A NYT/Jodi Ruderon Equivalency

Another NYTimes (im)moral equivalency:

"More than 100 people on each side died in a week of rioting in 1929 over access to the Western Wall below."

"On each side died"?

In 1929, after an incident at the Western Wall during Yom Kippur of 1928, following almost a year of vicious Islamic propaganda, intentional violent attacks of Jewish worshippers, passing donkeys through the small courtyard after opening a doorway in an Arab house, playing clanging Dervish music and more, the Mufti Amin El-Husseini organized murderous riots throughout the country in mid-August 1929.

The number of Jews murdered were 135, some of the victims raped, dissected and otherwise put to a horrible death.  The riots lasted almost three weeks.  A few Arabs were killed, seemingly, in revenge attacks, but the vast majority of the 116 Arabs who "died" were killed in self-defense by Jews but actually mainly by British police and troops while trying to restore order and protect the Jews.

The blood dripping down the stairs

The Jews did not die.

They were murdered.

Slaughtered.

Hacked to death.(*)

Zvi Yosef Kizelstein, his daughter Chaya (18) and son Yeshayhu

Raped.

Babies crushed against doors, being swung by Arabs.

Limbs chopped off.

There is - and can not be - any moral equivalency in this matter.

(*)

In Jerusalem the Government published a refutation of the rumors that the dead Jews of Hebron had been tortured before they had their throats slit. This made me rush back to that city accompanied by two medical men, Dr. Dantziger and Dr. Ticho. I intended to gather up the severed sexual organs and the cut-off women's breasts we had seen lying scattered over the floor and in the beds. But when we came to Hebron a telephone call from Jerusalem had ordered our access barred to the Slonim house. A heavy guard had been placed before the door. Only then did I recall that I had inadvertently told a fellow newspaperman in Jerusalem about our gruesome discoveries.

________________-

from EOZ

^

Oxford Has Nothing on Jerusalem

Bill Bryson, in his Notes from a Small Island, wrote.

I am constantly filled with admiration at this – at the way you can wander through a town like Oxford and in the space of a few hundred yards pass the home of Christopher Wren, the buildings where Halley found his comet and Boyle his first law, the track where Roger Banister ran the first sub-four minute mile, the meadow where Lewis Carroll strolled; or how you can stand on Snow's Hill at Windsor and see, in a single sweep, Windsor Castle, the playing fields of Eton, the churchyard where Gray wrote his 'Elegy,' the site The Merry Wives of Windsor was first performed. Can there anywhere on earth be, in such a modest span, a landscape more packed with centuries of busy, productive attainment?

My response - Jerusalem.

God.
Patriarchs and Matriarchs.
Kings. Queens. Princes.
Prophets.  Isaiah. Jeremiah.
Priests.
Freedom fighters and liberators.
Two temples.
The Western Wall.
Torah. Talmud.
Churches.
Mosques.
The Knesset.
Shmuel Yosef Agnon.
Uri Tzvi Greenberg.
Hebrew University.
Mir Yeshiva.  Porat Yosef Yeshiva.
Israel Museum.
Meah Shearim.  Rechavia.

And on, and on, and on.

^

Working at Jam'a A-Sattin

Jam'a A-Sattin (the 'Friday Hangout' Mosque) is just outside and south of the main Tel Shiloh area.  It was a Roman period building that was converted to a mosque when the Arabs invaded, conquered and then occupied the Land of Israel.

I've blogged about it before.

Recently, it has been undergoing a cleaning out and the walls are being strengthened and the site is being extended to the fullest of its boundaries.

I visited this past week and here are some photographic evidence:

More here.

Here is what piqued my interest as an amateur archaeologist.  What was the purpose for what seems to be a large outside courtyard?  We can observe that the soil was raised by having the west side (to the right in the picture below) level to the eastern side of the structure:

The work being done to strengthen the walls:

The inside of the main room:

You can discern the added exterior support wall:

An additional room added on:

^

How Safe Are Police Helicopters?

I was walking along a thoroughfare yesterday and passed an Arab house and its backyard vineyard

and then I looked ahead and saw an artificial mound

and when I moved passed it, I realized it was a landing pad for police helicopters

and how close is that Arab house?

