If the Temple Mount were writ large as the entire State of Israel, there is little doubt that we would be flooded with cries about how we are on the verge of losing our country. There would be the intense condemnation of the lack of Israeli resolve, of vision, of the willingness to stand up and defend what is ours.
Focus back on this small, but existentially crucial piece of real estate, and we need to realize that all of these same accusations are validly aimed at Israel’s handling of the Temple Mount.
The bottom line is that until we stand up, shout, “Enough!” and clearly articulate not only our sovereignty over the Mount, not only our refusal to abide Arab verbal and physical intimidation, not to mention rioting, but also our own demands for shared, respected and unimpeded access by Jews and Christians, as well as Muslims, we are fighting a losing battle.
Every accommodation makes us look weak. We stand mute in the face of the absurd libels of Jewish intimidation, we quiver as the all powerful King of Jordan threatens repercussions if we do not back away.
As we said in my native Bronx, you have got to be kidding me! Who is making this stuff up? We have been humiliated, reduced to the Kafka-
As to the King of Jordan, we should cordially invite him to end our security umbrella for his unrepresentative regime, or to buy his water elsewhere.
esque posture of harassing elderly Jews who might, just might, move their lips in prayer.
All the while, the chorus of shrieking Harpies paid for by Hamas has been harassing non-Arabs until just recently, when they have been replaced by the Police, who have taken up the mantel of intimidation without any hesitation.
Ironically, our trepidations in defending ourselves by creating a modus vivendus similar to that at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hevron, telegraphs to the world that we are not a legitimate presence on the Mount. There we go again, Israel the Occupier.
The world will only respect our rights, when we do ourselves. As to the King of Jordan, we should cordially invite him to end our security umbrella for his unrepresentative regime, or to buy his water elsewhere.
More and more Israelis are asking themselves why we have neutered ourselves on the Temple Mount. Why have we enshrined a recent and dhimmi-like “status quo” which runs completely contrary to the actual language of the Jordanian Peace Treaty, which guarantees free access to all holy places to people of all religions?
The Temple Mount is the great civil rights issue of Israel. It is the tyranny of the majority by a take no prisoners minority, that well understands the critical significance of the true control of the Mount.
This is no longer a religious issue. It is a matter of protecting and projecting our sovereignty before we wake up and realize that is all a bit too late to do so.
“The Temple Mount is in our hands!” has become a painful reminder of how we have squandered a legacy and inheritance. To our enemies the Mount is a critical battleground, because they well understand, that if we cede our holiest site, our giving up the rest of Israel will only be a matter of time.