The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is the holiest site in the world for Jews. It’s not just ONE of the holiest sites. It is THE holiest and most important and most historical site for the Jewish people.
And that angers me.
It angers me, because this most important site, this site that radiates with four thousand years of Jewish history, this site that glows with an undying and never-ending spirituality, this site that whispers with the ancient voices of prophets and kings, this site in which the heart of the Jewish people can be heard, beating rhythmically, hypnotically, mystically like a old tune playing throughout the ages of time – is being violated.
And it’s being violated daily right before our very eyes for the entire world to see, just as we saw the other day when Arab terrorists launched a deadly attack against Israeli police.
In 1967 Israel stood alone against the might of the entire Arab world who clamoured together and salivated for the destruction of the Jewish people in their Jewish state. But Israel struck first, and fought a war that ended up liberating our most important historical site from the evil clutches of an Arab world who used our tombstones for latrines, who destroyed our Jewish holy places and synagogues, who expelled our people and tried to wipe out our history.
We fought evil that day – and won.
And yet… through some misguided attempt at creating a peaceful future, we took that victory in Jerusalem, a victory of miraculous proportions and turned it into a kind of defeat by handing our most holy site back to the very same people who just days earlier had dreamed of our destruction.
This angers me, because despite our victory, Jews still do not have the same freedom as Muslims. A Jew cannot ascend the Temple Mount and openly pray. A Jew cannot walk on this hallowed ground without being harassed by Arab women who scream insults and threats. A Jew cannot enter this place peacefully without being sure they’ll be able to leave peacefully as well.
It angers me that the Jordanian Waqf, a bunch of foreign thugs, get to control this Jewish site. They get to say who can pray and who can’t, who can marry there and who can’t, who can walk with pride, or be forced to cower in fear. It angers me that these religious authorities, who are supposed to be men of peace, encourage violence and hatred and hide the weapons to carry that out.
It angers me that a Jew cannot take his family to visit this site without worrying about their safety and security, without worrying about children being traumatised, or having nightmares of people shouting at them with voices of hatred, dripping in poison.
Some say this is just a religious argument, but it not about religion at all. It’s about the rights and the freedom of people. A Jew should be able to walk in the heart of Jerusalem with all the freedoms they’re entitled to, the place where King David proclaimed our capital, the place where our holy temples stood, the place where thousands have died protecting it and defending it, the place where millions have dreamed over thousands of years of returning to. Muslims should continue to be able to pray on the Temple Mount, but Jews should be allowed to as well. And so should Christians. And so should all peoples.
If the Muslim authorities are unable to accept that most basic simple right of freedom, then what chance will there ever be for a peaceful future for any of us?
Perfect!!!
Beautifully said, Justin.
It is getting crazy in Israel. The more the Arab leaders get, the more they want. The safety and happiness of their people, is not even on their lists of important things.
I am friends with a Muslim woman. She is an artist and I have some of her paintings. This woman is very brave. She has been on Arabic shows and has spoken out about the subjugation of Muslim women. The men in her village are angry and I am afraid for her life. I feel that the Israeli Arabs are emboldened, because Jew hatred in Europe, is once again on the rise. Is antisemitism growing in Australia?
We’re quite fortunate in Australia in that the current government is most definitely what I’d consider pro Israel. Netanyahu had a very welcome and warm visit down here just a few months ago.
But there are definitely elements in the opposition who are very anti-Israel and of course, growing Muslim radicalism is a problem in most western societies anyway, although I don’t believe anything on the scale we see in Europe. Having said that, anti-semitism exists everywhere no matter how good the society is.
Fortunately, I think the authorities crack down on it very pretty hard.