Israeli police put the number of worshippers at 160,000 to 170,000, while Muslim authorities said it exceeded 200,000.

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Jerusalem

“As birds flying, so will the LORD•Strongs 3068: Yhwh; from 1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; name of God:—the Lord. Compare 3050, 3069.
•Strongs 1961: hayah, haw-yaw; a primitive root (compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary):—beacon, x altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, x have, last, pertain, quit (one-)self, require, x use. of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.”
—Isaiah 31:5

“And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace•Strongs 8574: tannuwr, tan-noor´; from 5216; a fire-pot:—furnace, oven.
•Strongs 5612: niyr, neer; or rˆn nir, neer; also r´yn neyr, nare; or r´n ner, nare; or (feminine) h∂r´n nerah, nay-raw´; from a primitive root (see 5214; 5135) properly, meaning to glisten; a lamp (i.e. the burner) or light (literally or figuratively):—candle, lamp, light. in Jerusalem.
—Isaiah 31:9

The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad.
•We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad.
•Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future.
•This third Temple will be the location where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist.
•Thereby fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

—
Tens of thousands of Muslims poured into the heavily guarded Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem for the last Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan.

Israeli police put the number of worshippers at 160,000 to 170,000, while Muslim authorities said it exceeded 200,000.

“As in previous weeks, the police deployed 2,000 men around the mosque. They have not interfered, and the prayer has taken place with the utmost calm,” police spokesman Shmulik Ben Ruby said.

The sprawling mosque compound is the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. It is also the holiest site in Judaism because it was the location of the Second Temple, razed by the Romans in 70 AD.

The compound is inside Jerusalem’s famed Old City in Arab east Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in the 1967 Six Day War and annexed in a move not recognised by the international community.

The fate of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues in the Middle East peace process, with Israel claiming the entire city as its capital and the Palestinians demanding east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state.

As with past Fridays, Israel limited access to the compound to men over the age of 50, women over the age of 40 and children, and only granted visiting permits to a limited number of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank.

The site has frequently been the site of violence, most notably in 2000 when the second Palestinian uprising erupted after a visit to the compound by Ariel Sharon, a right-wing politician who went on to become Israel’s prime minister.

The holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, is expected to end on September 9 or 10, depending on the sighting of the new moon.

Renouncing Jewish right for Mount paves way to losing right for entire land

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The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

The many statements recently issued by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas included one where he expressed his willingness to let Israel maintain its control over Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall. Various Palestinian spokespeople and Knesset Member Dr. Ahmed Tibi were quick to stress that this willingness comes with an unequivocal Palestinian position demanding full, exclusive sovereignty over the Temple Mount.

`Whatever Israel’s position on other territorial issues, we must warn against such a “deal” with the Palestinians. Moreover, during negotiations with the Palestinians in the framework of the Geneva Accord, they fought for ensuring that the term “Kotel” refer only to part of the Western Wall – the small section where Jews pray today. Hence, Abbas’ words only refer to the limited plaza at the Wailing Wall and not to the entire Western Wall, let alone the Kotel tunnels.

Israel’s demand for the Western Wall is not premised on the Kotel being a holy Jewish site in and of itself. The demand is premised on the Kotel being a remnant of our Temple. Anyone recognizing our right for the Western Wall must recognize the fact that the Kotel is part of a structure or several structures that Jews have no less attachment to than the Muslims. One who has no right for the structure has no right for any wall of that structure.

The 2000 Camp David talks failed, among other reasons, because Yasser Arafat argued that Israel had no right whatsoever to Temple Mount. He rejected any historical attachment between the Israel of the First and Second Temple era and the site. Prime Minister Ehud Barak rejected this approach out of hand, and rightfully so. One who agrees to repudiate Israel’s attachment to Temple Mount opens the door for denying the Jewish people any right for any part of the Land of Israel. Hence, Israel’s firm stance in respect to this attachment is more vital and fateful than any struggle for any Judea and Samaria community.