Can you see the roof there?

So, how really safe are those helicopters?

^

Jabotinsky Won But Lost His Place on the Wall

I was at the Hebrew University yesterday for a conclave on Hillel Cohen's book on 1929 but that will be dealt with in another post.

On the way in, I walked over to observe this new wall

It commemorates the founding fathers of the university:

The simple fact is that in the period prior to World War I, someone else prominent not included was involved, Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky:-

The horrors of the1903 pogrom against the Jews of Kishinev had the profound effect of spurring Jabotinsky's Zionist pursuits. He became a pivotal force in organizing self-defense units and fighting for Jewish minority rights in Russia. Jabotinsky was elected as a delegate to the 6th Zionist Congress, the last in which Theodor Herzl participated. During this period, Jabotinsky championed the spread of Hebrew language and culture throughout Russia, as well as the establishment of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

To be specific, Jabotinsky was a member of the 'working committee' appointed following the 12th Zionist Congress of 1913 (it was actually the 11th Zionist Congress that adopted the first operative decision to proceed with the establishment of a university in Jerusalem).  That committee of five was supplemented by Jabotinsky along with Weizmann, Ussishkin and Wolffsohn. Jabotinsky was right up there with the rest (see Shmuel Katz's "Lone Wolf").

However, in the spring of 1914 he had a falling out with Weizmann who had had a change of mind (he groveled for Rothschild money) and preferred a research institute model rather than a university with a medical school, science and, as Jabotinsky urged, a school of commerce.  His letter of April 20th caused Weizmann to distant Jabotinsky from the project.  On June 7, the Working Committee met and Jabotinsky, who summed up the argument as between "a decisive revolutionary act and a plaything" lost the vote.

However, in early 1928, the university's own board of governors as well as its Academic Council admitted that due to "Revisionist agitation', they were opening the school year.  He had written in 1925 after the groundbreaking ceremony that the university was in danger of becoming a bluff if it did not seek to aid the Jewish students of Europe rather than becoming a show-case ivory tower.  In fact, during 1927-28, he had organized a campaign among those students to write to the university officials and Zionist leaders urging the idea that Jabotinsky had been promoting a decade earlier.

In the vote, Weizmann opposed the Jabotinsky idea but it won they day.

Nevertheless, as it appears, he lost his place on the wall:

^

Forked? It's a Perforated Tongue

One version of the Abbas "condemnation":-

...the presidency denounces the killing of worshipers at a place of worship in West Jerusalem," the statement said, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.

"The presidency also denounces all violent acts no matter who their source is, and demands an end to the ongoing incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the provocative acts by Israeli settlers as well as incitement by some Israeli ministers," it added.

So, a non-event of supposed "violent acts" of "incursions" and "provocations" by Jews, all a fabrication and in any case in the spirit of freedom, is aligned up in an expression of moral equivalency by the Palestinian Authority President (last elected almost a decade ago).

And just last week

The Palestinian president on Tuesday accused Israel of provoking a “religious war” as new violence between the sides broke out in the West Bank, leaving a Palestinian man dead, amid mounting concerns that the long-running conflict is entering a new and dangerous phase.  Mahmoud Abbas blamed the latest tensions on a series of visits by Jewish worshippers to Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site. 

P.S.  His incitement.  More.

And now his bodyguard explains.

_______________

Pal. factions praise.


^

Temple Mount 1862

.

Snapped during visit of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom, to the Middle East.

^

Graphic Zionism

.

^

Matt Lee vs. Jen Psaki

Here, relating to the situation on the Temple Mount:

QUESTION: Jen, you mentioned that the proof is in the actions, clearly, but you’ve only cited one action and that was on the part of the Israelis to open up – to drop the age restriction. Have you seen any affirmative action from the Palestinians to do what President Abbas said that he was going to be doing?

MS. PSAKI: Well, Matt, obviously, these discussions happened last night, and we certainly anticipate that there will be in the coming days.

QUESTION: Right. But there was – I mean, there was pretty quick and demonstrable action taken by the Israelis. I’m just wondering if you saw any quick and demonstrable action taken --

MS. PSAKI: There’s public and private actions, but I don’t have anything more specific.

