By: Lee Underwood
email: mbi@digital.net
website: http://www.inet-images/fellowship/fyi.htm
"Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of
Jacob and have compassion on his dwelling places; and the city will be
rebuilt on its ruin, and the palace shall stand on its rightful place.'"
Jeremiah 30.18
VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN ISRAEL: Hundreds of Arabs on the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem's Old City began attacking Jewish worshipers on Tuesday. The
Arabs threw stones down at the Jews who were praying at the Western Wall
below. The attack was blamed on the opening of a new entrance to a tunnel
next to the Western Wall. This touched-off fighting all across the land for
several days. As of Saturday, 14 Israelis, 56 Palestinians and two
Egyptians have been killed. In addition, hundreds of Israelis and
Palestinians were injured. There were riots, roadblocks, disturbances, and
attacks against civilian Jewish vehicles throughout Judea, Samaria and
Gaza. A "State of Emergency" has been declared throughout the area by
Defense Minister Yitzchak Mordechai. Galei Tzahal reports Saturday that the
Israel Defense Force (IDF) has positioned tanks in "sensitive" places
throughout Judea, Samaria and Gaza. This includes Ram'Allah, Shechem, and
Gaza. The IDF Spokesman also stated that "open fire" orders for the tanks
were given, should the situation demand such action. OC Central Command,
Maj.-Gen. Uzi Dayan also explained that although the situation now is one
of relative quiet, this can change in an instant requiring swift decisive
action. "What happened prior to Yom Kippur (1973 War) will not happen
again." Dayan was referring to Israel being caught off guard prior to the
war.The Holy Site of Joseph's Tomb in Shechem was badly damaged by rioting Arabs on Thursday. IDF troops managed to rescue the Torah Scrolls from the burning site, but the Holy Books and many other religious articles were destroyed in the blaze set by the rioters. The damage to the religious site is said to be extensive. Six IDF soldiers died in the defense of the Holy Site. The site is now again under Jewish control. Meanwhile, two noted Jewish philanthropists have announced that they will be donating $100,000 towards the refurbishment of the Od Yosef Chai study hall and synagogue located at the Tomb that was destroyed in the Palestinian attack. The two are dedicating the funds for rebuilding, acquisition of new furnishings, and towards the repair of the Torah scrolls and holy books that were damaged. Extensive damages estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars, were caused in the battle.
The Security Cabinet met Thursday night for six hours. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated there will be absolutely no compromise regarding the Hasmonean Tunnel or Joseph's Tomb. The Government Ministers blamed the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its military forces for gross violations of the Interim Agreements and for acting in an irresponsible fashion. Danny Nave added the government stated the actions of the PA forces jeopardize the future of the piece talks between Israel and the PA. Israel calls the PA back to the negotiating table without any preconditions. Following the lengthy government meeting, the Spokesman for PM Netanyahu, Government Secretary Danny Nave, stated the Tunnel will not be closed by the government. Minister of Internal Security Kahalani explained the tunnel was closed Friday as it will be the policy to close it on every Friday, in a move to accommodate Moslem worshipers. (SNS, IMRA, Jerusalem Post, AP, Channel 2 TV News, Arutz Sheva, ZINC, VOA)
BACKGROUND OF THE TUNNEL: The Hasmonean Tunnel near the Temple Mount area was originally dug out some 2,200 years ago. It brought water from the area near the Damascus Gate to the Temple Mount. It was first rediscovered in 1870 by Charles Warren but its entrance was refilled. The Israel Ministry of Religious Affairs reopened it in 1987-88. At that time, there were reports of the Wakf offices being threatened (at the point where the Kotel [Western Wall] Tunnel links up with the Hasmonean Tunnel) but after intense engineering efforts, no further problems have been heard. The 534-yard tunnel runs along the Western Wall. It has been excavated over the last 12 years and has had only one entrance, near the Western Wall plaza. The new exit opens onto the Via Dolorosa in the Old City's Moslem Quarter. Very little work was necessary to open the exit, as the excavations have been complete for some time. The path it traces was at ground level when King Herod's rebuilt Second Temple was razed by theRomans in the first century but was covered by successive layers of construction and debris in the nearly two millennia since. The tunnel has been nearly finished for years and already was open to tourists by appointment with a guide. Contrary to Muslim claims, the tunnel does not run under the Temple Mount but rather alongside it. It also poses no danger to the foundations of the Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock shrine on the Temple Mount, as it is no more than a re-excavation of ancient halls and tunnels dating from the Maccabean and Roman eras.
According to Amnon Lorch of the East Jerusalem Development Corporation, the decision to use the Via Dolorosa end as an exit was due to Palestinian interests that more tourists would be directed from the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter into the Moslem Quarter where many Arab-owned shops are located. Lorch said that among the first people allowed into the tunnel through the new opening were officials from the Wakf, the Moslem authority which maintains Islamic holy sites including those on the Temple Mount.
The Jerusalem Post reports that, according to an official in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the opening of the exit was agreed to in January in a deal between Israel's then-Labor government and the Palestinian Authority. According to the agreement, Moslems would be allowed to pray at the area known as Solomon's Stables on the Temple Mount, in exchange for Israel's opening the tunnel exit. Israel has kept its side of the deal, but has only now opened the tunnel's new exit. The Wakf reneged on their agreement and worse, began construction in the area of Solomon's Stables [see F.Y.I. 9-21-96 and story below-ed.], thereby threatening ancient Jewish remnants with destruction or being covered over. (SNS, IRIS)
PA POLICE IN THE MIDDLE OF ACTION: In Ramallah, PLO police did nothing to stop the violence aimed at IDF troops on Wednesday. Later on in the day, they participated in attacks against IDF troops with live automatic weapons fire. The Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs held a special emergency meeting Thursday night which lasted six hours, Kol Yisrael reported. A communique released at the conclusion of the meeting stated, "The shooting on the part of the Palestinian Police and the incitement to violence constitutes a severe violation of the Interim Agreements, and their continuation will place the continuation of the piece process at risk." The government called for the renewal of the political piece negotiations without preconditions. At the conclusion of the meeting, PM Netanyahu spoke with PA Chairman Arafat and told him that Palestinian Police gunfire is intolerable and must be stopped immediately. (SNS, Israel Line)
WARNINGS OF IMPENDING VIOLENCE: According to IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Amnon Lipkin Shachak, the violence in Ram'Allah was not spontaneous in nature. Shachak stated it was definitely a planned operation that did not "just happen." In fact, Galei Tzahal reports that, in an interview with the German Der Spiegal magazine, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned of a renewal of the Arab Intifada and increased violence against Israeli targets, due to the policies of the Netanyahu government.
According to a Channel 2 TV News report, the Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations have called for additional bloodshed. The Islamic Jihad stated that following the recent Israeli actions, it feels justified in carrying out terrorist attacks against Israeli targets. A Hamas Spokesman warned of plans to carry out another bombing attack in Israel. Security officials are taking both threats in a most serious fashion. (SNS)
ISRAELI CLARIFICATION: The Israel Foreign Ministry released a statement clarifying the following issues concerning the newly re-opened Hasmonean Tunnel:
COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF TEMPLE MOUNT FAITHFUL: A Supreme Court decision Tuesday instructed representatives of the State and of the Jerusalem Municipality to report the extent of the construction works being carried out by the Waqf on the Temple Mount. The report must be submitted within a week. The judges accepted the petition of Temple Mount Faithful members, ruling that the announcement of the Municipality that "it is dealing with the matter" is not sufficient. The construction is being carried out in Urvot Shlomo (King Solomon's Stables), beneath the southern part of the Temple Mount, in violation of the law and of the Oslo accords. The Jerusalem Municipality representative expressed objections to the Temple Mount Faithful petition. (Arutz Sheva)
SPEAKING OF JERUSALEM . . .: A senior member of the General Security Service reported to the Ministerial Committee on Jerusalem, that there is a movement by the PA to expand their institutional activities in the city. The PA recently declared Jerusalem and the Area "B" surrounding it to be a Palestinian development area "A". There are Palestinian plans for massive construction in East Jerusalem but financial problems are hurting the program. Another senior security official noted the following developments:
* PA security authorities threaten East Jerusalem residents.
