Most of what I learned in my life, I learned from watching my older sisters and brother. I am the youngest by a lot and it kept me from making some very stupid mistakes. It also has given me a front-row seat on the wisdom of my older siblings once they have learned important lessons.
My oldest sister has a black belt in bureaucracy. She has been involved in state politics for years, working to lobby, fundraise and write educational legislation. She seems to know the best way around, through or over any obstruction in her path. She is the one who told me, "When you listen carefully to what people tell you about others, you will discover they are telling you about themselves." I can't tell you how many times that advice has assisted me in understanding how to deal with difficult people in my life.
Now, the very same piece of advice is sounding warning alarms in my ears.
I have just read an article about how the Sheikh Mohammed Hussein has accused the Israeli government of building a synagogue under the Al-Aksa mosque in order to cause the mosque to collapse. Israel, of course, has categorically denied this preposterous accusation, but that denial doesn't make me feel any better.
My mind works like this: "If they are making such an accusation, what is their purpose? Why now? What is to be gained?"
The answer that comes immediately to mind is grounded in my sister's advice. They are telling us about themselves.
Well, of course! We have known for years that they have been illegally excavating, building, and destroying Jewish religious and archeological areas of the Temple Mount. This destruction is the bitter and painful result of the Israeli government's lack of respect for its own religious heritage and traditions, which gave our enemies a foothold on our most sacred ground. It is not new knowledge that they have been undermining the Temple Mount and now - according to my sister's advice - they are admitting this destruction.
So, if the Israeli government has known about this illegal activity for years and have done nothing to stop it, why am I so worried all of a sudden?
Well, not only have the Arabs just admitted their activities in Hussein's statement, they have gone one step further. They know the Temple Mount and their illegal mosque is dangerously unstable; they have probably already been warned about it by their own archeologists. And with Israel's rainiest season upon them, they are looking for someone to blame when the inevitable collapse occurs. They are positioning themselves.
This is the oldest political trick in the book. If you know something you did is about to blow up in your face, you call a press conference and somehow implicate your rival in the negative news. Their stuttering shocked denial always sounds weak and insincere, especially while your carefully worded sound bites are still ringing in the ears of the press corps.
Of course, we can't confirm that Hussein knows the Al-Aksa mosque is unstable, or even that they have been destroying huge areas of religious and archeological interest, because we are not allowed to inspect it. If we can't inspect it on a regular basis and document the damage done, we cannot protect ourselves from those accusations - or from the eventual blame when, not if, the structure collapses.
The whole thing reads like a parable, anyway. The Temple Mount has always stood as a metaphor for Israel: from a simple altar in the desert, to a grand Temple, through destruction and rebuilding, forced abandonment and loss, it has represented the fortunes of the Jewish people. The Israeli government, in an effort to appease the nations of the world, compromised its greatness and used it as chattel. Now, Israel is seeing a growing metaphor of itself play out as the Temple Mount is declared off limits to Jews, hollowed out from the inside and filled with Arabs - the remnants of our precious heritage dumped in refuse sites.
As the walls begin to buckle, and the Arabs position themselves for the collapse, where will our leaders be? Stand by. I think they are planning a press conference now to implicate the religious Jews of Israel, the settlers and our rabbis.
My oldest sister has a black belt in bureaucracy. She has been involved in state politics for years, working to lobby, fundraise and write educational legislation. She seems to know the best way around, through or over any obstruction in her path. She is the one who told me, "When you listen carefully to what people tell you about others, you will discover they are telling you about themselves." I can't tell you how many times that advice has assisted me in understanding how to deal with difficult people in my life.
Now, the very same piece of advice is sounding warning alarms in my ears.
I have just read an article about how the Sheikh Mohammed Hussein has accused the Israeli government of building a synagogue under the Al-Aksa mosque in order to cause the mosque to collapse. Israel, of course, has categorically denied this preposterous accusation, but that denial doesn't make me feel any better.
My mind works like this: "If they are making such an accusation, what is their purpose? Why now? What is to be gained?"
The answer that comes immediately to mind is grounded in my sister's advice. They are telling us about themselves.
Well, of course! We have known for years that they have been illegally excavating, building, and destroying Jewish religious and archeological areas of the Temple Mount. This destruction is the bitter and painful result of the Israeli government's lack of respect for its own religious heritage and traditions, which gave our enemies a foothold on our most sacred ground. It is not new knowledge that they have been undermining the Temple Mount and now - according to my sister's advice - they are admitting this destruction.
So, if the Israeli government has known about this illegal activity for years and have done nothing to stop it, why am I so worried all of a sudden?
Well, not only have the Arabs just admitted their activities in Hussein's statement, they have gone one step further. They know the Temple Mount and their illegal mosque is dangerously unstable; they have probably already been warned about it by their own archeologists. And with Israel's rainiest season upon them, they are looking for someone to blame when the inevitable collapse occurs. They are positioning themselves.
This is the oldest political trick in the book. If you know something you did is about to blow up in your face, you call a press conference and somehow implicate your rival in the negative news. Their stuttering shocked denial always sounds weak and insincere, especially while your carefully worded sound bites are still ringing in the ears of the press corps.
Of course, we can't confirm that Hussein knows the Al-Aksa mosque is unstable, or even that they have been destroying huge areas of religious and archeological interest, because we are not allowed to inspect it. If we can't inspect it on a regular basis and document the damage done, we cannot protect ourselves from those accusations - or from the eventual blame when, not if, the structure collapses.
The whole thing reads like a parable, anyway. The Temple Mount has always stood as a metaphor for Israel: from a simple altar in the desert, to a grand Temple, through destruction and rebuilding, forced abandonment and loss, it has represented the fortunes of the Jewish people. The Israeli government, in an effort to appease the nations of the world, compromised its greatness and used it as chattel. Now, Israel is seeing a growing metaphor of itself play out as the Temple Mount is declared off limits to Jews, hollowed out from the inside and filled with Arabs - the remnants of our precious heritage dumped in refuse sites.
As the walls begin to buckle, and the Arabs position themselves for the collapse, where will our leaders be? Stand by. I think they are planning a press conference now to implicate the religious Jews of Israel, the settlers and our rabbis.