QUESTION: All right.

MS. PSAKI: We’ll see what happens in the next couple of days.

QUESTION: Is it – I’m not sure I understand why you think that it is wise to announce that the two sides have – or that three sides have agreed to steps to calm things down and then to keep them secret. It seems to me that this is exactly the way the peace talks collapsed by you and them trying to keep everything secret, which only leads to all sorts of speculation and tempers flaring based on inaccurate speculation and information and flat-out erroneous reports that are driven by people with agendas that you – with the – I don’t want to use the word “extremist,” but people with agendas to try and disrupt or continue the – continue the conflict.

MS. PSAKI: Well, Matt --

QUESTION: I just – it doesn’t make any sense to me that you wouldn’t want them – that you would want these alleged steps that were agreed to to become public. That way, people know what to expect.

MS. PSAKI: Well, we sent a strong message that there were – there was an agreement to take affirmative steps in order to hopefully generate some calm in the region. There was an evaluation and discussion made by all the parties involved that this was the best way to proceed.

QUESTION: Right. But there was an evaluation and discussion made by all parties involved when they agreed over a year ago that they would get a deal by – within a year’s time or within nine months’ time. And look where that is – nowhere.

MS. PSAKI: Well, we still have no regrets about how we handled or how we managed the process last year either.

^

 

If Only: State's Psaki on the New Two-State Solution

.

^

They Are All Status-Quoing

Jordan's FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH spoke yesterday with secretary of State John Kerry and said:

...this evening, His Majesty the King, there was a bilateral – trilateral meeting where His Majesty met President Netanyahu – Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as Secretary of State. And they discussed coaxial issues, including Jerusalem and the Holy Shrines, and they took a lot of time...

...His Majesty, during his meeting with Mr. Kerry this afternoon, explained Jordan’s position and the stance regarding the necessity of maintaining the status quo of the Holy Shrines, and they should not be touched or affected by any means. And this is part of the Hashemite custody of these Christian and Muslim sanctities in Jerusalem. And you are well aware also that when Jordan took some measures, there was confirmation on the part of the Israeli nation, Israeli state, and they showed commitment that they will maintain the status quo and respect the Jordanian role,..There are mechanisms and communications underway, including practical measures to de-escalate the tension and that maintain the status quo without getting it affected by such tensions... 

and here is SECRETARY KERRY: 

...We particularly talked about the urgent need to address the greatest tension between Israelis and Palestinians beginning with the imperative, the absolute need to uphold the status quo regarding the administration of the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount and to take affirmative steps to prevent provocations and incitement. In the trilateral meeting this evening, we discussed, as Nasser has explained to you, specific and practical actions that both sides can take to restore calm. The Jordanians and the Israelis have agreed – the Jordanians, obviously, in their historic role as the custodians of the Haram al-Sharif – and the Israelis joined together as they have worked since 1967 to administer the Haram al-Sharif, to make sure that they de-escalate the situation, and that the steps they take will instill confidence that the status quo will be upheld.

...There are firm commitments, particularly from the custodian of the holy mosque, as well as Israel, to guarantee that they will take these steps. Now, I know that the first question will be: “So exactly what are those steps?” And the answer is we’re not going to lay out each practical step. It is more important that they be done in a quiet and effective way...makes it clear to me that they are serious about working in the effort to create this de-escalation, to take steps that will instill confidence that the status quo will be upheld.

Prime Minister Netanyahu strongly reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to uphold the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount and to implement these steps. And King Abdullah also agreed to continue to take affirmative steps to restore calm and implement practical measures to prevent further escalation of tensions. 

and again FOREIGN MINISTER JUDEH: 

...we’ve always warned that Jerusalem is a redline. His Majesty is the Custodian. Jordan has a historic road. The peace treaty between Israel and Jordan points to that very, very clearly. There was an agreement signed between His Majesty and President Abbas in 2013 reaffirming the Hashemite Custodianship of the Holy Site...