* The preparation of the street - in particular the youth - for a renewal of the intifada in Jerusalem.
* Conflict with Jordan over the control of the Islamic institutions and holy properties in the city.
* Illegal activity by PA legislators in the city. (IMRA)
ISRAELI-SYRIAN UPDATE: IDF Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen.Amnon Lipkin Shachak reported that Israel is ready on its Northern border. The IDF Chief stated that if Syria was going to attack Israel, it would attempt to carry out a surprise attack. The IDF Chief stated, "We are very well prepared regarding our intelligence and it would be extremely difficult for Syria to carry out any surprises against us."
Meanwhile, Galei Tzahal reports Syrian President el-Assad stated that Israel must comply with agreements signed by the previous Labor government under the auspices of the United States. Assad stated that PM Netanyahu is not honoring the rights of the PA and Syria and is putting an end to the piece process. In a CNN interview, Assad stated that it appears that PM Netanyahu is attempting to block the path to piece.
In another story, in a translation of an article which appeared in the September 26th issue of the Amman newspaper Sot Elmaraa, an informed Palestinian sources revealed that a military agreement was signed these days between the PA and the Syrian government. The agreement calls for the two sides to act together in the case of a threat, in particular on the Lebanese front, the area of conflict which includes a number of Arab states and international elements. The sources emphasized, that it was reached under Egyptian support. Teheran was kept abreast of developments in order to avoid a Syrian-Iranian conflict in south Lebanon. It is expected that Iran will join the agreement after the completion of talks with the Palestinian leadership, which has not had relations with the Iranian government for years. The sources advised the newspaper's editors, that among the principle points of the agreement the Syrians proposed to the Palestinians via the Egyptians, that Palestinian units be reactivated on the Lebanese front, in particular those stationed in South Lebanon. The intention here is especially for camps under Fatah leadership. The sources emphasized, that the Syrian document was incredibly balanced, as it emphasized that "the State of Syria will relate to the State of Palestine on equal terms." According to the agreement, the two states will increase their influence on Lebanon. There is also the need for the intervention of forces from Arab states, who are already located there in order to thwart the aggressive plans beyond the border, with the intention being Israel, and a allusion to Iran, which controls the Hizb'Allah as it wishes in order to enflame the Israel-Lebanon front. (Channel 1 TV News/SNS, IMRA)
IRANIAN MILITARY BUILDUP: Iran expects delivery of its third Russian-made Kilo-class submarine within the six months, part of an ongoing naval buildup in the key oil lanes of the Gulf, an Iranian newspaper reported Monday. Iranian Rear Adm. Mohammad Hossein Shafii, Head of navy coordination, was quoted in Jomhuri Islami Daily as saying that Iran was building its own destroyer and conducting research on land, sea and air missiles. Iran is believed to have acquired its first Kilo-class submarines in 1992, and its second in 1993. These announcements, along with other recent indicators, are seen by ERRI military analysts as evidence of a further arms build-up in the Gulf region and a possible threat to Gulf oil shipping lanes by Iranian forces. Experts say that Iranian acquisitions would appear to exceed any that they would need for self-defense. (SNS)
HEVRON DISPATCH: Hundreds of Arab rioters engaged IDF troops Tuesday in the marketplace of Hevron, near the Jewish Quarter of the city. The Arabs have been rioting over the past week, demanding the reopening of the marketplace which borders the Jewish Quarter. The Hevron Jewish Community continues to insist that opening the market would invite disaster. The IDF closed the marketplace to ensure safe passage for Jewish residents in the area.
Two acid bottles were thrown at soldiers near Jewish houses adjacent to Beit Hadassah in Hevron Wednesday morning. The bottles landed near a Succa. No one was hurt. It should be noted that the Norwegian "Peace-keeping Force" TIPH totally ignored this attack, but studiously covered the arrest of an Arab demonstrator near the Avraham Avinu neighborhood. In the evening Hevron Arabs threw stone blocks at Israeli soldiers near Ma'arat HaMachpela. Israeli soldiers identified the house from which the attack took place, but the perpetrators, residents of the Abu-Snenah hillsoverlooking the Jewish neighborhoods, escaped. (SNS, Hevron Press Office)
ON THE NORTHERN FRONT: Four IDF soldiers were injured moderately-seriously in Tuesday's fighting in the Eastern Sector of the Security Zone of suthern Lebanon. Two Hizb'Allah terrorists were killed in the fighting. On Wednesday, a day of heavy fighting was reported between Israeli troops and Hizb'Allah terrorists in southern Lebanon. IDF warplanes attacked Hizb'Allah targets in southern Lebanon and reported good hits. The Commission reviewing the Grapes of Wrath agreement met today and has called on Israel and Hizb'Allah to reach a cease-fire and to keep to the agreement which ensures that civilians will not be used as a shield for offensive and defensive actions. IDF soldiers and Hizb'Allah exchanged machine gun, artillery and grenade fire Thursday in the southern Lebanon border zone, Lebanese security sources said. (Galei Tzahal/SNS)
Note: The word "peace" is not misspelled in this document. When used in conjunction with the Middle East process, it is correctly spelled "piece"-ed.
MOVING TOWARDS A THIRD TEMPLE
by Lambert Dolphin
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung out harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive required of us a song. And those who plundered us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion!
How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth - if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. (Psalm 137:1-6)
Yearnings for a Third Temple
by Lambert Dolphin
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung out harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive required of us a song. And those who plundered us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion!
How shall we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her skill! If I do not remember you, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth - if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. (Psalm 137:1-6)
Yearnings for a Third Temple
The 137th Psalm, a hymn of the exiles of Jerusalem during the Babylonian captivity, eloquently expresses the yearnings of the Jewish people for their homeland, their City and their Temple - then and now. Jerusalem, "City of Peace" has known nearly two dozen wars and destructions since its existence was first known to us from the Biblical record. Abraham's meeting with Melchizedek about 1450 BC reveals that there was in the city (known then as "Salem"), even at that early date.
A righteous Gentile king, Melchizedek, ruled there as "priest of God Most High" (El Elyon). During the time period after 70 A.D. Jerusalem should have long since fallen into oblivion. This city with no natural wealth, no oil reserves, and no great strategic military value. Ancient trade routes passed up and down the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea or along the Jordan Valley. The King's Highway ran North and South on the plateau of Jordan - Jerusalem was out of the way. Why should anyone pass by there?
Today, centers of modern commerce and trade are in Tel Aviv or Haifa. Jerusalem is more of a city of religion, art, culture and museums than an economically viable regional marketplace or a center of business activity. Yet Jerusalem thrives in our time as a city full of mystical attractiveness and endless fascination.
As never before in history, Jerusalem is at the center of today's headlines. The city which grew up around the small walled-village captured by King David from the Jebusites 3000 years ago is the focal point of never-ending debate among the great superpowers. No other city has been desired and fought over as Jerusalem. In its history Jerusalem has been fought over by armies of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks, Ptolemies, Seleucids, Romans, Byzantines, Persians, Arabs, Seljuks, Crusaders, Mongols, Mamelukes, by the Turks, the British, and the Jordanians. Today the nations of all the world consider it their responsibility and obligation to meddle in her politics and destiny.