Avoid slightest concession
No benefit will be gained today by attempting to understand why all past Israeli governments accepted the methodical Muslim destruction of our Temple’s remnants undertaken mostly deep within Temple Mount ever since Jerusalem’s liberation in 1967. Future researchers into Israel’s history will likely review documents that recorded Israeli discussions and decisions that allowed Temple Mount’s Muslim authorities and Arab Israelis to boost their hold at the site.

What remains for us now, after the methodical acts of destruction in Solomon’s Stables and other sections of the site, is to firmly insist on our equal sovereign rights for Temple Mount. Even the slightest concession will mark the beginning of the countdown on any Jewish right for this land.

How sad it is to recall Mordechai Gur’s touching call “Temple Mount is in our hands,” uttered in the wake of bitter battles and such high casualty toll. The Mount remained in our hands for several hours only, and future generations will look into the reasons for handing it over to our enemies immediately after the victory, without getting anything in return and without eliciting any understanding for our right to the site. Indeed, people work in mysterious ways.

Event organizers grilled by U.S. government over connection to holy site

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The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

JERUSALEM – A member of the U.S. government met with organizers of Tuesday’s “International Temple Mount Awareness Day” to pepper the activists about their intentions regarding Jewish ascent to the holy site.

“It was obvious,” one of the planners told WND, “the individual who met with us from the Obama government was concerned about the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and what is being done to deepen it.”

The organizer talked on condition of anonymity and also on condition that WND kept confidential the name of the U.S. official who met with the Temple event planners.

The International Temple Mount Awareness Day is being planned by a coalition of Jewish groups, including The Temple Institute, the Organization for the Renewal of the Temple (ORT), Women in Green, the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation and Israel National Radio.

“We call on Jews and Gentiles around the world to mark March 16th as a day of solidarity with the Temple Mount and the prophetic vision of ‘a house of prayer for all nations,’” reads a statement from the organizers of the event.

Is Israel already done for? Aaron Klein’s “The Late Great State of Israel” brings you unvarnished truth straight from the front lines

In coordination with the Waqf, the Mount’s Islamic custodians, police here ban all non-Muslims from praying on the Mount despite an Israeli Supreme Court decision requiring police to offer an arrangement that will enable public Jewish prayer on the site.

The Israeli police cite security concerns for their Jewish prayer restrictions, explaining they fear the outbreak of Muslim violence if non-Muslim prayer is allowed.

(Story continues below)

The planners of Tuesday’s Temple awareness day are asking Israelis to arrive at the Mugrabi Gate, the entrance to the Mount, at 7:15 in the morning local time in accordance with directions posted on the institute’s site. Institute leaders stressed they are seeking a peaceful public demonstration of solidarity with the Mount.

Those outside Israel are being asked to “make known their dissatisfaction with the ongoing injustice to the Prime Minister of Israel, by telephone, by fax and by e-mail.”

Organizers of the event, including the Temple Institute, list a suggested protest letter text and contact information (link:) for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on its site.

The Temple Institute is a group that works to restore a Jewish presence to the Mount, where the Israeli police bar Jews from ascending during most hours of the day, while Muslims are granted nearly 24-hour access.

Organizers are also calling for those living abroad to “assemble in prayer and discussion, spreading the word and raising awareness about the injustices being committed on the Temple Mount.”

“We suggest holding prayer vigils outside Israeli consulates and the embassies,” stated the Temple Institute.

The Institute points out that according to the Hebrew calendar, tomorrow marks the anniversary of the dedication of the Tabernacle and the first day of the divine service.

No prayer zone

The Temple Mount was opened to the general public until September 2000, when the Palestinians started their intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshipers after then-candidate for prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the area.

Following the onset of violence, the new Sharon government closed the Mount to non-Muslims, using checkpoints to control all pedestrian traffic for fear of further clashes with the Palestinians.

The Temple Mount was reopened to non-Muslims in August 2003. It still is open but only Sundays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and not on any Christian, Jewish or Muslim holidays or other days considered “sensitive” by the Waqf.

During “open” days, Jews and Christian are allowed to ascend the Mount, usually through organized tours and only if they conform first to a strict set of guidelines, which includes demands that they not pray or bring any “holy objects” to the site. Visitors are banned from entering any of the mosques without direct Waqf permission. Rules are enforced by Waqf agents, who watch tours closely and alert nearby Israeli police to any breaking of their guidelines.

