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We call upon our supporters to petition the government of Israel for change, and are inviting all who feel a connection to the place of the Holy Temple to join us as we ascend the Mount.
By Yitzchak Reuven, YNet News, March 12, 2010
Enshrined in Israeli law are two cardinal principles of democracy: freedom of access to places of worship, and the freedom of worship to practitioners of all religions. Successive Israeli governments have proudly and rightly cited Israel’s unflinching assurance of the freedom of worship for Muslims and Christians in the city of Jerusalem. This fact is presented in its case to maintain Jerusalem as a united city under Israeli sovereignty. Ironically, in the very heart of Jerusalem lies a parcel of real estate which has been granted de facto some sort of extra-legal, extraterritorial status, a veritable “wild West” where the rule of law does not exist and the most basic and inalienable democratic rights are not honored. This is the Temple Mount.
The facts on the ground are as such: The Muslim Waqf, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, has been granted absolute say over the administration of the Mount. Illegal destruction of archaeological remains of the first and second Holy Temples takes place on a daily basis, as does illegal construction. The Waqf’s unambiguous and oft-stated aim of this policy is the destruction of evidence of the Holy Temple and the transformation of the entire Temple Mount plateau into one massive Mosque, thus achieving exclusivity to the site for Muslims.
But no less pernicious is the manner in which non-Muslims are treated both atop the Mount and upon approaching it. And this discriminatory policy is enforced by the Israeli police. Non-Muslims are simply not allowed to carry with them a Bible or prayer book and are not allowed to pray. Jews who ascend the Mount, in accordance with Jewish law (first immersing in a ritual bath, and only treading on areas that are permissible according to halacha), are singled out and discriminated against in an abusive, humiliating and derogatory fashion. They are detained at the security booth, their identification cards are inspected (not the case for non-Jews), they are given oral instructions on what they cannot do, (stop in any one spot for more than a few minutes, pray, silently move their lips or sway their bodies. Jews are even warned not to cry, sing or close their eyes).
Furthermore, unlike any other group of human beings ascending the Mount (and thousands of tourists from around the world do so every day), Jews are not allowed to be on the Mount in gatherings of more than 10 or 20 at a time, and they are accompanied during the entire duration of their visit by police officers and a Waqf official to ensure that they do not violate the prohibitions. Needless to say, prayer books, the Tanach, tefillin or a tallit are strictly forbidden. Non-Jews (by and large, non-Israelis), who accompany Jewish visitors to the Mount (and many do so out of a desire to experience the Temple Mount from a Jewish perspective), are accorded the same shabby treatment. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Middle East Report, Monotheistic Religions, Opinion, Recent Posts on March 11, 2010 - כ"ה אדר תש"ע at 10:53 pm
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By Daniel Greenfield, Canada Free Press, March 10, 2010
“I condemn the decision by the government of Israel to advance planning for new housing units in East Jerusalem” —Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden, March 09, 2010
For nearly twenty years the great sham of the Middle East Peace Process has dragged on. And this despicable scam has consisted of only one policy, only one platform and only one plan. Pressuring Israel for more concessions.
Year in and year out, new peace conferences were declared and new plans for peace were hammered out. All of them had one thing in common, they carved up Israel for a non-existent peace. When Arafat and his gang of terrorists made a concession, it was to demand 5 percent less of Israel in the current phase of negotiations. When Israel made a concession, it was to turn over another 10 percent of land to its worst enemies in this phase of negotiations… in exchange for them putting off their demands for that 5 percent into the next phase of the negotiations. And this sick charade in which Israel gave and the terrorists took was the peace process.
While this great surrender process was going on, outside the bombs went on exploding, tearing apart buses, restaurants, malls and families—the politicians and diplomats in charge excused the terrorists and damned Israel if it so much as lifted a finger to defend itself, or erected a single checkpoint to catch at least one of the terrorists on the way to kill a dozen people in Jerusalem. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Judaism, Opinion, Recent Posts on March 11, 2010 - כ"ה אדר תש"ע at 10:51 am
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by Gil Zohar, Jewish Journal, March 9, 2010
After four years of construction, the Jewish Quarter’s landmark Hurva Synagogue – built by Polish Jews in 1701, destroyed by Arab creditors two decades later, rebuilt in 1864 by followers of the Vilna Gaon, and dynamited in 1948 by Jordan’s Arab Legion – is being re-dedicated this Sunday and Monday (March 15-16, 2010). All the rest is commentary.
During a media tour this week, a beaming Nissim Arazi, who since 2003 has served as the CEO of the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem Ltd. (the JQDC), showed off the venerable if controversial NIS 43 million project which has been his dream for nearly a decade.