As a religious center Jerusalem remains sacred to (and fought over by) all three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is an open secret that the Pope aspires to set up his world headquarters there, having claimed for many years that the Holy Land has really been, all along, under Roman Catholic stewardship. UN debates, Arab neighbors, and the PLO urge the "internationalization" of this modest city. All the while pilgrims continue to flock there in droves numbering millions per year.
All the eyes of the world are upon Jerusalem, City of Peace, today as never before. This is a city that has been besieged about forty different times and destroyed (at least partially) on thirty-two different occasions. The rulership of Jerusalem has changed hands some twenty-six times. Since 1948 Jerusalem has experienced four wars.
From the time of the establishment of the State of Israel in May of 1948 until 1967, the City was divided. Walls, barbed-wire fences and a desolated strip of non-man's land cut through the very heart of the city, especially excluding the Jews from the Old City and the Temple Mount.
The Old City Liberated
In June of 1967 the Jews were involved in a war that resulted in the
liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem. On the third day of the Six Day
War, Israeli paratrooper Motta Gur, mounted on a half-track, announced that
the Temple Mount has been regained. On June 7 of that year the Israeli
troops moved into the Old City and stood at the Western Wall (Wailing Wall)
for prayer. Rabbi Shlomo Goren declared:"We have taken the city of God. We are entering the Messianic era for the
Jewish people, and I promise to the Christian world that what we are
responsible for we will take care of."
The city of Jerusalem was reunified and the Star of David flew again from its ramparts. The Temple Mount Restored to Moslem Control. On Saturday June 17, 1967, shortly after the end of the Six Day War, Defense minister Moshe Dayan entered the Al-Aksa Mosque for a historic meeting. In a gesture of good will, Dayan sat down on the prayer carpet with five leaders of the Supreme Moslem Council (the Waqf) of what had been Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem. That discussion fixed Israel's policy regarding the Temple Mount, a policy that remains unchanged to this day.
Dayan had ordered the Israeli flag removed from on top of the Dome of the Rock on the afternoon of the Old City's liberation. His discussion with the Moslems led to further concessions. The administrative control over the Temple Mount was to be the sole responsibility of the Supreme Moslem Council - the (Jordanian) Waqf. Though the Jews would be permitted free access to the Mount, prayer by Jews was prohibited. Dayan refused to permit any Jewish identification with Judaism's holiest site. To him, the Temple Mount held only historic interest. He said:
"I have no doubt that because the power is in our hands we must take a
stand based on yielding. We must view the Temple Mount as a historic site
relating to past memory."
The government of Israel then allocated responsibility of the Temple Mount area to different groups. Israel's Department of Antiquities were given the south, southeast, and southwest area of the Temple Mount to explore archaeologically. The top of the Temple Mount, however, site of the First and Second Temples, was given over to the Moslems to administrate. To the present day, the Moslem Waqf allows tourists to visit the Mount a few hours per day - but they do not allow any freedom of worship or any non-Moslem archeological activity there. The entire area is treated as if it were a gigantic outdoor mosque. Visitors who stroll out of very limited areas - to view over the wall at the Pinnacle of the Temple, or to see the interior of the Golden Gate, for example - will be quickly restrained by an Arab guard.
Shortly after the Temple Mount was recaptured, Rabbi Shlomo Goren, then chief chaplain of the Israeli army, and one of the leading advocates for the rebuilding of the Temple, attempted to establish a Jewish identity on the Mount. The Western Wall below the Mount was all Israel actually possessed and to Goren that was not enough. He believed regaining Jewish presence on the Mount would be a major step towards Israel's long-awaited redemption. On August 15, 1967, Goren led demonstrative Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount Compound. His actions caused shockwaves and much apprehension among Moslems as to the fate of their sacred sites.
Goren prayed within the Temple Mount courtyard, but this was contrary to the newly agreed arrangement with the Israeli government. The Waqf responded by locking the entrance gate above the Western Wall that leads to the Temple Mount. The keys to that gate were confiscated soon thereafter by the government of Israel and Jewish military police have been on duty at the entrance gate ever since.
The two chief Rabbis of Israel (Sephardic and Askenazi) then compiled a joint statement forbidding Jews to visit the Temple Mount. There position was that the Jewish people were ceremonially unclean and might accidentally tread on the place where the holy of holies stood in the Temple.
Now a Political Issue
The Temple Mount had become a political issue as far back as 1930 when
Mufti Haj Arain El-Husseini turned Solomon's Stables into a shooting range
and whipped up a frenzy over Jewish prayer at the Western Wall. The current
Supreme Moslem Council looks to a 1931 decision that the Temple Mount is
exclusive Waqf property. The Waqf - who owe their allegiance to Jordan - do
not accept the reunification of Jerusalem. Islamic preachers during the
regular Friday day of prayer on the Mount regularly and routinely denounce
Israel the right of the Jews to exist, frequently delivering inflammatory
polemics designed to foster Arab hatred towards the Jews.
Prior to 1967 the central structure on the Mount for the Moslems was the Al-Aksa Mosque. After the city was recaptured in 1967, the Waqf began to term the entire Temple Mount as Al-Aksa. In effect, they annexed the entire Mount.
No Exploration or Excavation
The rabbinical prohibition against Jews walking around on the Temple Mount
has now been extended. The rabbis next declared that there was to be no
exploration, excavation, or even prayer on the Temple Mount. Yet they
continued to acknowledge that the Temple Mount is the center of Jerusalem:
"The Temple Mount is the red-hot heart of the city. This doesn't mean that
everyone who lives here turns up there in the course of a day, a week, a
month or a year, or even turns his mind to it. He may go through years
without giving it a thought, just as a Roman might not think of St.
Peter's. Some young Jerusalemites, who can't remember a time when Jews
couldn't freely and safely go to the Wall, do take it for granted. Yet even
they know that Jerusalem, unlike Rome, is contested. They believe too that
whoever holds the Holy Places, and especially the Temple Mount, possesses
the upper hand in city, and therefore the country."
Orthodox Jews and the Temple Mount
In their attempts to minimize tensions between Jew and Arab concerning the
Temple Mount a ban on Jewish entry was formally posted at the entrance gate
by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
Orthodox Jews and the Temple Mount
"Entrance to the area of the Temple Mount is forbidden to everyone by
Jewish Law owing to the sacredness of the place. ---The Chief Rabbinate of
Israel."
Jews were thus officially banned from setting foot on the Temple platform. In practice many Orthodox Jews observe the ban while other Jews do not. The stated reason for the ban is that gentiles, as well as Jews, are regarded as "unclean" today and are thus unfit to walk on the sacred mount. The Mount is considered so sacred that one is forbidden even to fly over it because the holiness of the site extends into the heavens. Therefore the Orthodox Jew is allowed only to admire the mount from a distance. This ban will stay in effect, many believe, until the Messiah comes. Because of the ban the Jews pray and celebrate at the Western wall, an area in earlier times known as the "Wailing" wall.
Other devout Jews have disputed the reasons for the Rabbinical ban claiming that the Temple Mount foundations are indeed defiled and must be ceremonially cleansed. Until the new temple is completed and ready to be placed into service it is permissible for unclean persons to visit there and even to work on the building of the Third Temple. First the temple must be cleansed - then the people - is their argument.
We know from history that when the Herodian Temple stood, stone plaques, some in Latin, others in Greek, were placed in the Court of the Gentiles warning any Gentile not to enter the precincts of the Temple at the risk of losing his life.
"No Gentile is to be approach within the balustrade round the Temple and
the peribolos.