Rebuilding the Third Temple

Besides advocating for non-Muslim rights on the mount, the Temple Institute also focuses on preparation for the rebuilding of the Third Temple. The group has been preparing ritual objects suitable for Temple use. Many of the more than 90 ritual items to be used in the Temple have been re-made to the highest standards.

The First Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

The temple was the center of religious worship for ancient Israelites. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God’s presence dwelt. All biblical holidays centered on worship at the temple. The temples served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and were the main gathering place for Israelites.

According to the Talmud, the world was created from the foundation stone of the Temple Mount. It’s believed to be the biblical Mount Moriah, the location where Abraham fulfilled God’s test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.

The Temple Mount has remained a focal point for Jewish services for thousands of years. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed in about A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark what Muslims came to believe was the place at which Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven to receive revelations from Allah.

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible 656 times.

Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night on a horse from “a sacred mosque” – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to “the farthest mosque” and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque became associated with Jerusalem about 120 years ago.

According to research by Israeli Author Shmuel Berkovits, Islam historically disregarded Jerusalem as being holy. Berkovits points out in his new book, “How Dreadful Is this Place!” that Muhammad was said to loathe Jerusalem and what it stood for. He wrote that Muhammad made a point of eliminating pagan sites of worship and sanctifying only one place – the Kaaba in Mecca – to signify the unity of God.

As late as the 14th century, Islamic scholar Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya, whose writings influenced the Wahhabi movement in Arabia, ruled that sacred Islamic sites are to be found only in the Arabian Peninsula and that “in Jerusalem, there is not a place one calls sacred, and the same holds true for the tombs of Hebron.”

A guide to the Temple Mount by the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem published in 1925 listed the Mount as Jewish and as the site of Solomon’s Temple. The Temple Institute acquired a copy of the official 1925 “Guide Book to Al-Haram Al-Sharif,” which states on page 4, “Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which ‘David built there an altar unto the Lord.’”

JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli police forces stormed the most contentious holy site in Jerusalem on Sunday to disperse masked Palestinian protesters hurling objects at visiting foreign tourists.

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Jerusalem

“And he shall pass over to his strong hold for fear, and his princes shall be afraid of the ensign, saith the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace•Strongs 8574: tannuwr, tan-noor´; from 5216; a fire-pot:—furnace, oven.
•Strongs 5612: niyr, neer; or rˆn nir, neer; also r´yn neyr, nare; or r´n ner, nare; or (feminine) h∂r´n nerah, nay-raw´; from a primitive root (see 5214; 5135) properly, meaning to glisten; a lamp (i.e. the burner) or light (literally or figuratively):—candle, lamp, light. in Jerusalem.
—Isaiah 31:9

The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

The incident was over quickly, but the area remained tense afterward. In the past, violence at the site – known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary – has erupted into deadly battles.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police dispersed some 20 masked protesters who had holed up overnight in Al-Aqsa mosque building inside the hilltop compound. The protesters pelted tourists with objects early Sunday, and threw rocks at the police when they responded to the incident, he said.
Calm was quickly restored, he said, and about a thousand tourists have since visited the area.
However, small groups of masked Palestinians continued to clash with police elsewhere in Jerusalem’s Old City and in a nearby neighborhood just outside the walled area.
Rosenfeld said police dispersed the protesters without having to use force, but two officers were lightly wounded and seven Palestinian rioters were arrested. By midday, the clashes had ended, but about 15 Palestinians remained holed up inside the complex.
Tensions have been high in recent days following the Israeli government’s announcement that two West Bank shrines would be added to Israel’s list of national heritage sites. Palestinians denounced the move as a provocation, and President Mahmoud Abbas has warned the incident could spark a “religious war.”
Rosenfeld said it was unclear what sparked Sunday’s violence, but said the decision on the West Bank shrines was clearly in the “background.”
Conflicting claims to the hilltop site of Sunday’s violence lie at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Jews revere it as the site of the two biblical Temples, while Muslims regard the Al-Aqsa compound, home to the gold-capped Dome of the Rock, as Islam’s third-holiest site, where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
The compound has been a frequent flashpoint for conflicts before. A visit to the site in 2000 by Ariel Sharon, then an Israeli opposition leader and later prime minister, helped ignite deadly clashes that escalated into violence that engulfed Israel and the Palestinian territories for several years.
Israel has controlled the compound since capturing east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and insists it will retain it forever, though it has left day-to-day administration to a Muslim clerical body.
That body, the Waqf, said young men rushed to the compound after hearing a rumor that hardline religious Jews intended to storm the area.
“The police were provoking people. Maybe the youths threw shoes, but they were not hurling rocks,” said Abdul Azim Samhadana, the head of the council.
He said he was not aware of Palestinian youths harming tourists.
Palestinians see east Jerusalem, including the Old City where the sacred complex lies, as the capital of a future state.
Hamas’ minister of religious affairs, Taleb Abu Shaar, called on Palestinians to rise up violently against Israel and “protect our Islamic holy places from the risk of Judaization.”
He called on the United Nations to impose sanctions on Israel “because of its crimes.”