...We’ve had a phone call between His Majesty and Prime Minister Netanyahu a week ago or more when the prime minister reiterated that Israel is committed to the preservation of the status quo and respects the Jordanian role...today, the prime minister was very clear in yet again reaffirming that the status quo in Jerusalem will not be touched, and that Israel is committed to this and Israel is committed to respecting the role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Custodianship of His Majesty...

and  again SECRETARY KERRY:

...With respect to the Haram al-Sharif, if you read the basics of the agreement that exists on – in defining the status quo, you will see precisely what is expected of the WAC, the Jordanian force that is responsible, as well as the Israelis. And if the status quo is being maintained, you’ll be able to see exactly what is expected. And I don’t think it’s appropriate to go into all of the ways in which that is going to be implemented. It’s up to the folks there to show it in the way that they’re implementing it. But I think people will notice in the next days, and that’ll be the measure.

So again, we’ve agreed not to go into the specifics because one person or another can misinterpret or not quite understand one choice or another. I think the status quo is clear and the status quo is going to be maintained, and that is what is absolutely vital to the Hashemite Kingdom’s responsibility as Custodian. And the prime minister has made it clear that he will uphold that.

Judeh finishes that press conference:

 ...we have seen a commitment on the part of Israel to respect and maintain the status quo and respect the special role of Jordan and to ease the tension and remove all the elements of instability that we are seeing. We have to wait and see if this is done. Like I said, there are concrete steps out there to be done. There is an agreement that we need to de-escalate. There is a commitment on the part of Israel that the status quo has to be maintained and to respect the Jordanian. Let’s see what happens and then we’ll review our decision, but we have to see what happens on the ground first.

As for the trilateral meeting, with Egypt's Sisi on the phone, we learn

According to a Royal Court statement, the three sides also discussed ways to create a climate encouraging the revival of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Netanyahu, the statement said, “reasserted Israel’s commitment to keep the status quo in Jerusalem’s holy sites without change… and respect Jordan’s Hashemite leaders’ historical role as custodians of holy sites in Jerusalem”.
During the meeting, His Majesty emphasised Jordan’s stand on the situation in Jerusalem, reiterating a call on Tel Aviv to take practical steps to keep the situation there intact, especially at Al Aqsa Mosque and its vicinity

The Jordanian view seems to be that

Much of the unrest in Jerusalem has been fuelled by Israeli moves to step up settlement activity in the city’s eastern sector and by allowing extremists to storm Al Aqsa compound, the third holiest site for 1.5 billion Muslims.

The Palestinians have also been infuriated by a far-right Jewish campaign for prayer rights at Al Aqsa.

Although Israel insists it has no plans to change the decades-old status quo, Jordan believes, as Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour put it, there is a plan in that direction by the Israeli government. 

And back in Washington,

QUESTION: Can I just go back and finish what I was going to ask? I wanted to ask, more broadly – I don’t know if you’d seen today that there was some suggestion that the Israeli side might be thinking of reinstalling metal detectors at al-Aqsa, outside the entrances of al-Aqsa Mosque. Have you seen that? What’s --

MS. PSAKI: I had not actually seen that report. I mean, our view is – continues to be that we believe it should go back to the status quo of the – of what had been observed from both sides.

...QUESTION: The status quo ante.

MS. PSAKI: Fair enough. Okay. (Laughter.)

---------------------

P.S.

There was this earlier:

[minister of Internal Security Yitzhak] Aharonovitch said late that he would reinstall metal detectors at the entrances along with new facial-recognition technology.  "We'll increase the supervision of people entering the compound, both Jews and Muslims," he said.

But Sheikh Azzam al-Khatib, head of the Islamic Waqf which runs the compound, rejected the idea.  "This is unacceptable to all Muslims. It cannot be installed," he told AFP.

And already today:

Israel lifts age bar on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Men of all ages will be allowed to attend the main weekly Muslim prayers Friday at East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound for the first time in "months", a police spokesman said.  "No age limit on the Temple Mount, we're hoping things will be calm and quiet today," spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told AFP.

_______________________________-


Thanks to IMRA, I found this


King holds talks with Palestinian President

Amman, Nov 12 (Petra) -- His Majesty King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on Wednesday, held talks...The King reiterated that Israel's repeated aggressions, provocative actions in Jerusalem, and targeting of the holy sites, especially the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Al Haram Sharif, were utterly condemnable...

