Palestinian Authority Claims Western Wall is Muslim Property
The Palestinian Authority’s Office for Religious Affairs claims that the Western Wall, revered by Jews for generations as the last structural remnant of the Second Holy Temple, is Moslem property.
The PA office claims Moslem ownership of the Western Wall by referring to the wall on its website as the Al-Boraq Wall. According to Moselm legend, the wall is the place where Mohammed parked his horse, named Boraq, before ascending to heaven.
Moslem tradition holds that Mohammed rose to heaven from the Temple Mount, though that idea is not mentioned anywhere in the Koran, the central text of the Moslem faith.
The Palestinian Authority’s official website, echoing the claims of its religious affairs office, also attempts to negate Jewish ownership of the Western Wall.
The PA contends that Israeli archeological digs near the site of the Western Wall, also commonly known as the Wailing Wall, “totally failed to find any proof that support their false claims” to the Wall.
Moreover, the website states that after the Arab conquest of Jerusalem, “the Moslems had mercy on the Jews and let them cry at a place near that wall. The number of Jews at that time was very small, and the plaza they stood on was only four meters wide.”
In an attempt to revise recent history, the PA claims that during the time of the British mandate over the land of Israel (1917-1948), the Jews began exceeding earlier arrangements “and claimed ownership” of the Wall.
The PA attributes the Arab riots of 1929 to Jewish efforts to claim ownership of the Western Wall. Hundreds of Jewish civilians were killed in those riots, which were initiated by the Mufti of Jerusalem, and are in many ways similar to the Arab intifadas of 1987 and 2000.
The current intifada is known as the Al-Aksa Intifada. Al-Aksa is the name of the large mosque on the southern section of the Temple Mount.
Many in the PA claim that the intifada was sparked by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount. However, it is widely known that plans for the current intifada, or Oslo War, were well in place prior to Sharon's Temple Mount visit, and some PA officials concede that the PA used Sharon's visit as a pretext for launching the war.
Prior to Sharon's visit in August 2000, negotiations at Camp David between then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PA leader Yasser Arafat broke down when PA negotiators refused to recognize that the Jewish people have any connection to the Temple Mount. Senior PA negotiator Saeb Erekat asserted at the talks that the Jews never had a Temple at the site, calling it a fabrication of history.
Today, Jews are allowed to visit the Temple Mount only at very specific hours and in small numbers, and must be accompanied by Israeli Police as well as a representative of the Wakf, the Moslem body currently responsible for activity on the Temple Mount. In addition, Jewish visitors are not allowed to bow or pray anywhere on the Mount itself, and may not even bring books with Hebrew writing.
Rabbi Chaim Richman, Director of the International Department of the of the Temple Institue in Jerusalem, said that the PA’s claims of Moslem ownership of the Western Wall has “far reaching implications” for Israel.
Richman said that the PA’s denial of the Jewish Temple's existence “is part of a campaign to totally eradicate, erase, and destroy all Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, and the land of Israel.”
“If we have no connection to the Temple Mount, then we have no connection to Jerusalem, and no right to anywhere in the land of Israel,” he added.
Richman said that “Islam has for many years been waging a campaign to destroy any evidence of a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount.” He cited efforts by the PA and the Moslem wakf (religious trust) to carry out excavations on the Temple Mount for the purpose of destroying artifacts relating to the First and Second Temples. He said that thousands of tons of archeological material has already been deliberately destroyed by the wakf.
By destroying the remnants of the Jewish temples, Richman said that the PA believes that it strengthens its hand in the final status negotiations over the status of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
Richman explained, however, that despite the efforts of the PA and the Moslem wakf, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount can never have the same significance for Moslems as for Jews. He pointed out that Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Bible, “and not once in the whole Koran,” the Moslem holy book.
The PA office claims Moslem ownership of the Western Wall by referring to the wall on its website as the Al-Boraq Wall. According to Moselm legend, the wall is the place where Mohammed parked his horse, named Boraq, before ascending to heaven.
Moslem tradition holds that Mohammed rose to heaven from the Temple Mount, though that idea is not mentioned anywhere in the Koran, the central text of the Moslem faith.
The Palestinian Authority’s official website, echoing the claims of its religious affairs office, also attempts to negate Jewish ownership of the Western Wall.
The PA contends that Israeli archeological digs near the site of the Western Wall, also commonly known as the Wailing Wall, “totally failed to find any proof that support their false claims” to the Wall.
Moreover, the website states that after the Arab conquest of Jerusalem, “the Moslems had mercy on the Jews and let them cry at a place near that wall. The number of Jews at that time was very small, and the plaza they stood on was only four meters wide.”
In an attempt to revise recent history, the PA claims that during the time of the British mandate over the land of Israel (1917-1948), the Jews began exceeding earlier arrangements “and claimed ownership” of the Wall.
The PA attributes the Arab riots of 1929 to Jewish efforts to claim ownership of the Western Wall. Hundreds of Jewish civilians were killed in those riots, which were initiated by the Mufti of Jerusalem, and are in many ways similar to the Arab intifadas of 1987 and 2000.
The current intifada is known as the Al-Aksa Intifada. Al-Aksa is the name of the large mosque on the southern section of the Temple Mount.
Many in the PA claim that the intifada was sparked by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount. However, it is widely known that plans for the current intifada, or Oslo War, were well in place prior to Sharon's Temple Mount visit, and some PA officials concede that the PA used Sharon's visit as a pretext for launching the war.
Prior to Sharon's visit in August 2000, negotiations at Camp David between then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PA leader Yasser Arafat broke down when PA negotiators refused to recognize that the Jewish people have any connection to the Temple Mount. Senior PA negotiator Saeb Erekat asserted at the talks that the Jews never had a Temple at the site, calling it a fabrication of history.
Today, Jews are allowed to visit the Temple Mount only at very specific hours and in small numbers, and must be accompanied by Israeli Police as well as a representative of the Wakf, the Moslem body currently responsible for activity on the Temple Mount. In addition, Jewish visitors are not allowed to bow or pray anywhere on the Mount itself, and may not even bring books with Hebrew writing.
Rabbi Chaim Richman, Director of the International Department of the of the Temple Institue in Jerusalem, said that the PA’s claims of Moslem ownership of the Western Wall has “far reaching implications” for Israel.
Richman said that the PA’s denial of the Jewish Temple's existence “is part of a campaign to totally eradicate, erase, and destroy all Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, and the land of Israel.”
“If we have no connection to the Temple Mount, then we have no connection to Jerusalem, and no right to anywhere in the land of Israel,” he added.
Richman said that “Islam has for many years been waging a campaign to destroy any evidence of a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount.” He cited efforts by the PA and the Moslem wakf (religious trust) to carry out excavations on the Temple Mount for the purpose of destroying artifacts relating to the First and Second Temples. He said that thousands of tons of archeological material has already been deliberately destroyed by the wakf.
By destroying the remnants of the Jewish temples, Richman said that the PA believes that it strengthens its hand in the final status negotiations over the status of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
Richman explained, however, that despite the efforts of the PA and the Moslem wakf, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount can never have the same significance for Moslems as for Jews. He pointed out that Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Bible, “and not once in the whole Koran,” the Moslem holy book.
posted by Marko at 12/11/2005 02:01:00 PM
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