JERUSALEM – Hundreds of Israeli police patrolled Jerusalem’s most volatile holy site on Monday, a day after fierce clashes with Palestinian protesters turned the quiet hilltop compound into a battleground.

To view dictionary popup window put your cursor on the blue scripture words.

Israel in the Last Days

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling •Strongs 7478: rah´-al; from 7477; a reeling (from intoxication):—trembling.
•Strongs 7477: raw-al´; a primitive root; to reel, i.e. (figuratively) to brandish:—terribly shake. unto all the people•Strongs 5971: am; from 6004; a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock:—folk, men, nation, people.
•Strongs 6004: aw-mam´; a primitive root; to associate; by implication, to overshadow (by huddling together):—become dim, hide. round about, when they shall be in the seige•Strongs 4692: matsowr, maw-tsore´; or mDxw…rmatsuwr, maw-tsoor´; from 6696; something hemming in, i.e. (objectively) a mound (of besiegers), (abstractly) a siege, (figuratively) distress; or (subjectively) a fastness:—besieged, bulwark, defence, fenced, fortress, siege, strong (hold), tower.
•Strongs 6696: tsuwr, tsoor; a primitive root; to cramp, i.e. confine (in many applications, literally and figuratively, formative or hostile):—adversary, assault, beset, besiege, bind (up), cast, distress, fashion, fortify, inclose, lay siege, put up in bags. both against Judah and against Jerusalem.”
— Zechariah 12:2

The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

The complex, claimed by both Arabs and Jews, was quiet Monday, but after weeks of sporadic violence around the site, police were on high alert.
Beefed-up patrols could be seen throughout the Old City — home to the disputed compound. But there were no outward signs of Sunday’s unrest, even in the areas where the clashes took place. Shops were open, tourists were out in throngs and Muslim worshippers prayed freely.
Conflicting claims to the plateau, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, lie at the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Jews revere it as the site of their two biblical Temples and Muslims regard the Al-Aqsa mosque compound as Islam’s third-holiest site.
In the past, even low-level scuffles there have degenerated into drawn-out conflicts. A visit to the site in 2000 by Ariel Sharon, then an Israeli opposition leader and later prime minister, helped ignite deadly clashes that escalated into violence that engulfed Israel and the Palestinian territories for several years.
Israel has controlled the compound since capturing east Jerusalem in 1967 and insists it will retain it forever, though it has left day-to-day administration to a Muslim clerical body.
Palestinians see east Jerusalem, including the Old City where the sacred complex lies, as the capital of a future state.
On Sunday, officers armed with batons and stun grenades faced off against masked Palestinians hurling rocks and plastic chairs.
The unrest erupted after Muslim leaders urged followers to protect Islamic holy sites from alleged Israeli plots to damage them or let Jews pray in the compound, where only Muslims are allowed to worship.
Israel has been conducting extensive archaeological digs in and around Jerusalem’s Old City, but it says none of the work threatens Muslim holy sites. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Muslim extremists of spreading lies to foment violence.
A group of hardline settlers and rabbis fueled tensions Sunday by urging Jews to converge on the site and pray.
Tensions have also been heightened by the breakdown of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks late last year, and continued Israeli construction in settlements built on lands claimed by the Palestinians. Since taking office, President Barack Obama has been trying to restart peace talks, but so far remains unable to bring the sides together.