Whosoever is caught will be guilty of his own death which will follow"
While there were no such signs in later times, for example when the enclosure became a sacred place for Islam, Moslems were no less jealous to guard the area from the steps of non-Moslems and threats to kill people trying to enter are recorded in the reports of travelers who came to Jerusalem in the past. The restrictions were partially lifted in the middle of the nineteenth century but were clamped down again when Arab nationalism rose to a peak under the then Jerusalem Mufti, Haj Amin el Husseini, during the thirties of the twentieth century.
The Waqf these days only permits very limited access to the Temple Mount as we have noted. Sometimes for only a few hours a day and at other times no access whatsoever. Any attempts by Jews or Christians to pray, read from the Bible, sing or speak openly about their faith are immediately squelched by the ever-zealous and ever-present Arab guards, most of whom are ill-tempered, rude, and disrespectful to tourists. In all fairness, it should be added that those visitors who treat the Moslem guides, guards, and care-takers with courtesy and respect will often receive a warm response. As the Bible says, "Love covers a multitude of sins."
Role of the Jewish Ministry of Religious Affairs
The ministry of religious affairs have not been sympathetic to those who
wish freedom of access on the Temple Mount. On June 27, 1967, the day the
law regarding the Holy Places was adopted, the Israel Minister of Religious
Affairs said "it is our standing afar and our disinclination to enter that
illustrate our awe and reverence over the site of our former Temples."
After the city of Jerusalem was reunified in 1967 the Knesset passed a law which guaranteed freedom of access and worship in all the holy sites. This law is enforced with sensitivity and diligence all over Israel---with one notable exception, and that is the Temple Mount. Though freedom of worship is said to be guaranteed, any open display of worship is not allowed. The carrying of a Jewish prayer book or the attempt to pray on the Mount is strictly taboo. The police believe that such an act is a threat to the peace because of Moslem reaction, and indeed the Moslems regard such actions by non-Moslems are acts of disrespect for Allah. Hence the Temple Mount is treated differently by the government from all the rest of the holy sites in Israel.
On at least four different occasions the High Court of Justice has heard pleas from Jews to permit freedom of worship on the Temple Mount. Each time they have been denied. One of the reasons that this has not caused more of a furor is a ban on the entrance to the Temple Compound that has been published by the chief Rabbinate of Israel. The holy site is off limits to those who may transgress its sacred ground.
Former chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren believed otherwise. It was his opinion that only a small part of the Temple Mount area, some 15%, is off limits to the people. Goren attempted to measure the area to pinpoint where a worshipper can or cannot stand. It was his contention that worshippers should be allowed in the large area of the Temple Compound that is not the sacred portions. The problem is that there is no consensus of opinion as to where to measure to indicate what parts are sacred and what parts are not.
Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu suggested that if a synagogue were to be built, it should be done on the eastern wall of the Temple Mount. Such a synagogue stood there until the 16th century. The entrance to the synagogue could be from outside the wall preventing people from walking upon the prohibited areas of the Mount.
"Assaulting" the Mount
Since 1967 there have been various attempts by individuals and by groups to
assault the Temple Mount in order to perform Jewish blood sacrifices, to
destroy a Moslem building, or to upset the balance of power and to alter
the status quo.On August 21, 1969 Michael Rohan a non-Jewish tourist from Australia set fire to the Al Aksa Mosque. Firefighters fought the blaze for four hours as an angry Moslem crowd shouted "Down with Israel." The president of the Moslem Council accused the fire brigades of a deliberately slow response. The Arab states blamed Israel for the incident even though Rohan identified himself as a "Church of God" member. The fire destroyed a priceless on thousand year old wood and ivory pulpit (minbar) that had been sent from Aleppo by Saladin.
At his trial Rohan told the court that he believe himself to be "the Lord's emissary" in accordance with a prophecy in the Book of Zechariah. The court convicted Rohan but then declared him criminally insane. He was placed in an Israeli mental hospital. The Temple Mount remained closed to non-Moslems for two months after the incident. For the next three years, all non-Moslems were barred from El Aksa Mosque.
After the ban was lifted the Moslem guards were still very nervous. The mere opening of a purse for a handkerchief would cause the guards to come running and search for a bomb.
The Case of Yoel Lerner
In October 1982 Yoel Lerner, a member of Meir Kahane Kach movement, was arrested for planning to sabotage one of the mosques on the Temple Mount. Lerner was convicted of planning to blow up the Dome of the Rock. Previously he had served a three year sentence for heading a group that plotted to overthrow the government and establish a state based upon religious law. He was sentenced to two and one half years in prison.
...And of Allen Harry Goodman
In April 11,1982 Allen Harry Goodman, an Israeli soldier, went on a shooting rampage on the Temple Mount. Storming into the Al Aksa Mosque with an M-16 rifle Goodman killed a Moslem guard and wounded other Arabs. This incident set off a week of rioting and strikes in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. At his trial Goodman told the court that he had expected to become "King of the Jews by liberating this holy spot." He was convicted a year later and sentenced to life plus two terms of twenty years.
Jerusalem's psychiatrists and mental institutions have learned to expect, and to professionally render aid to a growing number of insane or marginally unstable individuals who flock to Jerusalem every year. Some pilgrims claim to be the True Messiah, or the Virgin Bride of Jesus, or the Two Witnesses of the Apocalypse. Moses, Elijah and Nehemiah, usually in costume, announce their return from the dead fairly often in the public square. Quickly these problem children are whisked off to wards now accustomed to the bizarre and the unexpected as regular parts of living in "the City of a Great King." The problem is so significant it has been labeled "the Jerusalem Syndrome." "The City of Peace" preserves its tranquillity and peace one day at a time, sometimes by a slim margin indeed.
Another Foiled Raid on the Mount
On March 10, 1983 the police quickly stopped an attempted raid on the Mount:"JERUSALEM --Israeli security forces arrested about 45 Jewish extremists, including supporters of radical Rabbi Meir Kahane, foiling an armed raid on the Temple Mount to seize Muslim and Jewish holy places, police said Friday. Security forces, working on a tip, Thursday night captured 10 of the extremists carrying army rifles, hoes and crowbars near an ancient passageway to the area in East Jerusalem, Israel radio said.
Thirty-five other Israelis were subsequently arrested, but four were later released after proving they had nothing to do with the incident.
An undisclosed number of those detained were Israeli soldiers but were not in uniform, police spokesman Meir Gilboa said.
The religious militants . . . wanted to occupy the area to be able to pray on the site, where Muslims worship, Israeli radio said. . .
Interior Minister Yosef Burg, the nation's internal security chief, assured leaders of the Supreme Muslim Council that authorities will stop any possible attacks of worshipers or attempts to curtail freedom of worship. Jerusalem Police Chief Yehoshua Caspi said a takeover 'could have caused a most serious conflagration' between Arabs and Jews.
Twenty-nine people were eventually charged for the intrusion but were acquitted of all charges."
Jerusalem Day 1983
On May 11, 1983 the Israeli high court of Justice ordered a very limited
lifting of the ban of worship on the Temple Mount Compound. The court
ordered the Jerusalem police to permit members of the "Faithful of the
Temple Mount," to enter a small corner of the Temple precincts to worship
for an hour and a half. The service commemorated Jerusalem Day, the
anniversary of the reunification of the Holy City. Hundreds of worshippers
crowded into the tiny area, defined by a rim of police barricades
stretching but 15 feet from the Mograbi Gate. The entire space allowed for
Jewish worship was approximately 700 square feet, between 3:30 p.m. and
5:00 p.m., on Jerusalem Day.
