A Jew prays at the Western Wall
A Jew prays at the Western WallIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Western Wall Rabbi ‘Cannot Forgive the Mufti’

The Rabbi of the Western Wall said Monday that Israelis “cannot forgive the Mufti” for saying that only by killing Jews could the world be saved and Muslims proceed to Paradise.

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the Rabbi of the Kotel (Western Wall) and the Holy Places of the Old City of Jerusalem condemned comments made last week by Mufti Muhammad Hussein at the celebration of the 47th anniversary of the founding of the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah terror faction.

“I find it hard to believe that a man of religion could speak about murder and violence,” Rabbi Rabinowitz said. “Jerusalem is a city of peace, a holy city to millions of believers who lift their eyes to it for a message of peace.

Hussein, the principal Islamic cleric in the Palestinian Authority, claimed Sunday that “sentences were cut” from his speech, and blatantly denied having called for the genocide of the Jews after having cited a Hadith (Islamic tradition attributed to Muhammad) saying “The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call: ‘O Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ “

The Mufti’s words were translated by the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) media watchdog organization, and widely publicized on Israeli news outlets. In addition to a call by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to open an investigation into the Mufti’s remarks, Istanbul-based Islamic scholar Adnan Oktar stepped forward to condemn the speech, pointing out there is no source in the Koran calilng for murder of the Jews, and no justification for it.

“You can go nowhere by bloodshed,” Oktar responded to Hussein’s remarks in a live discussion about the issue on his A9TV satellite television channel. “Allah will inflict affliction upon you if you shed blood... Pull yourselves together,” he advised. “I address those who advocate murder. Jews are the descendants of prophets -- Allah predestined them as Jews. They live as Jews. The Koran refers to them as the People of the Book... one cannot simply go and kill them.”

“All believers, especially those who consider themselves spiritual leaders, must stress this message of Jerusalem’s peace, which is 3,000 years old,” Rabbi Rabinowitz emphasized Monday. “Those who wish to turn Jerusalem into a city of controversy do not belong here,” Rabbi Rabinowitz added. “We cannot forgive the Mufti. I call on all religious leaders to condemn his comments.”