Here we go again. As Jews celebrate in their tens of thousands the festival of Booths, Succot, religious extremists like Sheikh Raed Salah incite Palestinian masses to recapture Jerusalem with “blood and fire.” Not to be outdone, the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah rushed in to pour fuel on the fire as it protests a “plan by Jews to perform religious rituals” on the Temple Mount,’ and called on the international community to “force Israel to put off its attempts to take over Jerusalem.”

To view popup window put your cursor on the blue words.

The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

Israel in the Last Days

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling •Strongs 7478: rah´-al; from 7477; a reeling (from intoxication):—trembling.
•Strongs 7477: raw-al´; a primitive root; to reel, i.e. (figuratively) to brandish:—terribly shake. unto all the people•Strongs 5971: am; from 6004; a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock:—folk, men, nation, people.
•Strongs 6004: aw-mam´; a primitive root; to associate; by implication, to overshadow (by huddling together):—become dim, hide. round about, when they shall be in the seige•Strongs 4692: matsowr, maw-tsore´; or mDxw…rmatsuwr, maw-tsoor´; from 6696; something hemming in, i.e. (objectively) a mound (of besiegers), (abstractly) a siege, (figuratively) distress; or (subjectively) a fastness:—besieged, bulwark, defence, fenced, fortress, siege, strong (hold), tower.
•Strongs 6696: tsuwr, tsoor; a primitive root; to cramp, i.e. confine (in many applications, literally and figuratively, formative or hostile):—adversary, assault, beset, besiege, bind (up), cast, distress, fashion, fortify, inclose, lay siege, put up in bags. both against Judah and against Jerusalem.”
— Zechariah 12:2

So as Israel struggles to stop the stone throwers’ verbal assaults, and the next spate of resolutions, it’s worth reminding the world that ever since the Six Day War in 1967, when Israel captured the Old City of Jerusalem, millions of people have safely streamed to the Western Wall to offer their prayers and insert hand written supplications to the Almighty. While most visitors shedding their tears adjacent to Judaism’s holiest site – the Temple Mount – are Jews, not all pilgrims are. Witness Pope John Paul II inserting his own kvittel (written prayer) within the Wall’s cracks; pilgrims from Africa, tourists from Indonesia, Swamis from India, Evangelicals from the Americas, Buddhists from across Asia – all come and go to the Wall.

The only price of admission: donning a cardboard yarmulke or scarf. Presidents and prime ministers flock to the Western Wall as well, armed with the latest great hope for peace in the Holy Land. From the Oslo Accords to the Quartet Middle East road map for peace, every official, regardless of religious denomination, or lack of one, finds a welcome private moment of silent prayer or reflection at the Western Wall.

AND YET earlier this week, in the midst of the Jewish High Holy Days, French tourists on the Temple Mount were pelted by irate Palestinian worshipers who “mistook” them for Jews. And the stones, and orchestrated crescendo of violence have continued unabated. During this seemingly annual exercise, has any diplomat, foreign minister, religious icon, or political pundit asked himself, or better yet the Palestinians, one simple question – why? Why can we all pray in peace at the Western Wall, but the very notion of a Jew praying on the site of Solomon’s Temple begets only violence, denial and threats?

The centrality of Jerusalem to the Jewish people was never lost on friend or foe.

Two thousand years ago the Romans, after destroying the Temple, plowed under its remains and banned Jews from returning. Emperor Hadrian tried to bury the very name of City of Peace, renaming Jerusalem, Aelia Capitolina. Later, Christians, for theological reasons, extended that painful ban and it was only conquering Muslim leaders who recognized the right of Jews to “return” to live in this small area of land.

Indeed, the Christian patriarchs unsuccessfully lobbied conquering Caliph Omar in the seventh century, and again when Saladin drove out the Crusaders in the twelfth, to prevent Jews from living in or returning to Jerusalem after the Christians had expelled them from the city. Such efforts by Christians were to be repeated and denied by various Muslim authorities for hundreds of years.