...Abbas expressed his appreciation of the Palestinian people and the great efforts exerted by His Majesty King Abdullah II, to preserve the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and to protect it from Israeli attacks and practices...After the meeting, the Palestinian president told JTV and Petra that Jordan is a key stakeholder in the Jerusalem issue because it has the custodianship, which was agreed upon, and as per which Jordan has the first and foremost great responsibility, fulfilled by His Majesty King Abdullah II to protect Jerusalem and the holy sites. "This was one issue that was not up for a debate," he said.

He added, "His Majesty the King, since the Jerusalem events erupted and prior to that, and to this day, is busy contacting all parties, including the Israeli side, to stop the Israeli attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites, in addition to contacting all concerned regional and international parties."

___________________________

And this from Friday:

QUESTION: Can we go to Israel?MS. PSAKI: Israel, sure.QUESTION: I wanted to ask about the meetings that the Secretary held yesterday. There was a press conference afterwards at which he said that there have been – they had agreed to some steps to de-escalate the tensions in the region. Today out of the region, they’re saying that the Palestinians have – all restrictions have been lifted on men wanting to go and pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque.MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.QUESTION: I just wondered what it was – first off, if the – your reaction to the news that today seems to be free movement into the mosque for Palestinian worshippers – or Arab worshippers, I guess; and then secondly, what it is that you’re asking the Palestinians to do to de-escalate tensions.MS. PSAKI: Well, let me talk about this a little bit, and as you mentioned, the Secretary spoke about it. I will mention one thing at the top just to manage expectations. One of the discussions they had was the fact that we were not going to announce on their behalf any steps, specific steps, they were going to take. And we feel it’s much more important that they take steps than it is that it’s publicly announced. But I can talk a little bit more about the meetings.As you mentioned, last night the Secretary had the opportunity to sit down with leaders, have these discussions in person. The parties – as he mentioned, the parties agreed to take affirmative steps to restore calm and implement practical measures to prevent further escalation of tensions.Obviously, you saw the lift on age limit restrictions for Muslim men entering the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. This is an important development, one we certainly welcome, and a positive step toward maintaining the status quo of the site. Forty thousand Muslims were able to visit the site today, and although tensions remain high, this is a positive step.They also – during these meetings, President – Prime Minister Netanyahu strongly reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to uphold the status quo, and you’ve seen some of those actions. And President Abbas restated his firm commitment on – to nonviolence and made it clear that he will do everything possible to restore calm.

^

Evidence of Jewish Presence

In this book, Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae. Volume III: South Coast: 2161-2648. Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaeae/Palaestinae: a multi-lingual corpus of the inscriptions from Alexander to Muhammad edited by Walter Ameling, Hannah M. Cotton, Werner Eck, Benjamin Isaac, Alla Kushnir-Stein, Haggai Misgav, Jonathan Price, Ada Yardeni, you can read of a find, among others:- 

Four Greek inscriptions of the 5th and early 7th century CE 

from the synagogues of Ascalon (nos. 2321-24)

Synagogues?

In the area also referred to as Eretz-Yisrael?  The Land of Israel.  The territory of the Jewish national home?

Hundreds of years after the failed revolt against Rome and after centuries of Byzantine rule?

And there is this, a 

bronze inscription...proclaiming privileges for the local Jews that Julius Caesar decreed in 44 BCE 

This then must really be the land of the Jews with a continuous presence even after loss of political power and sovereginty.

And that the Arab denial of our presence, our religious and cultural attachment must be false.

^

How Dare the Majority

Seems Jon Stewart was interviewed.

In part of it, I found this:-

Interviewer Jon Dekel: "You can’t criticize Israel, right?

Stewart: "No. And you can’t observe (Judaism) in the way you want to observe. And I never thought that that would be coming from brethren. I find it really sad, to be honest.

Interviewer: "I know the feeling."

Stewart: "Yeah, and you see it and it is pretty vicious. And how are you lesser? How are you lesser? It’s fascistic. And the idea that they can tell you what a Jew is. How dare they? That they only know the word of God and are the ones who are able to disseminate it. It’s not right. And it’s something that they’re going to have to reckon with.

