Thursday, September 10, 2015

Standing Up

Michael L.

{Also published at The Jewish Press and Jews Down Under.}

Writing in the Times of Israel, Elhanan Miller tells us:
allahu akbar kaligrafi yg sangDefense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Wednesday declared as “unlawful organizations” two Islamic Movement groups who harass Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, rendering membership or financing of the groups illegal.

The move came in response to an appeal by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan last month, following an increase in verbal and physical violence by activists from the Murabitun and Murabitat groups, composed of men and women respectively, against religious Jews visiting the holiest site in Jewish tradition, where the first and second Temples once stood.
Israel's policies on the Temple Mount represent its integrity as a nation.

Israel's current policies of forbidding non-Muslim prayer on the Mount and limiting non-Muslim access to the site represents a measure of national uncertainty.  It is symbolic of a major crack that goes right down the Zionist vision of a free and secure Jewish national home.  It represents the measure of Jewish resolve... or lack of it.

This news story, however, is hopeful.

That Israel maintains a prejudicial policy in regards the Mount is a disgrace.  All people of any religion should be allowed access to the site for the purpose of prayer, if they so wish.  It should not matter whether the individual is Muslim or Christian or Jewish or Rosicrucian or Pastafarian.  Any other policy is illiberal, unjust, and not representative of the kind of Enlightenment political principals that Israel is grounded upon.

These Muslim groups that are organized specifically to harass Jews on the Mount, or at least all non-Muslims, are absolutely despicable.  I almost hesitate to embed a video of their behavior because I find it heinous and hard to watch, plus I know that my readership is likely well aware of it.  The one below is a little something that I nabbed from the Elder.



It is utterly obnoxious for these hideous women in their full burqas to scream "Alahu Akbar" at Jews visiting the holiest site to the Jewish people and I sincerely hope that Israel is honestly committed to preventing this kind of behavior in the future.

There is much to admire in Moshe Dayan, but his decision to hand over the Mount to the Waqf - whatever that is, exactly - does not speak well for the man and Israel has been paying for it ever since.  The Arabs use the site as a sort-of wedge.  They want to dislocate us from wherever we are within our traditional home and the Temple Mount, given its significance, is the perfect place to start.

The ironic thing, of course, is that even as they seek to make non-Muslim lives miserable anyplace within the Arab world, they simultaneously claim that Jews are trying to oust them from the Mount, even as Israeli policy favors them above everyone else.

What I would love to see is for Israel to simply take over the site.  Start by expelling every soul and then implement a policy of access that is fair and equal to all.  They will scream bloody murder from the Muslim capitals throughout the world, but so what?  They hate us already - and have continually done so for fourteen centuries due to religious reasons - so what difference does it make?  If they complain to the Europeans or the Obama administration, simply tell them in a straight-forward manner that it is Israel's new policy to allow everyone equal access.  Even hostile elements like the Obama Administration are in no position to suggest that a just policy is somehow unjust... maybe.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, former mufti of Jerusalem, called the decision “illegal, illegitimate and inhumane.”

“This is an assault on al-Aqsa, because these women defend al-Aqsa,” the Muslim cleric told The Times of Israel in a phone interview Wednesday. “It shows that the Jews covet al-Aqsa mosque and want to drive all Muslims out of it.”

Sabri dubbed the decision “a dangerous precedent that takes place nowhere but in the occupation state of Israel.”
The racism embedded in such a statement is obvious and sincere.  "These women defend al-Aqsa"?  Yes they defend it from the filthy Jewish presence on the holiest site to the Jewish people.

In any case, I am pleased to see Israel beginning to stand up for itself on this issue.  It is, at least, a step in the right direction.

From the comments:
Joel Mayes

You Jews learned alot from the Nazis.
Well, there you have it.  Jews seeking equal access to the holiest site of the Jewish people means that we are just like Nazis.

The logic is impeccable.

The eternal question, of course, is, "Why do they hate us so much?"

In the case of the "Arab street" it is due to religious reasons.  These are not good reasons, but at least they are comprehensible reasons.