How to explain Muslim attitudes over the centuries? Because the Koran itself recognized Solomon’s Temple as a “Great place of prayer,” and Muslim leaders saw no theological problem with Jews praying adjacent to the Dome of the Rock and the nearby Al Aqsa Mosque. Indeed, in its 1924 guide to Al-Haram Al- Sharif (the Temple Mount) the Supreme Muslim Council wrote “It’s identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute,” adding this quote from the Book of Samuel: “This, too, is the spot according to the universal belief on which David built there an altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.” That language would remain until the 1950s.

So why are things so dramatically different in 2009?

Simply put, generations of Palestinians, “educated” by Yasser Arafat and company, have been taught not believe there ever was a Solomon’s Temple. Textbooks and Palestinian media all repeat the self-delusionary canard denying any historic Jewish continuity or legitimacy in the Holy Land. Indeed, president Bill Clinton was reportedly shocked when Arafat called the Western Wall – the Jewish people’s holiest place – “a Muslim shrine” and the Palestinian leader’s chief negotiator at the make-or-break Camp David peace talks denied the ruins of Solomon’s temple lay beneath the Dome of the Rock.

TRAGICALLY, EVER since Israel magnanimously turned over religious control of the Temple Mount to the Muslim Wakf in June 1967, successive generations have been taught that Israelis are Nazi-like invaders, illegitimate neighbors and enemies.

And “friends of peace,” far from urging Palestinians to deal with reality, help feed the delusion of denial. Witness the World Council of Churches, the largest umbrella group of Protestants, which recently launched the so-called Bern Initiative at its “Promised Land” conference in Switzerland. Its answer to Israel’s alleged “apartheid situation” in the Holy Land is to reinterpret the Bible by differentiating between “biblical history and biblical stories . . . as well to distinguish between the Israel of the Bible and the modern State of Israel.”

The current violence and rabble rousing by the Palestinians won’t make it any easier for US President Barack Obama, but the first thing he must do is not stop illegal nursery and bathroom add-ons in east Jerusalem but admonish the Palestinian leadership to stop denying the legitimacy of the Jewish people.

Simply put: There can be no peace in the Holy Land without the Arab and Muslim world acknowledging what their Holy Book and ancestors recognized as the historic link of the Jewish people to its land and its Holy sites. Unless and until that happens, there will be no peace in our time.

Marvin Hier is the founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. Abraham Cooper is the associate dean of the center.

Palestinian clashes with Israeli police on Sunday and on the day before Yom Kippur near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City have made foreign diplomats wonder whether Israel is enacting a new policy on the Temple Mount, which is serving to exacerbate tensions.

To view popup window put your cursor on the blue words.

The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

Israel in the Last Days

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling •Strongs 7478: rah´-al; from 7477; a reeling (from intoxication):—trembling.
•Strongs 7477: raw-al´; a primitive root; to reel, i.e. (figuratively) to brandish:—terribly shake. unto all the people•Strongs 5971: am; from 6004; a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock:—folk, men, nation, people.
•Strongs 6004: aw-mam´; a primitive root; to associate; by implication, to overshadow (by huddling together):—become dim, hide. round about, when they shall be in the seige•Strongs 4692: matsowr, maw-tsore´; or mDxw…rmatsuwr, maw-tsoor´; from 6696; something hemming in, i.e. (objectively) a mound (of besiegers), (abstractly) a siege, (figuratively) distress; or (subjectively) a fastness:—besieged, bulwark, defence, fenced, fortress, siege, strong (hold), tower.
•Strongs 6696: tsuwr, tsoor; a primitive root; to cramp, i.e. confine (in many applications, literally and figuratively, formative or hostile):—adversary, assault, beset, besiege, bind (up), cast, distress, fashion, fortify, inclose, lay siege, put up in bags. both against Judah and against Jerusalem.”
— Zechariah 12:2

Media outlets and senior Palestinian Authority officials have contributed significantly to this perception after repeatedly claiming that Israel is planning to allow a group of “extremist settlers” to pray at the mosque. Even the Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, has blamed Israel for implementing a dangerous policy on the Temple Mount that is liable to lead to a conflagration.