I left this comment there:

I am just wondering what adjective Stewart would use to describe people who dare to tell the majority of Jews that their Judaism, practiced for 2000+ years, and which was so practiced by Jews in 70 different countries over 6 continents by Ashkenazim and Sfaradim is so wrong that the minority can tell them they are fascistic and wrong.

I can ignore his Israel angle (“A thousand more acres in the West Bank? Why?” ) but his hubris in demanding the right to tell everyone else why he can be a different Jew is bothersome.

^

The Solution Was Once Defined as but 'Fair'

From Vice-President Mondale's speech on June 17, 1977

Here, p. 187.

^

Polling the Public vis-a-vis Temple Mount Prayer

From 

The Peace Index: October  2014
Date Published: 11/11/2014

Attitudes toward Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount:
In recent years the issue of the Temple Mount and Jewish prayer on it has become central to the thoughts and activities of growing circles of the Israeli Jewish public...

The findings of the survey show that, indeed, a certain majority of the Jewish public (56%) currently favors continuing the policy of prohibiting Jews from praying on the mount, but over one-third (38.5%) think the prohibition should be canceled even if this change leads to bloodshed. Similarly, while almost half (47%) support the ruling of most of the haredi and national-religious rabbis that Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount is forbidden until the coming of the Messiah and the rebuilding of the Temple, about one-fourth (26%) back the ruling of those rabbis who permit Jews to pray on the mount even now...

In this context we also asked about the rabbinical ruling that forbids Jewish prayer on the mount. A huge majority of the haredim (96%) oppose changing this ruling, compared to 60% of the religious. It should be noted that among the secular a very high rate (more than one-third) did not answer this question.

Assessing the chances for a Jewish-Muslim agreement on prayer on the Temple Mount:
Less than one-third of Jewish Israelis (31%) believe there is currently a chance of reaching an agreement that would enable the members of both religions to pray at the site, while the majority thinks there is no chance of this whether because of the Muslim side (30%), the Jewish side (4%), or because of both sides together (29%). The assessment of the chances of reaching such an agreement is more optimistic when the matter is put in the framework of a comprehensive peace agreement. In such a situation, the rate of those who believe it would be possible to reach an agreement (45%) is only slightly lower than the rate who do not believe in such a possibility (49%), whether because of the Muslim side (26%), the Jewish side (2%), or because of both sides (21%)...

Among the Arab respondents there is also a majority (64%) that thinks there is currently no chance of reaching an agreement on prayer for the two sides on the mount. In the situation of a comprehensive peace agreement, a smaller majority (53%) thinks there is currently no chance of reaching an agreement..

^

Psaki Again Pffts While Matt Lee Leads

Observe a biased media twisting the truth and then the State Dept.'s spox missing it:

QUESTION: Let me ask you, though – this area, like, in Hebron is not under the authority of the Palestinian Authority. So basically, it’s – it is the Israeli occupation forces that are responsible for that area. Would you call for the Palestinians perhaps to exercise more authority and perhaps they can stop these incidents from happening, to make sure they look after the bus stops and other places where Israeli settlers may be exposed to danger or to attacks?

MS. PSAKI: Well --

QUESTION: Would you call for a more --

MS. PSAKI: Said, I think we don’t have a lot of details at this point in terms of why these events happened, who’s responsible. So it’s hard to assess what the solution should be without having more details.

In case you missed it, (a) most of Hebron is actually under PA rule and (b) it is the incitement emanating from the very top of the Pal. Authority that is encouraging Arab terrorists to exit their areas, A, B or C, as there is free movement to a great extent within Judea and Samaria, and kill Jews.

Any more authority the Authroity exercises would only cause more death.

But Psaki lets it pass.

Just previous to that we had this exchange with Matthew Lee:

MS. PSAKI: So let me just speak to all of them. We strongly condemn the stabbings – the stabbing today in the West Bank and we deeply regret the loss of life. Our condolences go out to the victim’s family. It is absolutely critical that parties take every possible measure to protect civilians and de-escalate tensions.

We are also seeking additional information surrounding the incident of the Israeli Arab who was shot with – who was shot as well with a live bullet. We’re looking for information surrounding this incident. We’re in touch – close touch with the ministry of justice. And of course, we urge all parties to exercise restraint. Obviously, these events happened over the course of the last 12 to 24 hours, so I don’t have more details than what’s been out there at this point.

