A video produced by the Temple Institute in Jerusalem, has apparently turned the Arab world upside down, sparking claims of "insults" to Egypt's new president and prompting the Temple Institute to clarify its motivations for creating the 90-second film.
The Temple Institute is an educational, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the Biblical commandment to build a Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The video, featured by Arutz Sheva, is about the ninth day in the Hebrew month of Av, when both the First and Second Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed.
"The video, which has gone viral, is designed as an educational tool for the Jewish community, to give a fresh and positive perspective on the Holy Temple whose message of peace and prayer is of central importance to millions around the world," said Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of Temple Institute.
Arab media said the video,which was prepared to mark the holy Jewish fast day of Tisha B'Av, was actually secretly intended as an insult to newly-elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"Although aimed at the Jewish community primarily, we have received well wishes from across the globe from people of all races, religions and creeds and we have achieved our goals in highlighting the universal significance of the Holy Temple as a house of peace and prayer for all mankind," Richman clarified in a statement released Thursday to media.
"The issues that have been raised concerning the image on the newspaper in the movie are baseless. This is totally irrelevant to the message of the movie and the image is purely coincidental. The entire concept of the Holy Temple is one of peace, prayer and unity, something that Jews worldwide pray for three times daily. The Children Are Ready has proven that, after two thousand years since its destruction, the Holy Temple is still of central importance to millions of people worldwide. In this light, we hope that people will continue to watch and share the clip until it becomes the most popular Jewish video of all time.”
Although Tisha B'Av this year falls on Saturday, because it is the Sabbath, the fast is delayed and does not begin until sundown. It continues through the next day, Sunday.