Yet, reality, as always, is a bit more complicated. The status quo in the plaza surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque has in fact not changed since 2003. The entry of Jews and tourists is permitted on the Temple Mount from 7:30 to 10 A.M., and from 12:30 to 1:30 P.M. These visits do not have to be coordinated with officials of the Waqf (Muslim trust) and take place without any interference. Indeed, last Thursday, for example, the area was totally calm. At 1 P.M., dozens of tourists could be seen wandering around the plaza.

The advent of the holiday season in Israel, combined with the desire of Palestinian politicians to win a few minutes of fame, has recently led, however, to various violent incidents.

At present, the PA is not doing enough to ease tensions, while the Islamic Movement’s northern faction is apparently working in concert with a number of Palestinian figures in an effort to spark an escalation of hostilities on the mount.

In the past, revenues generated by the tourist visits there; which reached some $200,000 per month; were transferred to the Waqf, which is run by Jordanian authorities. Since the outbreak of the second intifada, however, there has been no coordination of visits with the Waqf, and in 2003, Israel unilaterally opened the Temple Mount to tourists.

Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, the head of the Waqf, said that just before Yom Kippur, a number of Jewish groups distributed notices announcing that they planned to visit the Temple Mount on the eve of the holiday. In response, the former mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, called on Muslim worshipers to gather at Al-Aqsa Mosque last Sunday, to defend it against the Jews. His call was also taken up by Hatem Abdel Khader, the Fatah official who holds the Jerusalem portfolio, and other factions belonging to the Islamic Movement.

After morning prayers that day, some 200 people gathered at the square waiting for the Jews to enter.

“The police knew about this,” Al-Khatib said. “One of the officers who is responsible for police coordination with the Waqf, called me and I warned him not to open the Temple Mount to Jewish worshipers.”

At 7:30 A.M., the Mughrabim Gate was opened and a group of tourists entered the compound. Muslims began hurling stones at them and at the police officers who tried to hurry the tourists away from the scene.

Sunday, however, it seemed as if the appropriate conclusions had been drawn: After learning that dozens of Muslims planned to await the arrival of “extremist Jews” at the Temple Mount, the police decided that the entire area would remain closed to non-Muslim visitors.

Authorities contained tensions at the site, which is known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram Al-Sharif. In one incident, though, police arrested 10 Palestinian youths Monday after some people threw rocks at Orthodox Jews, said Mickey Rosenfeld, spokesman for the Israeli police.

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The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

PA waging diplomatic war over Temple Mount

To view popup window put your cursor on the blue words.

The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

Editors note about the word Temple•This Scripture is believed to have been written in 90 ad. We know the second Temple was destroyed in 70 ad. Therefore, we believe the Apostle John was writing about the third Temple which will be rebuilt in the future. This third Temple will be where the False Prophet will place the image of the AntiChrist, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy concerning the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15

At a closed briefing for foreign ambassadors last Tuesday, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad warned that the situation on the mount could quickly deteriorate into a “loss of control” by the PA and asked them to submit official protests to Israel over its “provocations” there, a senior Israeli government official said.

That prompted Sweden, which holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, to ask Jerusalem to work to calm the situation during this week’s Jewish holidays.

While the PA has always conducted intensive diplomatic activity with regard to Jerusalem, it has previously focused on issues such as Israeli construction in East Jerusalem or the eviction of Palestinian families from homes in the city’s Arab neighborhoods. But following the clashes on the Temple Mount last Sunday, the eve of Yom Kippur, it began warning the international community about the possibility of a conflagration there.

According to reports that have reached Israel about Fayyad’s meeting with the ambassadors, the PA prime minister described last Sunday’s clashes as “an assault by extremist religious settlers on the Temple Mount compound” and said it was “a provocation planned in advance that was aimed at sabotaging the peace process and derailing [U.S.] President [Barack] Obama’s peace initiative.”