QUESTION: All right. I’m just going to assume – but correct me if I’m wrong – that when you say all parties’ restraint, you’re talking about the – who are you talking about?

MS. PSAKI: Well, we’re talking about the Israelis, the Palestinians – any who are involved in these tension-raising, rhetoric-raising incidents.

QUESTION: Okay. But, I mean, if you’re standing at a bus stop or something and someone runs a car into you or comes up and stabs you, I don't know how – I mean, those people aren’t – don’t need to exercise restraint, do they?

MS. PSAKI: Well, Matt, I think I’m referring to the fact that we know that there have been – there’s been rising tensions in the region --

That is journalism.

^ 

Jerusalem, the Temple Mount and Menachem Begin, 1949-1950

Menachem Begin and Jerusalem and the Temple Mount:

December 5, 1949.

Source, p. 551

And on December 13,

and on May 3, 1950

^

Betar's History and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

From an interview with Professor Anthony Polonsky, the vice-president of the Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies in Oxford and of the American Association for Polish-Jewish Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts:

During the Second World War, the Polish Home Army was suspicious of the Jewish Fighting Organization for its leftist tendencies, yet was friendlier towards the pro-Polish, conservative Jewish Military Union. Poland’s communist elites suppressed memory of the latter and celebrated the former. A quarter century after communism, has much previously obscured material become available to scholars of Polish Jewish history?

This a complex question and is the subject of an important monograph in Polish by Dariusz Libionka and Laurence Weinbaum, Bohaterowie, hochsztaplerzy, opisywacze. Wokół Zydowskiego Związku Wojskowego (Warsaw: Stowarzyszenia Centrum Badań nad Zagładą Żydów, 2011). They show that, almost from the moment the fighting stopped, the history of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in April and May of 1943 has been politicized and instrumentalized. They show the role of the Jewish National Committee (Żydowski Komitet Narodowy – ŻKN), an umbrella organization which included most of the Jewish political groupings in Warsaw, with the exception of the Revisionists. The ŻKN was stressed at the expense of the somewhat smaller but equally militant Jewish Military Union (Żydowski Związek Wojskowy – ŻZW) and the youth movement Betar, which had their ideological roots in the Revisionist movement led by the Russian-born Zeev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky, a strong advocate of Jewish self-defense, until his death in 1940.

At times, too, among the revisionists in Israel and some in Poland who attempted to exaggerate their role in providing assistance to the ŻZW, history has also been falsified. The fascinating and path-breaking monograph by Libionka and Weinbaum is, in fact, two books. The first is a detailed examination of the sources to show how this process of falsification and distortion has continued in the seventy years since the uprising, while the second is an attempt to reconstruct the largely neglected history of the Jewish Military Union. I very much hope it will soon be translated into English.

^

Psaki Beaten Back, Collapses From 'Attack" to "Incident"

Read carefully how the questioner beats the spoksperson for the State Department

QUESTION: Jen, first of all on what you said, you condemned the attack yesterday and you said an investigation was still – the Israelis were still investigating the second attack.
MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: Does that mean that you still regard that as an attack and that there’s been some reports that it was actually a traffic accident, but I wanted --

MS. PSAKI: There have been – yes, there have been some reports to that.

QUESTION: But – so did you mean to say attack or perhaps – are you convinced it was an actual attack – the second – or is it, as far as you know, an incident that may be an attack but it’s – you do not know?

MS. PSAKI: Well, fair enough. It may be more accurate to call it an incident --... -- since it’s still being looked into.

^

The New Language War

Language is a war zone.

And it could be fatal.

We read:

PLO Urges International Media to Refrain from Using 

Term ‘Temple Mount’ to Refer to Al-Aqsa Mosque

Palestinian Liberation organization PLO expressed concern over the use of the inaccurate term “Temple Mount” to refer to Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound in Jerusalem, urging all international media representatives to adhere to international law and correct any other existing terminology used.


“The Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is not a disputed territory and all other terms, therefore, are null and void,” stated the statement...This entire area enclosed by the walls which spans 144 dunums (almost 36 acres), forms the Mosque.