The court order was controversial. Many Muslims saw it an infringement on their religious sovereignty over the Temple Mount. More secular Jews feared that the court's decision would simply complicate the already delicate relationships with the Arabs. Many religious Jews celebrated the decision, declaring that Jerusalem cannot truly be considered liberated until a Jew has a right to share the Temple Mount equally with other religions who wish to worship the true and living God. Some Rabbis called for more severe restrictions to the point of allowing the Mount to be in permanent Moslem control so as to prevent Jews from entering altogether. As usual, paradoxes, extreme pluralism, diversity of opinion, and multiple contradictions (common to daily life in Jerusalem) prevailed.
In the summer of 1983 Rabbi Yehuda Getz, the former Rabbi of the Western Wall, (he died in 1995) broke through the Western Wall deliberately excavating to the East ("Cistern 30") in their newly excavated underground tunnel which runs under the old city. This tunnel extends from the prayer area, Ha Kotel, North towards the Fortress Antonia. Getz hoped to eventually reach the foundation of the Second Temple. During this tunnelling, Rabbis Getz and Goren claim to have seen the Ark of the Covenant according to statements they later made to the press. However the Waqf guards on the Temple Mount discovered the underground activity and soon sent down some young men through cistern entrances above to "discourage" the work. A fist fight ensued and the episode concluded with the sealing of the wall with six feet of reinforced cement. The incident was especially tense as it was not certain at the time whether or nor the Jerusalem police had jurisdiction to intervene in the undergound excavation since the area was under the jurisdiction of Rabbi Getz. The so-called "Rabbinical Tunnel" was opened to the public in 1996 as an outstanding new archaeological attraction.
In January 27, 1984 the most ambitious plan to assault the Temple Mount occurred. The Lifta band, evidently wanting to bring the return of the Messiah, attempted to blow up the Moslem Holy sites on the Temple Mount.
The plan drew international attention. The headlines read "Israel Investigates Jewish Extremists in Mosque Plot:"
Israeli police established a special task force Sunday to investigate suspected Jewish terrorism after an attempt to destroy one of Islam's holiest sites was thwarted at the last minute.
Police reportedly believe that Jewish zealots, perhaps including some with Israeli army training, organized the plot to blow up the Dome of the Rock shrine and Al Aqsa mosque in the walled Old City of Jerusalem.
Security forces, notified by an Arab watchman, prevented the assault early Friday. The attackers fled, leaving behind them explosives, including hand grenades of a type issued by the Israeli army.
Information about the thwarted attack was withheld for about 36 hours, apparently to allow emotions to cool. News of an attempt against the Islamic shrines could have touched off riots among the Arabs of Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the Jordan River and Gaza Strip, who are overwhelmingly Muslim. Israeli military censors prohibited publication of the news in Arabic-language newspapers published Saturday. Israeli police revealed the attempted attack late Saturday.
The mass-circulation Tel Aviv newspaper Yediot Aharnot said police recovered almost 250 pounds of explosives, including dozens of grenades, boxes of dynamite and about 12 mortar rounds. .
Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek expressed shock over the incident. He assured the cities top Muslim official, Mufti Saadedin Alami, that the authorities will do everything possible to apprehend the criminals.
Kollek also urged Alami to permit installation of an electronic fence to increase security around the site. . .
The Supreme Moslem Council, which supervises the shrine, warned, "If the attempted explosions had succeeded all Arab countries would have immediately launched a holy war against Israel." Based on the aftermath of far less serious incidents on Temple Mount - which have triggered rioting among the Arabs of Israel and the territories - the prediction seems to have been a reasonable one. This latest plot caused all of Jerusalem to shudder:"JERUSALEM --The attempted terrorist bombing of Islam's third-holiest sight has created aftershocks in Jewish and Arab sectors of this city, releasing a collective shudder at the thought of what might have happened if the golden-topped Dome of the Rock or the silver-domed Al-Aksa mosque had been destroyed by dynamite. . .
A week ago Friday, six to eight intruders armed with at least 30 pounds of explosives and 22 Israeli army-issue hand grenades scaled the outer wall before dawn and sipped under the cover of a cloud sky onto the compound that contains the mosques. They headed toward the Dome of the Rock.
An unarmed Moslem guard noticed them and alerted Israeli police, who chased them off. The intruders left behind explosives, ropes, ladders and knapsacks. Palestinian sources claim that the amount of dynamite left was nearly 10 times what police have reported.
No suspects have been arrested, but police commander Yehoshua Caspi told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that he is convinced Jewish extremists had plotted the attack. . .
'There would have been riots and mass murder,' said a dental technician in Jewish West Jerusalem, reflecting the concern that has spread throughout the city. 'And you know, I wouldn't have blamed the Arabs. What would we do if Arab fanatics blew up the Western (Wailing) Wall?'
The aborted attack, media reports of which were censored for nearly two days, sparked isolated riots in Nablus and a nearby refugee camp on the West Bank. Arab commentators elsewhere in the Middle East claimedthat if the bombing had been successful, it would have started a new jihad, or holy war, against Israel.
'It would have been the disaster of the decade,' said Bishara Bahbah, the new editor in chief of East Jerusalem's Al-Fajr newspaper.
The incident has renewed a call for more protection for Jerusalem's religious sites.
Police have not arrested anyone in those attacks, during which a Moslem clergyman and a Christian nun were injured. Anonymous callers have claimed responsibility on behalf of a group calling itself Terror Against Terror.
'Sometimes I can accept these things as isolated acts for extremist purposes,' said Nazmi Ju'beh, curator of the Islamic Museum near the Dome of the Rock, 'but this is happening in an organized way, and the government isn't doing anything.'
Police patrols have been stepped up since the foiled attack, and officials said they are planning new electronic surveillance around the 30-acre plateau that occupies the entire southeast corner of the walled Old City of Jerusalem.
Many Jerusalem residents believe that the attempted bombing is connected with increasing pressure from Jewish nationalist extremists to be allowed to pray on the compound , where the ancient Temple stood"
This threat to the peace of the city and the security of the Temple Mount was further complicated by claims in the press that money for the assault on the Mount was provided by Christian sources.
After the foiled attempt the Jerusalem Temple Foundation issued the following statement:
"The latest attempted assault on the Temple Mount will not be the last as long as the present injustice prevails. Police and soldiers and violence and barbed wire could be dispensed with, and peace reign if one simple basic condition were fulfilled - namely freedom of worship for all faiths on the Temple Mount as provided by Israeli law and as confirmed by the high court of Israel. The rule of Israeli law must be observed and upheld."
Yehuda Cohen, one of the members of the assault group was sentenced to one and one half years of prison for his part in the conspiracy. Cohen confessed to scouting the security arrangement of the Temple Mount as his part in blowing up the Dome of the Rock. He later expressed remorse over his actions. The judge, Ezra Hedaya, stressed the gravity of the crime.
I won't exaggerate if I say that the aim of the conspiracy - to blow up the Dome of the Rock, holy to many millions of Moslems around the world is shocking, and constitutes a threat to public order and endangers the public. Who knows what would have been the consequences of the conspiracy."
"Jerusalem (UPI) --The Islamic Council in occupied East Jerusalem Wednesday said Israel is resuming controversial Temple Mount archeological excavations and charged the digging is destroying foundations of Moslem structures. A spokesman for the Council, who asked not to be identified, said foreign diplomatic missions were asked to intervene to stop the digging at Judaism's holies site, where the Islamic shrines of Al-Aksa and Dome of the Rock also stand. ..
Sheik Saad-Eddin Alami, head of the Supreme Islamic Council, the highest religious body for east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, charged Tuesday that excavations continued despite Islamic objections. . .
Israeli officials denied they have renewed excavation work, and said people seen at the site are merely stationed as observers.
They said the actual digging, undertaken by the Ministry for Religious Affairs in a tunnel along the northern section of the Temple Mount's Western Wall, was stopped in early April following appeals by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek.