Warning that the situation on the mount was flammable and could swiftly deteriorate, he added, “I remind you that this is where the Al-Aqsa Intifada began, after [Ariel] Sharon’s visit” to the mount in September 2000. “The Palestinians’ popular response stems from the Israeli aggression, and we are liable to lose control over events.”

He therefore urged the ambassadors to protest to Israel and “demand a change in its behavior” on the mount.

Fayyad’s description of last Sunday’s events bears no resemblance to Israel’s version. According to senior Israeli officials, members of a right-wing Jewish organization did indeed declare their intent to ascend the mount on the morning of September 27, but police prevented them from even entering the Temple Mount compound.

Shortly thereafter, however, a group of French tourists – most of them Christians – came to the mount for a previously arranged tour, and hundreds of Palestinian worshipers, who had apparently been awaiting the right-wing activists, began hurling stones at them. Police responded with tear gas, and in the ensuing clashes, 30 people were wounded – half of them policemen and half Palestinians.

Nevertheless, Fayyad’s plea drew a swift response from the United States and many EU countries, all of which demanded explanations of last Sunday’s events from Israeli officials.

The United States was satisfied by Israel’s explanation and dropped the matter. However, several European countries – headed by Sweden, whose relationship with Israel has also been deteriorating – sent worried messages demanding that Israel work to calm the situation.

The tensions reached a peak last Tuesday, when the Palestinians told several foreign embassies that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu intended to accompany right-wing activists to the East Jerusalem village of Silwan to dedicate a new tunnel.

In fact, Netanyahu was merely planning to treat his senior aides to dinner at a nearby restaurant – an event that was ultimately canceled due to a heavy work load. Nevertheless, both American officials in Washington and the U.S. Embassy in Israel contacted the Prime Minister’s Office to demand explanations for the alleged tunnel dedication, while senior officials in Sweden’s Foreign Ministry demanded similar explanations of Israel’s ambassador in Stockholm.

Possible new clashes

Police are now preparing for a possible new round of clashes today, when tens of thousands of Jewish worshipers are expected to come to the Western Wall to hear the traditional priestly blessing.

There were several violent incidents in the Old City Sunday, after the Islamic Movement urged Arab demonstrators to come to the Temple Mount to “defend Al-Aqsa [Mosque].”

In one incident, at about 10 A.M., Arabs from northern Israel and East Jerusalem began throwing stones and bottles at police on Motta Gur St., near the Old City’s Lions Gate. Two policemen were lightly wounded and five demonstrators were arrested.

Yesterday afternoon, Arabs threw stones and Molotov cocktails at a Border Police roadblock near the Shuafat refugee camp. The incident produced no casualties.

Also yesterday, police arrested the deputy head of the Islamic Movement, Sheikh Kamel Khatib, and Hatem Abdel Qader, who is in charge of Jerusalem for the PA’s ruling Fatah party, on suspicion of incitement to violence.

A court released them on bail on condition that they stay out of the Old City for 15 days.

This morning, police plan to restrict entry to the Temple Mount to Muslim worshipers aged 50 or older – a move that has in the past proven effective in preventing clashes on the mount. It will also bar Jews and tourists from entering the mount, to forestall friction with Muslim worshipers.

Thousands of policemen and border policemen will be stationed in the Old City and throughout both East and West Jerusalem to protect the tens of thousands of visitors who are expected to flock there today.

The Israel Antiquities Authority researchers said on Sunday that a stretch of road in Jerusalem dating to the Second Temple and thought to be used by pilgrims on their ascent to the temple had been cleared over the past few months.

The Coming Temple

“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.”
Revelation 11:1

The reclaimed section had been known to researchers for over 100 years, as it was discovered by British examiners at the end of the 19thcentury.

The paved road leading up from the Pool of Siloam, toward the Temple Mount, has since been covered up and only now cleared by the IAA.

Professor Roni Reich, who headed the excavation, said the exposed spot was “where Second Temple pilgrims began their ascent by foot. This is the southern tip of the street, a section of which is exposed along the western side of the Temple Mount.”

The excavation was run by the IAA in cooperation with Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority and financed by the Elad foundation, which operates the nearby City of David site.

The site is expected to be opened to the public in the near future.