Arazi follows a distinguished list of public servants, starting in 1969 with then Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, who have served as either chairman or director of the government agency charged with rebuilding the Old City’s Jewish Quarter. That historic job had largely been completed when Arazi stepped onto the scene. But the new CEO resisted calls for the JQDC to be disbanded as redundant, instead pressing ahead with the Hurva project and protecting his fiefdom. (In Jerusalem, Nov. 2, 2007)
As the Hurva’s construction crane was being taken down, Arazi launched into the synagogue’s convoluted story, hailing the many figures responsible for the rebuilding. In 1999, he explained, a public committee was formed by then Minister of Housing, Rabbi Yitzhak Levi and headed by Rabbi Simha Hacohen Kook with the intention of recreating the building whose famous dome once dominated the skyline of the Jewish Quarter. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Judaism, Middle East, Monotheistic Religions, News Articles, Recent Posts on March 9, 2010 - כ"ג אדר תש"ע at 10:57 am
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Iraq’s second parliamentary election since the 2003 invasion has been hit by multiple attacks, with at least 35 people being killed.
Two buildings were destroyed in Baghdad and dozens of mortars were fired across the capital and elsewhere.
Despite the violence, there were long queues of voters at polling stations in a number of cities.
Polls closed at 1700 (1400 GMT) but people already in line were allowed to cast their votes.
An immense security operation was mounted, involving more than 500,000 Iraqi security personnel.
The border with Iran was closed, thousands of troops were deployed, and vehicles were banned from roads.
Prime Minister Nouri Maliki had called on voters to turn out in large numbers, saying that participation would boost democracy.
“ I am not scared and I am not going to stay put at home ”
Baghdad voter
In Washington US President Barack Obama issued a statement after polls had closed, saying Iraqis had chosen "to shape their future through the political process".
"We mourn the tragic loss of life today, and honour the courage and resilience of the Iraqi people who once again defied threats to advance their democracy," he said.
Multiple attacks
There were mortar, grenade and bomb attacks in Baghdad and in other cities, including Mosul, Falluja, Baquba and Samarra.
But the capital was hardest hit, with dozens of mortar shells falling in several neighbourhoods. Twenty-five people were killed in one explosion that destroyed a residential building in the north of the city.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Middle East, News Articles, Recent Posts on March 7, 2010 - כ"א אדר תש"ע at 2:42 pm
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Adar 18, 5770, 04 March 10
by Gil Ronen, Arutz Sheva
(Israelnationalnews.com) The Palestinian Authority (PA) is continuing to enforce a boycott of goods made in the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria. The PA-based WAFA news agency reported that PA customs agents confiscated 20 tons of nylon sheeting intended for wrapping food, and destroyed it.
"We destroyed 20 tons of nylon that were seized in a warehouse in Nablus [Shechem], and are manufactured in the settlement of Naaran near Jericho,” the chief customs official in the Shechem area said. Naaran is a kibbutz, or cooperative community, in the Jordan Valley.
The government of the PA under Prime Minister Salam Fayyad recently launched a high-profile boycott of goods made in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. PA-government inspectors have reportedly begun combing PA marketplaces in search of goods made in the Jewish communities.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on March 5, 2010 - י"ט אדר תש"ע at 8:54 am
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Palestinian protests against the restoration of Jewish heritage sites are part of a campaign of delegitimisation against Israel
By Jeremy Sharon, Guardian UK, March 3, 2010
Palestinian men walk past the Al-Ibrahimi mosque, which Jews call the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site holy to both faiths, in the West Bank town of Hebron on 24 February 2010. Photograph: Jack Guez/AFP
Speeches and comments made by Binyamin Netanyahu of late have been rather heavy on their biblical and historical references. In his speech at Bar-Ilan University last June, he declared: “The connection between the Jewish people and the land of Israel has lasted for more than 3,500 years … This is the land of our forefathers.” And in an interview with talkshow host Charlie Rose in September, he mentioned a signet ring found by the western wall in Jerusalem, dating back 2,700 years and bearing the name “Netanyahu Ben-Yoash” inscribed on it in ancient Hebrew.
The context of these comments and the motivation for Netanyahu’s recent announcement of a plan for the refurbishment of national heritage sites are one and the same: Israelis view those elements that seek to erase the historical ties of the Jewish people to the land as part of larger strategy aimed at delegitimising the state of Israel. Senior politicians and Israeli thinktanks have identified this phenomenon as a serious threat to the country, and the heritage restoration project is an example of the Israeli reaction to this challenge.
Unfortunately, the inclusion in the restoration plan of two of the most sacred Jewish sites, the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb, has sparked riots in the West Bank and Jerusalem over the past few days and led supposedly moderate Palestinian leaders to burst forth with disturbingly inflammatory rhetoric. Mahmoud Abbas even raised the spectre of “religious war” in light of the inclusion of these two sites. The international community weighed in too, with the US State Department and the UN secretary general, both reprimanding Israel for the decision.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Judaism, Middle East Report, Opinion, Recent Posts on March 4, 2010 - י"ח אדר תש"ע at 2:07 pm
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Reprinted from Daily Alert, March 2, 2010
Fayyad Is Inciting Anti-Israel Violence in West Bank
- Yaakov Katz and Tovah Lazaroff
Palestinian Authority officials headed by Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad are inciting anti-Israel violence in the West Bank, Israeli defense officials charged on Sunday. Senior PA officials, and specifically Fayyad, are encouraging Palestinian youth to partake in anti-Israel demonstrations on Fridays near security fence construction in Ni’lin and Bi’lin as well as in Hebron. “Fayyad is actively encouraging Palestinians to use popular resistance against Israel,” one official said. Israel believes Fayyad wants to continue cooperating with Israel on economic issues, but at the same time has made a strategic decision to retain the right to use violence against Israel.