The excavations have been in dispute since October 1981, when Old City Arabs clashed with authorities as diggers veered eastward toward the Dome of the Rock Mosque, the legendary site of the prophet Mohammed's ascent to heaven.
The eastward dig was sealed off at the time, but continued in other directions.
A leader of the Islamic Council, Adnan Husseini, told United Press International 'something is going on again down there in the tunnel.'
He said he and his fellow engineers have been barred from approaching the excavation site.
Husseini said he was 'very concerned over the ongoing underground activity.' He said he could hardly cope with the damage already caused to five Islamic structures straddling the dig."
Sheikh Sa'ad Din Alami, the head of the Islamic Supreme Council for the Waqf and Islamic Holy places, reacted in the following manner to various journalists concerning Jewish attempts to regain the Temple Mount:
>From these responses it is clear that the Moslems officially disdain any >attempts by the Jews (or Christians) to have a presence on the Mount.
Members of the Knesset, the Israeli government, have from time to time accused the Arabs of stashing arms on Temple Mount. Access to the entire area of the Southeastern corner of the Mount is strictly forbidden to all but the Moslem guards. This area below which are vaulted rooms known as Solomon's stables, are reportedly an arms dump for Arab terrorist groups. There have been outcries from many Jews that the government investigate this allegation and take action.
On January 8, 1986 a group of Israel Parliament (Knesset) members including those who believe that the Jews have a right to pray upon the Temple Mount gathered to investigate charges that arms were being stored beneath the Dome of the Rock and that archaeological sites were being destroyed. Because of the growing number of Jews who wish to rebuilt the Temple, it is believed that Moslems were systematically destroying any evidence of the previous Temples.
When the group of Knesset members reached Solomon's stables on their official tour they were informed that no cameras were allowed below the ground. Assuming the Moslems had something to hide, the Israeli officials then demanded to be allowed to take their cameras with them. The Moslem authorities confronted the delegation and an altercation broke out. Atop a Moslem minaret, a loudspeaker announced that the Jews were attempting to commandeer the Temple Mount. A near riot occurred and the legislators decided to leave.
They returned six days later with one member reading aloud from Psalm 123 and others praying aloud. This caused another disturbance of the peace. An Arab delegate in Morocco responded to this event by calling for Islamic countries to "wage a jihad (holy war) in all its forms until Jerusalem is liberated."
Following the visit of the Knesset member to the Mount, three young people hoisted an Israeli flag over the Mograbi Gate of the Temple Mount. The flag was flying for about three minutes before they were arrested by police officers who removed the flag. The demonstrators were arrested for civil disturbance.
A local Sheik reacted to the visits of the Knesset members:
The Islamic Council asked the Waqf to form a guard unit to protect the Mosque area day and night and survey all those entering. These guards have the authority to prohibit any non-Moslem from praying in the Mosque, and if necessary to use force in order to ensure that these rules are adhered to.
In October 1990, when the Crisis in the Persian Gulf between the Allied Forces and Iraq was heating up an incident took place on the Temple Mount that caught the attention of the world. The Temple Mount Faithful marched on the Mount and unfurled a banner denouncing the Moslem presence. New reports erroneously said that the were Jews attempting to lay a foundation stone for the Third Temple on the Temple Mount. They marched from toward the Temple but were stopped by the Israeli authorities.
In the wake of the riot 22 Palestinians were killed. The United Nations censured Israel for overreacting to the incident. The United States, wishing to keep together the fragile coalition with Arab states against Iraq, voted against Israel. There was no censure of the Palestinians who started the riot.
Newsweek reported on the bloody clash that left over twenty Palestinians dead:
Newsweek also said it was:
This is what was commonly reported. But is that what really occurred? Mortimer Zuckerman, Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News and World Report, tells a different story:
Visit Lambert's Website: http://www.best.com/~dolphin...tons of great links, apologetics and general resources for the battle.
As things heat up in the Mid East, it seems as if Bible prophecy is coming true in this generation. Throughout our webpages, Watcher discusses why we feel the Tribulation is going to occur soon, pointing out that 1997 seems to be the most likely date . There is reason to believe that the War of Gog and Magog (Ez. 38) will happen close to the date that the treaty is signed -- directly before the Tribulation, or directly after the Tribulation starts.
Member of the Internet Link Exchange
Feel free to email me at Watcher
or for fast response west of the Bermuda Triangle email Regarde
When will the tribulation start, and the rapture occur?
Israel's Feast Days & Tribulation Datesetting
What does Daniel tell us about the antichrist, and tribulation timeline?
Daniel's 70th Week Timeline
Antichrist & UFOs linked!
Angelic Conspiracy Homepage
Satan & Sphinx linked!
Cherubim, Zodiac & Mars
Satan and the planets linked!
The Stones of Fire: Satan's Pre-Eden History
Antichrist and UFOs linked!
Satan's Plan To Escape Judgment
Monuments of Cydonia and Egypt
The Pyramids of Egypt and Mars
Just as in the times of Noah...
Elohim, the ben Elohim, and Nephilim
More Antichrist and UFOs linked: Tribulation events!
Invasion From Mars?
Our conspiracy theory (it's in there)!
Watcher's Web of Conspiracy
New and improved! Piece the conspiracy together yourself!
Watcher's Paradigm Links
UFOs in Israel! The alien presence and the Bible
UFOs and the Bible
The court order was controversial. Many Muslims saw it an infringement on their religious sovereignty over the Temple Mount. More secular Jews feared that the court's decision would simply complicate the already delicate relationships with the Arabs. Many religious Jews celebrated the decision, declaring that Jerusalem cannot truly be considered liberated until a Jew has a right to share the Temple Mount equally with other religions who wish to worship the true and living God. Some Rabbis called for more severe restrictions to the point of allowing the Mount to be in permanent Moslem control so as to prevent Jews from entering altogether. As usual, paradoxes, extreme pluralism, diversity of opinion, and multiple contradictions (common to daily life in Jerusalem) prevailed.
An Underground Riot
In the summer of 1983 Rabbi Yehuda Getz, the former Rabbi of the Western Wall, (he died in 1995) broke through the Western Wall deliberately excavating to the East ("Cistern 30") in their newly excavated underground tunnel which runs under the old city. This tunnel extends from the prayer area, Ha Kotel, North towards the Fortress Antonia. Getz hoped to eventually reach the foundation of the Second Temple. During this tunnelling, Rabbis Getz and Goren claim to have seen the Ark of the Covenant according to statements they later made to the press. However the Waqf guards on the Temple Mount discovered the underground activity and soon sent down some young men through cistern entrances above to "discourage" the work. A fist fight ensued and the episode concluded with the sealing of the wall with six feet of reinforced cement. The incident was especially tense as it was not certain at the time whether or nor the Jerusalem police had jurisdiction to intervene in the undergound excavation since the area was under the jurisdiction of Rabbi Getz. The so-called "Rabbinical Tunnel" was opened to the public in 1996 as an outstanding new archaeological attraction.
The Lifta Band Incident
In January 27, 1984 the most ambitious plan to assault the Temple Mount occurred. The Lifta band, evidently wanting to bring the return of the Messiah, attempted to blow up the Moslem Holy sites on the Temple Mount.
The plan drew international attention. The headlines read "Israel Investigates Jewish Extremists in Mosque Plot:"
Israeli police established a special task force Sunday to investigate suspected Jewish terrorism after an attempt to destroy one of Islam's holiest sites was thwarted at the last minute.
Police reportedly believe that Jewish zealots, perhaps including some with Israeli army training, organized the plot to blow up the Dome of the Rock shrine and Al Aqsa mosque in the walled Old City of Jerusalem.
Security forces, notified by an Arab watchman, prevented the assault early Friday. The attackers fled, leaving behind them explosives, including hand grenades of a type issued by the Israeli army.