...the Mosque has been under exclusive Muslim sovereignty and control since the construction of the Dome of the Rock in 692 CE. As such, any entrance to the Al Aqsa Mosque must be agreed and coordinated by the Muslim Waqf.  Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound is located in East-Jerusalem, an internationally recognized part of the Occupied State of Palestine, stressed the statement.

Consider this

Moreover, the Qur'an expressly recognizes that Jerusalem plays the same role for Jews that Mecca has for Muslims. We read: "They would not follow thy direction of prayer (qibla), nor art thou to follow their direction of prayer; nor indeed will they follow each other's direction of prayer...." (Qur'an, Sura 2:145, "The Cow") All Qur'anic commentators explain that "thy qibla" is obviously the Kaba of Mecca, while "their qibla" refers to the Temple Mount Area in Jerusalem. Some Muslim exegetes also quote the Book of Daniel as proof of this (Daniel 6:10).

Well, we learn that in Malaysia, someone thinks that

Jerusalem is the key to understanding the historical process of the Middle East and the world at large...we will indeed see...[the] imminent happy ending that was prophesized to us in the Qur’an and the Sayings of our Prophet. The Muslims will wake up from their slumber and the Jews will receive their promised Divine punishment. The Zionist State will be destroyed and whatever they have built will be raised to the ground.

Anyway, the PLO pressure is partially effective on CNN.  A bit of reserach should have informed all that 

The Muslims’ name for Jerusalem was Bayt al-Maqdis.

and

The Umayyads cast aside the non-religious Roman name for the city, Aelia Capitolina (in Arabic, Iliya) and replaced it with Jewish-style names, either Al-Quds (The Holy) or Bayt al-Maqdis (The Temple).

So who, exactly, is distorting history, not to mention the fact that Al-Aqsa Mosque was built after Muslims conquered the city in 636/8 CE ("the Mosque has been under exclusive Muslim sovereignty and control since the construction of the Dome of the Rock in 692 CE") and the Crusaders ruled the city for just over 200 years ("The Crusaders conquered the city in 1099 and held it until its conquest by the army of Saladin in 1187... The Sixth Crusade put Jerusalem back under Crusader rule (1229–44)") and the British ruled in for 31 years and Israel for 47 years.  And is there such a thing as "Muslim soverignty"?

Moreover

as late as 692 the idea of Jerusalem as the lift-off for the Night Journey had not yet been established. (Indeed, the first extant inscriptions of Qur'an 17:1 referring to Jerusalem date from the eleventh century.)

Is the 'recommendation' working?

Here's the Independent

...right-wing Israeli politicians became increasingly vocal about asserting Jewish prayer rights in the al-Aqsa mosque compound, which Jews revere as their most sacred spot –the site of their two ancient temples. It has been an exclusively Muslim prayer area since the seventh century and Moshe Dayan, Israel’s Defence Minister during the 1967 Six Day War, decided to keep it that way after Israel occupied Arab East Jerusalem.

Temple Mount not mentioned.

Sydney Morning Herald

Jordan-Israel relations plummet over al-Aqsa mosque strife in Jerusalem

Temple Mount is mentioned. 

And now I have seen the report of Ohad Hammo on Channel Two TV with the final scene with its "Temple Denial" theme:

"they [the Jews] have no Temple according to us"

^

What About the Other 'Status Quo'?

...we've watched with growing concern the fact that Islamist parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, including Hamas, including Abu Mazen, the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, have joined in a campaign of inflammation, calling for any action, including violent action, to stop Jews from exercising their right to merely enter the Mount. This is an arrangement that has been there for many decades, since the Six Day War. We stand by the rights of Jews to go to the Mount. They pray in the Western Wall, but they do have a right to go there. We stand by the right of Muslims to go to the Mount and pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque. They've been doing that for many, many decades and will continue to do that. But we reject all this incitement to violence and we will do everything we can to restore calm and order.

Statement by PM Binyamin Netanyahu at a meeting with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Mogherini, November 7, 2014.

If he had actually used the term 'status quo', that would have been excellent public diplomacy.

And in the phone call to the King he flubbed it (Update).

^