There is concern within the IDF that the PA security forces could turn their weapons against settlers and IDF soldiers in the West Bank. Recent incidents include the stabbing of a soldier at the Tapuah Junction by a PA policeman as well as the involvement of PA security officers in the shooting of Rabbi Meir Chai last year. (Jerusalem Post)
See also PA Escalating Tensions with Israel
- Khaled Abu Toameh
The Palestinian Authority is once again trying to divert attention from its problems at home by escalating tensions with Israel. To distract attention from charges of financial corruption and embarrassing sexual scandals, the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank has stepped up its anti-Israel rhetoric. Allegations of “ethnic cleansing,” “destruction and desecration of Islamic religious sites,” and “apartheid” are directed every day toward Israel by Abbas and his top officials, often backed up by threats to launch a “third intifada” or to resume suicide bombings against Israel. (Hudson Institute New York)
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on March 3, 2010 - י"ז אדר תש"ע at 7:22 am
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We will defeat the terrorists. Our security is backed up by democracy and a strong economy
The Guardian, Monday 1 March 2010
When I was elected president more than a year ago, Pakistan was in a grave condition, strained by terrorism and a ravaged economy. Countering the effects of a decade of dictatorship requires bold actions, some of which are unpopular. I am working with parliament to run a country, not a political campaign. The goal of our democratic government is to implement policies that will dramatically improve the lives of Pakistanis. In time, good policies will become good politics.
Our economic crisis demanded an unprecedented response. On taxes, education, agriculture and energy, we have shown that we must adapt, reform and become self-sufficient. Terrorists do not want Pakistan to succeed. They want to distract us from preparing for a stable and prosperous future. But militants underestimate us. Just as our people refuse to be terrorised, our government refuses to be derailed from its course of fiscal responsibility, social accountability and financial transparency.
The war against terrorism has cost Pakistan not just in lives but also in economic terms, freezing international investment and diverting priorities from social and other sectors. Despite constant challenges on multiple fronts, we took the political hits and stuck with reform. Pakistan even met IMF criteria last month to receive the “fourth tranche”, or £0.79bn, of its loan funding – no easy feat during a global recession. Corrupt governments don’t reach this level of IMF partnership. The World Bank, the European Union and the US have all applauded our accomplishments. This praise may be little reported, but it’s far more important than the chimera of polls. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts on March 2, 2010 - ט"ז אדר תש"ע at 7:42 am
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Posted By Larry Greenfield On February 28, 2010
I was invited to speak on 21st century missile threats and defenses at the recent 7th annual Jerusalem Conference, 2010, held at the Regency Hotel on Mt. Scopus, in the city of David, but I was pleased as well to hear a wide variety of experts (speeches are delivered in English and Hebrew with convenient wireless earphone translation headsets).
This gathering is rooted in historic Zionism, the meaning of the land of Israel, and the spiritual meaning of Jerusalem. Many Israeli statesman and American political leaders come to address current security crises, as well as existential questions ever-present for the Jewish state still facing war.
The Palestinian Front
On the Palestinian front, many now believe that the idea of a small PLO state within the 1967 borders, to include Gaza, major parts of the West Bank and east Jerusalem, has lost its appeal within Araby.
Radical Islamism, unrealistic expectations, and daily incitement against Israel in mosques, the media, and madrassas, have all added up to another era of Palestinian intransigence and irredentism. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Middle East Report, Opinion, Recent Posts on March 1, 2010 - ט"ו אדר תש"ע at 11:21 am
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The prince reiterated a call he first made in July to the Arabs to be more pragmatic in seeking solutions to the conflict that has plagued the region for generations
Manama: Palestinians have been suffering and losing precious lives because of the Arabs’ unclear policies, Bahrain’s crown prince has said.
“We have to put an end to the senseless bidding and be realistic and responsible in our approach to the Palestinian issue,” Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa said.
“The Palestinians have been suffering and paying a heavy price because of the Arab’s blurred and confused policy towards their sensitive issue,” he said in an interview published in Al Ayam.
The prince reiterated a call he first made in July to the Arabs to be more pragmatic in seeking solutions to the conflict that has plagued the region for generations.
“We need to reach out to the Israeli people through a constructive dialogue and use the media to highlight the importance of a fair solution in their minds,” Prince Salman said.
“We need to drive the concept that we favour a negotiated peaceful solution over irresponsible claims,” he said.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Islam, Middle East, News Articles, Recent Posts on February 24, 2010 - י' אדר תש"ע at 11:25 am
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