Information about the thwarted attack was withheld for about 36 hours, apparently to allow emotions to cool. News of an attempt against the Islamic shrines could have touched off riots among the Arabs of Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank of the Jordan River and Gaza Strip, who are overwhelmingly Muslim. Israeli military censors prohibited publication of the news in Arabic-language newspapers published Saturday. Israeli police revealed the attempted attack late Saturday.
The mass-circulation Tel Aviv newspaper Yediot Aharnot said police recovered almost 250 pounds of explosives, including dozens of grenades, boxes of dynamite and about 12 mortar rounds. .
Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek expressed shock over the incident. He assured the cities top Muslim official, Mufti Saadedin Alami, that the authorities will do everything possible to apprehend the criminals.
Kollek also urged Alami to permit installation of an electronic fence to increase security around the site. . .
The Supreme Moslem Council, which supervises the shrine, warned, "If the attempted explosions had succeeded all Arab countries would have immediately launched a holy war against Israel." Based on the aftermath of far less serious incidents on Temple Mount - which have triggered rioting among the Arabs of Israel and the territories - the prediction seems to have been a reasonable one. This latest plot caused all of Jerusalem to shudder:"JERUSALEM --The attempted terrorist bombing of Islam's third-holiest sight has created aftershocks in Jewish and Arab sectors of this city, releasing a collective shudder at the thought of what might have happened if the golden-topped Dome of the Rock or the silver-domed Al-Aksa mosque had been destroyed by dynamite. . .
A week ago Friday, six to eight intruders armed with at least 30 pounds of explosives and 22 Israeli army-issue hand grenades scaled the outer wall before dawn and sipped under the cover of a cloud sky onto the compound that contains the mosques. They headed toward the Dome of the Rock.
An unarmed Moslem guard noticed them and alerted Israeli police, who chased them off. The intruders left behind explosives, ropes, ladders and knapsacks. Palestinian sources claim that the amount of dynamite left was nearly 10 times what police have reported.
No suspects have been arrested, but police commander Yehoshua Caspi told a parliamentary committee Tuesday that he is convinced Jewish extremists had plotted the attack. . .
'There would have been riots and mass murder,' said a dental technician in Jewish West Jerusalem, reflecting the concern that has spread throughout the city. 'And you know, I wouldn't have blamed the Arabs. What would we do if Arab fanatics blew up the Western (Wailing) Wall?'
The aborted attack, media reports of which were censored for nearly two days, sparked isolated riots in Nablus and a nearby refugee camp on the West Bank. Arab commentators elsewhere in the Middle East claimedthat if the bombing had been successful, it would have started a new jihad, or holy war, against Israel.
'It would have been the disaster of the decade,' said Bishara Bahbah, the new editor in chief of East Jerusalem's Al-Fajr newspaper.
The incident has renewed a call for more protection for Jerusalem's religious sites.
Police have not arrested anyone in those attacks, during which a Moslem clergyman and a Christian nun were injured. Anonymous callers have claimed responsibility on behalf of a group calling itself Terror Against Terror.
'Sometimes I can accept these things as isolated acts for extremist purposes,' said Nazmi Ju'beh, curator of the Islamic Museum near the Dome of the Rock, 'but this is happening in an organized way, and the government isn't doing anything.'
Police patrols have been stepped up since the foiled attack, and officials said they are planning new electronic surveillance around the 30-acre plateau that occupies the entire southeast corner of the walled Old City of Jerusalem.
Many Jerusalem residents believe that the attempted bombing is connected with increasing pressure from Jewish nationalist extremists to be allowed to pray on the compound , where the ancient Temple stood"
This threat to the peace of the city and the security of the Temple Mount was further complicated by claims in the press that money for the assault on the Mount was provided by Christian sources.
Not the Last Attempt
After the foiled attempt the Jerusalem Temple Foundation issued the following statement:
"The latest attempted assault on the Temple Mount will not be the last as long as the present injustice prevails. Police and soldiers and violence and barbed wire could be dispensed with, and peace reign if one simple basic condition were fulfilled - namely freedom of worship for all faiths on the Temple Mount as provided by Israeli law and as confirmed by the high court of Israel. The rule of Israeli law must be observed and upheld."
Arrests and Convictions
Yehuda Cohen, one of the members of the assault group was sentenced to one and one half years of prison for his part in the conspiracy. Cohen confessed to scouting the security arrangement of the Temple Mount as his part in blowing up the Dome of the Rock. He later expressed remorse over his actions. The judge, Ezra Hedaya, stressed the gravity of the crime.
I won't exaggerate if I say that the aim of the conspiracy - to blow up the Dome of the Rock, holy to many millions of Moslems around the world is shocking, and constitutes a threat to public order and endangers the public. Who knows what would have been the consequences of the conspiracy."
Claims by the Islamic Council
"Jerusalem (UPI) --The Islamic Council in occupied East Jerusalem Wednesday said Israel is resuming controversial Temple Mount archeological excavations and charged the digging is destroying foundations of Moslem structures. A spokesman for the Council, who asked not to be identified, said foreign diplomatic missions were asked to intervene to stop the digging at Judaism's holies site, where the Islamic shrines of Al-Aksa and Dome of the Rock also stand. ..
Sheik Saad-Eddin Alami, head of the Supreme Islamic Council, the highest religious body for east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, charged Tuesday that excavations continued despite Islamic objections. . .
Israeli officials denied they have renewed excavation work, and said people seen at the site are merely stationed as observers.
They said the actual digging, undertaken by the Ministry for Religious Affairs in a tunnel along the northern section of the Temple Mount's Western Wall, was stopped in early April following appeals by Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek.
The excavations have been in dispute since October 1981, when Old City Arabs clashed with authorities as diggers veered eastward toward the Dome of the Rock Mosque, the legendary site of the prophet Mohammed's ascent to heaven.
The eastward dig was sealed off at the time, but continued in other directions.
A leader of the Islamic Council, Adnan Husseini, told United Press International 'something is going on again down there in the tunnel.'
He said he and his fellow engineers have been barred from approaching the excavation site.
Husseini said he was 'very concerned over the ongoing underground activity.' He said he could hardly cope with the damage already caused to five Islamic structures straddling the dig."
Sheikh Sa'ad Din Alami, the head of the Islamic Supreme Council for the Waqf and Islamic Holy places, reacted in the following manner to various journalists concerning Jewish attempts to regain the Temple Mount:
"The Temple Mount belongs to Moslems. Moslems only hate the Jew as a ruler.
The Jews are free to believe that the Temple Mount is sacred to them, but I
think that it is holy to met. To permit them a corner for prayer is against
the Koran."
"There are no Jewish remains on the Mount. There never were Jewish antiquities here."
"They must know that this is a mosque and they cannot pray in a mosque with a Sefer Torah."
"There are no Jewish remains on the Mount. There never were Jewish antiquities here."
"They must know that this is a mosque and they cannot pray in a mosque with a Sefer Torah."
>From these responses it is clear that the Moslems officially disdain any >attempts by the Jews (or Christians) to have a presence on the Mount.
A Secret Weapons Cache
Members of the Knesset, the Israeli government, have from time to time accused the Arabs of stashing arms on Temple Mount. Access to the entire area of the Southeastern corner of the Mount is strictly forbidden to all but the Moslem guards. This area below which are vaulted rooms known as Solomon's stables, are reportedly an arms dump for Arab terrorist groups. There have been outcries from many Jews that the government investigate this allegation and take action.
On January 8, 1986 a group of Israel Parliament (Knesset) members including those who believe that the Jews have a right to pray upon the Temple Mount gathered to investigate charges that arms were being stored beneath the Dome of the Rock and that archaeological sites were being destroyed. Because of the growing number of Jews who wish to rebuilt the Temple, it is believed that Moslems were systematically destroying any evidence of the previous Temples.
