United States of Israel

Erdogan in the north,

Assad just below,

Kurds in the purview,

Looking for the venue.



Mountain in the center,

Israel toward the west,

Palestinians in the east,

Can the two coalesce? [like a woman with her breasts, or a mother with two daughters]



The united states of Israel,

Can we look to be?

A hope for the future,

From sea to shining sea. 



A Woman among the Gentiles,

Patron of humanity,

A sign among the nations,

World with centrality.

Muslim educator from Israel argues Jews have a right to pray on the Temple Mount.

Nahil Zoabi, who is a Muslim educator from Northern Israel, periodically visits the Temple Mount.  Although he himself prays at the Al-Aqsa Mosque, he holds the view that all people, including Jews, have a right to pray on the Temple Mount if they choose to do so.

Nahil Zoabi on the Temple Mount (photo credit: N. Zoabi)

There have been several developments surrounding the Temple Mount.  It appears that there is a secret room at the location where Jews pray on Yom Kippur and the Tisha B’Av.  Jews have been praying in the room since 1971.  The room, called Machkamah, is located on the western side of the Temple Mount between the Chain Gate to the north and the Western Wall to the south.  I found a blog dated July 20, 2010 in which YMedad briefly discusses his participation in prayer services on the Tisha B’Av in the Machkamah.

The former head of the Israeli Shin Bet Avi Dichter recently visited the Temple Mount and discussed the history of the tensions and status quo at the location.  Among the various events that have happened since the founding of Israel, Dichter addressed the Al-Aqsa Mosque fire in 1969, the Second Intifada that began after Ariel Sharon visited the mount in 2000, and the murder of two Israeli police by three Israeli Arabs in July 2017.  This happened after the individuals snuck weapons onto the Temple Mount and into the Al-Aqsa Mosque.  Dichter argues that the Palestinians use the Temple Mount as an instrument for conflict, that Israel should assume presently there are stockpiles of weapons at the location, and that Israel must do all it can do to prevent another uprising at the location and from allowing the Palestinians from claiming exclusive rights to the entire mount.     
    

Chain Gate viewed from the Temple Mount (Summer 2017) LFL

Israeli Police shields used during the Second Intafada in 2000.  These were on display near the Mughrabi Gate, which I entered in 2017 in order to reach the Temple Mount.  I heard that they were placed at that location as a reminder of the conflict in 2000. 

Avi Dichter (former head of Shin Bet) on the Temple Mount (photo: Oren Ben Hakoon) 

Vatican Delegation visited Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa on Thursday

A Vatican delegation, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri (Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches) and Francesco Patton, OFM (Custodial Vicar of the Holy Land), visited the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa on Thursday.  They were welcomed by members of the Waqf council and several Palestinian leaders.  Ramzi Khoury said, 

We celebrate together with our fellow Palestinian Muslims the anniversary of the Custodians of the Holy who have played a crucial role in protecting holy places and in supporting the Christian presence in Palestine. The visit to Al-Aqsa has valuable meaning to the importance of Christian and Muslim coexistence in our homeland Palestine.   

Wasfi Kailani, director of the Royal Hashemite Fund for the Restoration of Al-Aqsa, commented on the meeting saying, “This high-level visit to Al-Aqsa and the words of solidarity and support is a true reflection of the 1,400 years of Muslim and Christian coexistence in the holy city of Jerusalem,” also adding, “We are recognizing 800 years of the important role of the Franciscans, whose role in education and guarding holy places is appreciated.”

Southwest Corner of Temple Mount (Summer 2018) LFL

View of the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Complex and Dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Summer 2018) LFL

Recent United Nations Event on Religious Freedom

US President Trump spoke today at the event for Religious Freedom at the UN.  The meeting included a call for the protection of religious freedom for Jews, Christians, Moslems, Buddhists, Hindus, and others.  Religious freedom is a pressing global issue, and work needs to be done to avoid the religious cleansing of societies.  In recent events, Jews, Christians, Moslems, and others have been persecuted, killed, and properties destroyed.  President Trump was joined by others including US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft, US Vice President Mike Pence, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.  Guterres, former prime minister of Portugal, reiterated the joint document "Human Fraternity” that Pope Francis signed along with the Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayyeb repeating the documents statement that diversity of religions is willed by God.  The statement has troubled a number of Catholics, yet also garnered support among others.  Guterres himself has been called a committed Catholic.

A video of the event can be found here, which begins around 31:30 mins.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with U.N. secretary-general Antonio Guterres at a meeting on religious freedom Monday.

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images/Getty

Fact or Fiction: The Recent Claim of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

In a surprising development, a Knesset journalist is to have claimed that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Jews have the right to pray on the Temple Mount.  The words attributed to Netanyahu are found in an article from the Hebrew Har-Habait website, which focuses on the Temple Mount and the restoration of the Jewish Temple.  Netanyahu is to have said,

"The right of the Jewish people to their holy place, the Temple Mount, is unquestionable," Netanyahu spoke, "and I believe that the right of prayer for Jews in this place should be regulated, even more so that we give freedom of worship to all religions in Jerusalem."

When will it happen?  Netanyahu is to have responded, “Don’t worry, it will happen, before the death of the Messiah" (המשיח ימות לפני).


In just under three weeks, the Israeli Election Day will take place.  More precisely, it is the second Israeli presidential election in 2019 because after Netanyahu won the first earlier this year, he was not able to form a coalition.  With the upcoming election, I wonder if the claims made above are actually in fact from Netanyahu or from someone’s imagination and merely fiction.  Perhaps a little of both?

Please let me know your thoughts.

Dome of the Rock and the Dome of the Chain to the right: the Dome of the Chain is not a mosque, rather a place of prayer; it is the structure closest to center on the Temple Mount; the Dome of the Chain was most likely built by the Umayyad Caliph Abdul Malik in 691 CE; for a time it was used as a Christian chapel to Saint James following the Crusader conquest.  (Summer 2017) LFL

Waqf official standing near the Dome of the Rock (Summer 2017) LFL

Temple Mount: taken on the raised esplanade; Dome of the Rock to the upper right; Dome of the Chain seen slightly to the left just above the tan tarp (Summer 2017) LFL

Update on Pope Francis’ Human Fraternity

A “higher committee” was recently established in Abu Dhabi to implement the document “Human Fraternity” that was signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam Ahmen el-Tayeb of Al Azhar (Cairo, Egypt) in the UAE back in February, 2019.  The goal of the committee is to help implement “the shared vision of developing initiatives and ideas to foster tolerance, cooperation and coexistence.” 

Committee Members

Catholics

Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

Monsignor Yoannis Lahzi Gaid, Personal Secretary of Pope Francis

Muslims

Prof Mohamed Hussein Mahrasawi, President of Al-Azhar University

Judge Mohamed Mahmoud Abdel Salam, Advisor to the Grand Imam;

Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi

Dr Sultan Faisal Al Rumaithi, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Elders

Yasser Hareb Al Muhairi, Emirati writer and media personality. 



Pope Francis later expressed his gratitude to the UAE for its work to establish the “committee.”  He states,

“Although sadly evil, hatred, and division often make news, there is a hidden sea of goodness that is growing and leads us to hope in dialogue, reciprocal knowledge and the possibility of building – together with the followers of other religions and all men and women of good will – a world of fraternity and peace.”

Bishop Athanasius Schneider has been and continues to be critical of the document “Human Fraternity” and has even expressed his concerns to Pope Francis.  Thus, it is not surprising that Schneider has also become unfavorable and unsympathetic towards the “general assembly” and its goals.  He has asked Pope Francis to clear up ambiguities in “Human Fraternity.”