the Shalem Center, has labored for years
against the Waqf’s wanton destruction of ancient Jewish artifacts with
little success. She with a team of archeologists currently sift through
the dirt from the Mount deposited as garbage by the Islamic Waqf, and
indeed have come up with major finds dating back to the Jewish people at
the time of the first temple.
(photo courtesy Biblical Archeological Society)
What may not be known to many is that as the
Six Day War continued to progress in Israel’s favor, Prime Minister Levi
Eshkol made plans for the eventual takeover of Mount Moriah – the
Temple Mount. He formulated a plan in which the management of that holy
site would be led by a committee of Muslims, Christians and Jewish
clerics in order to safeguard the freedom of prayer for each of the
three faiths.
The mosques would remain unharmed.Moshe Dayan ruined the Prime Minister’s plans
and sustained the status quo that only one of those three faiths was
allowed to pray at the holy site.While considered a national war hero, Moshe
Dayan, nevertheless snubbed his nose at a miracle witnessed by the
entire world that was almost 2000 years in the making. Prime Minister
Eshkol felt powerless against Moshe Dayan, the great war hero… The
great war hero who groundlessly and irrationally feared the building of
the Third Temple.
To this day, Jewish visitation to the Temple
Mount is limited, and even when permission is granted, members of the
Jewish nation are forbidden to pray there.Why has this shameful and
abominable policy
continued throughout the years, throughout the successive governments,
left wing and right wing alike? For the same reason Europe is falling
today…The fear of raising the ire of the Muslims. It is a fear that
hides behind an inane banner of political correctness that can only be
defined as outrageously absurd. And the successive governments of the
State of Israel, snubbing the divine gift – the rebirth of its nation,
against all odds – in its own land, joins the rest of the “free” world
in its uncontainable tsunami of fear.Indeed, like the rest of the world,
the
Israeli leadership falls on its knees paralyzed by a panic of violent
Muslim retribution should we take a stand for what is the very core of
our spiritual existence.The Temple Mount is where God has chosen to
rest his Shechina, HIS divine spirit. It is sacred ground. And in this
Divine Spirit is the essence to the Torah, and hence the essence of the
Jewish nation.And yet, the real players in the Israeli
government who are for the most part spiritually bankrupt, cower at the
mere threat of an Arab riot should we have the “audacity” to pray at our
most holy site. The Israeli government is quick to blink at the first
stone thrown by an Islamic terrorist incensed at Jews praying anywhere
near the Temple Mount and shamefully abandons its nation’s heritage,
its birthright.Yes, Islamic violence is unnerving, daunting
and terrifying. Who has not read about this diabolical political cult’s
chilling atrocities against their own people, let alone against whom
they consider “non-believers?” Who has not seen the horrifying images
of their evil? Who is still unaware of the rampant, unbridled
malevolence that rages from the many echelons of Islam? Be that as it
may, the State of Israel – the nation of Israel, is not without
resources.Why are we cowering? The struggle for Har Habayit, the Temple
Mount
is not about the control of one level of religious Jewish practice over
another. It is not of factional substance. The Temple Mount is about
who we are, what we are, how we came to be and why we came to be the
Jewish Nation. The Temple Mount is our legacy. It is inseparable from
the heart of our people. It is the very bastion of our faith that is
4000 years strong.And we are giving voice to maniacal,
blood-thirsty Jihadists to define limits to our religious worship? To
forbid us to utter a prayer as we stand on hallowed ground? To move our
lips? Are we to continue the pathetic stance of sanctioning the theft of
what is inherently ours? If this is so, how pitiable we have become.Now
is not the time to set our weapons down for plowshares. A bitter pill
to swallow, for sure.But, some things are just worth fighting for,
dammit.
Israeli forces manhandle EU diplomats, seize West Bank aid
KHIRBET AL-MAKHUL, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers manhandled European diplomats on Friday and seized a truck full of tents and emergency aid they had been trying to deliver to Palestinians whose homes were demolished this week.A Reuters reporter saw soldiers throw sound grenades at a group of diplomats, aid workers and locals in the occupied West Bank, and yank a French diplomat out of the truck before driving away with its contents."They dragged me out of the truck and forced me to the ground with no regard for my diplomatic immunity," French diplomat Marion Castaing said."This is how international law is being respected here," she said, covered with dust.The Israeli army and police declined to comment.
Locals said Khirbet Al-Makhul was home to about 120 people. The army demolished their ramshackle houses, stables and a kindergarten on Monday after Israel's high court ruled that they did not have proper building permits.Despite losing their property, the inhabitants have refused to leave the land, where, they say, their families have lived for generations along with their flocks of sheep.Israeli soldiers stopped the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivering emergency aid on Tuesday and on Wednesday IRCS staff managed to put up some tents but the army forced them to take the shelters down.Diplomats from France, Britain, Spain, Ireland, Australia and the European Union's political office, turned up on Friday with more supplies. As soon as they arrived, about a dozen Israeli army jeeps converged on them, and soldiers told them not to unload their truck."It's shocking and outrageous. We will report these actions to our governments," said one EU diplomat, who declined to be named because he did not have authorization to talk to the media."(Our presence here) is a clear matter of international humanitarian law. By the Geneva Convention, an occupying power needs to see to the needs of people under occupation. These people aren't being protected," he said.In scuffles between soldiers and locals, several villagers were detained and an elderly Palestinian man fainted and was taken for medical treatment to a nearby ambulance.The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement that Makhul was the third Bedouin community to be demolished by the Israelis in the West Bank and adjacent Jerusalem municipality since August.Palestinians have accused the Israeli authorities of progressively taking their historical grazing lands, either earmarking it for military use or handing it over to the Israelis whose settlements dot the West Bank.
Israelis and Palestinians resumed direct peace talks last month after a three-year hiatus. Palestinian officials have expressed serious doubts about the prospects of a breakthrough."What the Israelis are doing is not helpful to the negotiations. Under any circumstances, talks or not, they're obligated to respect international law," the unnamed EU diplomat said.(Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Louise Ireland)
WH confirms: Obama to meet with Abbas
Leaders will discuss recently relaunched peace talks; no plans for US president to meet Hasan Rouhani
September 20, 2013, 11:31 pm
1-The Times of Israel
Speaking to the possibility that Obama will
meet with newly-elected Iranian President Hasan Rouhani in New York,
Rhodes reiterated that there was no one-on-one scheduled between the two
leaders.Rouhani’s recent comments regarding Iran’s nuclear program
and rapprochement with the West were not enough, according to the
official.“We’re gonna make judgments based on the actions of the Iranian
government, not just their words,” Rhodes said.
Pope seeks historic easing of rigid Catholic doctrine
09/20/2013 VATICAN INSIDER
Francis makes key new appointments
The Vatican hierarchy changes