When the group of Knesset members reached Solomon's stables on their official tour they were informed that no cameras were allowed below the ground. Assuming the Moslems had something to hide, the Israeli officials then demanded to be allowed to take their cameras with them. The Moslem authorities confronted the delegation and an altercation broke out. Atop a Moslem minaret, a loudspeaker announced that the Jews were attempting to commandeer the Temple Mount. A near riot occurred and the legislators decided to leave.
They returned six days later with one member reading aloud from Psalm 123 and others praying aloud. This caused another disturbance of the peace. An Arab delegate in Morocco responded to this event by calling for Islamic countries to "wage a jihad (holy war) in all its forms until Jerusalem is liberated."
More Flag Waving at Gate
Following the visit of the Knesset member to the Mount, three young people hoisted an Israeli flag over the Mograbi Gate of the Temple Mount. The flag was flying for about three minutes before they were arrested by police officers who removed the flag. The demonstrators were arrested for civil disturbance.
A local Sheik reacted to the visits of the Knesset members:
- "I condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms and demand that
the keys be returned to the Waqf immediately, that the police be reminded
that the Mosque is an Islamic holy shrine, whose gates only Moslems are
entitled to open or seal off, and that the army and border police be
forbidden to enter the Mosque area. Thousands of years ago, the Jews built
a temple which was subsequently destroyed. During the period of the second
Caliph, Omar Ben Khatab, a mosque was built on the southern part of the
yard of Al-Aksa Mosque.. At that time, there were neither temples for the
Jews, nor churches for the Christians on the site and no building was
destroyed.
Historically, there is no proof that Al-Aksa or the Dome of the Rock were built on the grounds of Solomon's Temple, although the Jews claim that the Temple originally stood on this site. The Moslems have been in charge of this piece of land for 14 centuries now and the Jews have no right to advocate the destruction of our mosques because they want to rebuild Solomon's Temple.
It is impossible for any Jew to be allowed to pray in the grounds of the Al-Aksa Mosque. They will have to kill all the Moslems before they can pray there unhindered."
The Islamic Council asked the Waqf to form a guard unit to protect the Mosque area day and night and survey all those entering. These guards have the authority to prohibit any non-Moslem from praying in the Mosque, and if necessary to use force in order to ensure that these rules are adhered to.
Yet Another Riot
In October 1990, when the Crisis in the Persian Gulf between the Allied Forces and Iraq was heating up an incident took place on the Temple Mount that caught the attention of the world. The Temple Mount Faithful marched on the Mount and unfurled a banner denouncing the Moslem presence. New reports erroneously said that the were Jews attempting to lay a foundation stone for the Third Temple on the Temple Mount. They marched from toward the Temple but were stopped by the Israeli authorities.
In the wake of the riot 22 Palestinians were killed. The United Nations censured Israel for overreacting to the incident. The United States, wishing to keep together the fragile coalition with Arab states against Iraq, voted against Israel. There was no censure of the Palestinians who started the riot.
Newsweek reported on the bloody clash that left over twenty Palestinians dead:
- "Last weeks clash was only the most bloody of several incidents in recent
years in which young Arabs, rocks in hand, have rushed to ward off Jewish
'attack.' Their religious leaders teach that those who die defending the
Noble Sanctuary go immediately to heaven. 'If we give up one centimeter, if
we let them place even one toe [on the mount] it will be the end of our
holy places,' said Muhammad Watani, a resident of the Old City. 'It will be
easier for us to die first.' To Muslims, the deaths last week only deepened
the sanctity of a place both faiths have long associated with glorious
redemption and epic destruction."
Newsweek also said it was:
- "...a cycle of misunderstanding: following rumors of a Jewish "invasion,"
Palestinian youth rushed Israeli police on Al Aqsa plaza. When the police
killed an Arab, the Palestinians replied with rocks, scattering worshipers
at the Western Wall below. Enraged Israeli's fought back with live
ammunition killing 21."
This is what was commonly reported. But is that what really occurred? Mortimer Zuckerman, Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News and World Report, tells a different story:
- "The impression given to the world is that the Palestinians assembled at
the Al Aksa Mosque in order to confront a small band of Jewish Zealots, the
Temple Mount Faithful, who have been intent on establishing a third Jewish
temple on the Temple Mount. It is true the group planned a march---marches
in previous years have been non-violent---but there was no march of the
Faithful on the fateful Sunday. The Supreme Court of Israel had banned the
demonstration. The Muslim Council, Wakf, a kind of mini-Vatican
organization that the Israelis permit to rule the Muslim holy places on the
Temple Mount, was informed of the Supreme Court ruling. All the Arab
language newspapers in Jerusalem had published news stories about the
Court's ban several days earlier, at the request of Israeli authorities.
These efforts to keep the peace were frustrated because on the night before
this holy day of Judaism, Palestinian-Arab activists recruited thousands of
Arabs to come to this holy place where some 20,000 Jewish pilgrims - not
the faithful zealots - would be praying on the adjacent plaza some 40 feet
below the Western Wall.
Present on that day, in the mosque, was Faisal Husseini, a key Palestine Liberation Organization intifada leader, who is normally not seen at the mosque on a day that is not a special day of prayer for the Muslims. But not present on that day were the Wakf security personnel who had been surreptitiously withdrawn from the area between the gates, at the Western edge of the Mount that overlooked the Western Wall and the Jewish pilgrims gathering before it. Forty feet above them, the Arab youths assembled and did what they had been gathered to do. They rioted."
Summary: The Temple Mount Remains a Volatile Issue
Even though the Temple Mount has been regained and is officially part of
the State of Israel, it is still being profaned as far as the God of Israel
is concerned. When the Mount fell into Jewish hands after the Six Day War,
Israel took the Western Wall Area but left administration of the Mount to
the Muslim Council of Elders. Israel also banned Jewish worship. The
secular Jews did not care and many of the Orthodox Jews believe that the
Third Temple would have to await the arrival of the Messiah. These issues
remain stalemated to the present day.
Visit Lambert's Website: http://www.best.com/~dolphin...tons of great links, apologetics and general resources for the battle.
As things heat up in the Mid East, it seems as if Bible prophecy is coming true in this generation. Throughout our webpages, Watcher discusses why we feel the Tribulation is going to occur soon, pointing out that 1997 seems to be the most likely date . There is reason to believe that the War of Gog and Magog (Ez. 38) will happen close to the date that the treaty is signed -- directly before the Tribulation, or directly after the Tribulation starts.
Member of the Internet Link Exchange
Feel free to email me at Watcher
or for fast response west of the Bermuda Triangle email Regarde
When will the tribulation start, and the rapture occur?
Israel's Feast Days & Tribulation Datesetting
What does Daniel tell us about the antichrist, and tribulation timeline?
Daniel's 70th Week Timeline
Antichrist & UFOs linked!
Angelic Conspiracy Homepage
Satan & Sphinx linked!
Cherubim, Zodiac & Mars
Satan and the planets linked!
The Stones of Fire: Satan's Pre-Eden History
Antichrist and UFOs linked!
Satan's Plan To Escape Judgment
Monuments of Cydonia and Egypt
The Pyramids of Egypt and Mars
Just as in the times of Noah...
Elohim, the ben Elohim, and Nephilim
More Antichrist and UFOs linked: Tribulation events!
Invasion From Mars?
Our conspiracy theory (it's in there)!
Watcher's Web of Conspiracy
New and improved! Piece the conspiracy together yourself!
Watcher's Paradigm Links
UFOs in Israel! The alien presence and the Bible
UFOs and the Bible