The Europeans have no excuses and I am sure that they will do well to trade their tiny Jewish minority for a large influx of refugees from throughout the Arab world.

12 comments:

  1. And in London:

    http://ukmediawatch.org/2015/09/10/when-criticism-of-israel-crosses-the-line-to-extreme-antisemitism-london-edition/

    There are videos.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am sorry, Kate, because you know what's going on in your neck of the universe far better than me, but Europe is getting scary.

      I was talking to Laurie the other day and said something like, "Y'know, I think that I am going to start walking around Oakland with a big Star of David around my neck, just to see if anyone responds. Maybe I will put on a kippa for good measure."

      She said, "Michael, this is Oakland. This is not Paris. You won't have a problem."

      She may be correct, but I do not share her confidence.

      Delete
    2. k,
      Yes, indeed, I saw that one this morning, and put my two cents in.

      Delete
    3. It's absolutely horrible. And about to get worse, as it's 99.9% clear that Corbyn will be elected.
      Hate-crime 'up' in UK over last year. Up 93% against Jews. Frightening for everyone.
      By the way, I'll try to link to it later, but there's a brilliant blog by Brendan O'Neill today in the Spectator about why the Left care more about Islamophobia than anti-Semitism.
      The statistics on hate-crime against Jews didn't make the news here.
      And the hate at that demonstration didn't make the news. There's a complete lack of interest in it. Or worse.
      Read Brendan O'Neill if you've got time.

      Delete
    4. Link to Brendan O'Neill blog:

      http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2015/09/why-does-the-left-care-more-about-muslims-than-Jews/

      Delete
    5. I read the Brendan O'Neill piece yesterday. EoZ had a link to it. However, those who not seen it yet should take a peek.

      Delete
    6. Brendan O'Neill is terrific and I am in contact with him.
      Did everyone see this?

      http://jewsdownunder.com/2015/09/10/absolutely-shameless-antisemitism-in-london/

      Delete
  2. At some point everyone is responsible for their own. The Israelis will eventually reach a point of no return with the Temple Mount and will have to do something. It is simply escalating to the point where Arabs are nearly murdering Jews there and expecting to get away with it. Israelis can't look to anyone else to help them. If the recent rallies in London are any measure, if Jeremy Corbyn achieves real power, there will in fact be semi-state sponsored good old fashioned medieval pogroms in Britain. You will literally see something like a resurrection of the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews by Edward I in 1290. Assuming there's 190,000 Jews in the UK now, no more than half, say 95,000 would ever and will ever leave no matter what, no matter if there was a British Kristalnacht, which there most likely will be. So the challenge is to help 95,000 to flee to wherever they like, as long as it's not elsewhere in Europe.

    In any case, the raving idiots want nothing short of blood. There is no accommodation they will accept. Ever. Israel is on its own when it comes to the Temple Mount. Don't ask anyone else, don't include anyone else.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Israel should declare the site as ITS most religious. It should confront Muslims and Leftists head on.

    In Judaism's spirit of tolerance, the status quo should be maintained, but all must be given freedom to worship.

    If the Muslims cannot tolerate it, they will lose the right to administer the area. They should be forewarned. Comply with the norms of human rights or forfeit legitimacy.

    This should always be Israel's point of departure.

    Why go out of your way to help those that choose not to reciprocate in any event, to make it easier for them to carry out your destruction?

    Of course, the reality is that if you do not accede, there will be violence, and this makes it infinitely difficult for those who seek rationality and peace.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great idea by Boogie, but it's all hot air until we see this in action.
    I for one won't be holding my breath.

    ReplyDelete
  5. " If they complain to the Europeans or the Obama administration, simply tell them in a straight-forward manner that it is Israel's new policy to allow everyone equal access. "

    Israel haters will get to working hard to show that the access favors Jews, even if it doesn't. They will lie, the same way they lie about Arabs being ethnically cleansed from Jerusalem. They will make phony documentaries purporting to show how unequal it is. But you know what? Fuck'em. Do it anyway.

    ReplyDelete