Blood libel

The wheels of justice grind slowly, at times too slowly.

“The most beautiful moments in our lifetimes will come when we will meet Allah once the martyrs are on his ground, that of the Al-Aqsa mosque,” once exclaimed Sheikh Raed Salah, the “sheikh of Al-Aqsa.”

Salah, the head of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, added a few more sentences to that statement, including charges and accusations that could be construed as blood libels against the Jews. Salah took these canards, which date back to the Middle Ages, and tried applying them to contemporary times.

This week, seven years after he made those statements, the Jerusalem District Court convicted Salah, after state prosecutors appealed his original acquittal. The court concluded that Salah incited the masses not only to commit violence but also as a means of whipping up racist sentiment.

Seven years is a near eternity in the life of a city like Jerusalem. When it comes to a sensitive, volatile topic like the Temple Mount, that eternity stretches tenfold. The genie has long come out of Raed Salah’s lamp.

It is Salah who can claim the mantle of the father of the modern blood libel, for it is he who has repeated the lie of “Al-Aqsa is in danger,” a lie targeted at the State of Israel. This libelous charge is now buttressed by another lie that is somewhat less dated — the accusation that the Israeli government plans to permit Jewish worship on Temple Mount.

The results of this rhetoric are now plain to see across Israel. Salah’s genie has unleashed demons who are now throwing rocks, hurling Molotov cocktails, shooting fireworks and firearms, stabbing with knives, and, now, using cars to ram into commuters. All of this activity derives its inspiration from the fountain sprung by this lie, the lie of “Al-Aqsa is in danger.”

They are all his proteges. Raed Salah was one of the first to spell out the vision of a global Islamic caliphate (which, according to him, would have its capital in Jerusalem). His adherents are now scattered throughout his movement, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizb a-Tahrir, and even in Fatah and the Palestinian Authority.

The Islamic State group also has its own vision of what a theocratic Muslim country should look like. It is a vision that differs from the one propagated by Salah. Fatah, at least for the time being, does not share this view. The Fatah position is as close to it as Iraq is to Jerusalem. Yet even Fatah, like many in the Islamic world, has happily adopted the “Al-Aqsa is in danger” canard.

This week, Fatah, which is headed by the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, simply was unable to contain itself. On its official Facebook page was a caricature showing a road with a caution sign on which the words “Al-Aqsa” are written. The Al-Aqsa mosque appears in the background. The cartoon hints of the Palestinian intention to prevent Jews from entering the Temple Mount complex. On the road appear large letters spelling “Da’es,” Arabic for “a trampler.” This is a play on words since “Da’es” sounds very similar to the Arabic acronym for Islamic State, “Da’esh,” which means “Islamic State.” (Translation courtesy of Palestinian Media Watch.)

The real similarity is not between the varying visions of one Islamic caliphate or another, as presented by competing organizations. Instead, it touches on the widest common denominator, illustrated and described repeatedly on Internet sites, in books, posts, and on social media. It is even mentioned in official speeches by the Palestinian and Muslim leadership, who repeat the mantra of “Al-Aqsa is in danger.”

Nearly all of the recent attacks — the ramming of commuters and the stabbings, in addition to the events that have been the highlights of the ongoing intifada in Jerusalem — trace their roots to that same fictional danger. Now these fears have been fueled by a new element — the supposed Israeli plans to enable Jewish worship on Temple Mount.

Just the facts, please

Before we touch on the horrific statements that seek to emphasize this “danger,” it would be worthwhile to get the facts straight. Officially, Israel has informed Jordan’s King Abdullah as well as the European Union and the United States that it has no intention of permitting Jews to pray on the Temple Mount.

Construction Minister Uri Ariel may say differently, and the deputy religious affairs minister, Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, is acting on his own volition in pushing forward amendments to legislation that would legalize such prayer. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch have reiterated their view that the statements of Ariel and Ben Dahan, as well as the remarks of Knesset’s Internal Affairs Committee chairwoman Miri Regev, run contrary to the government’s policies, and that there are no plans to alter this reality.

It seems the time has come to explicitly declare that the much-talked-about status quo on the Temple Mount has long died, but nobody bothered to give it a proper burial. The Muslims have trampled over the status quo for years. Now it appears they are not only putting it to death, but confirming the kill.

The present-day reality on the Temple Mount bears no resemblance to the original status quo. Indeed, the status quo has been brazenly eroded in favor of the Muslim side and to the detriment of the Jewish side. One of the only elements that remains from the original status quo is the prohibition on Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount, which the state has enforced with vigor.

The most recognizable changes are as follows:

The original status quo prevented Jews from praying at the Temple Mount, but it did permit them to visit the site. Now Jewish visits to the Temple Mount are not allowed save for a few visits under strict limitations.

The original status quo came about when Muslims limited their prayer to the Al-Aqsa mosque. In time, they significantly expanded the area in which they worshipped. The Dome of the Rock, which is a shrine and not a house of worship, has turned into a de facto mosque. Two more mosques have also been built during this period — the Al-Marouani mosque in Solomon’s Stables, and ancient Al-Aqsa, which is underneath the famous Al-Aqsa.

Israeli law applies to the Temple Mount. At least that is what the High Court ruled. That was part of the original status quo. Through the years, however, the Israeli government has grown more hesitant to apply zoning laws there as they pertain to construction and excavations. It has abdicated this responsibility, instead leaving it to the discretion of the attorney-general and a special ministerial committee. In practice, these legal bodies have rarely applied Israeli law there, and this is no secret.

The status quo granted Jordan a role in the day-to-day administration of the Temple Mount by means of the Waqf, the religious trust which operates under the auspices of the Jordanian government. Today, Amman’s influence over the Temple Mount has expanded considerably, as evidenced by the refurbishment of the eastern and southern walls of the complex, which was overseen by the Hashemite kingdom. Israel has also heeded Jordan’s veto prohibiting the replacement of the antiquated Mughrabi Bridge as well as routine cleaning operations near the Western Wall. Even a parliamentary discussion on the application of Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount, which was scheduled to take place a few months ago, was put off at Jordan’s request. The kingdom’s special status on the Temple Mount is enshrined in agreements that Israel has signed with Amman as well as with the PA.

These are, of course, the facts, but they play no central role in the inflamed, unfettered discourse as it relates to Al-Aqsa mosque and the Temple Mount, from which the terrorists who ram their cars into commuters and stab Jews derive inspiration. This week, the Israeli branch of the Anti-Defamation League noted that the vehicular attacks were celebrated on more than 90 Facebook pages, even though this number appears to be low. A Fatah Facebook page posted a cartoon in which a car is seen running over three fleeing Jews. That same page posted a video clip of the riots, under the heading: “And they ask why we are running them over?”

As if that weren’t enough, the Palestinian news agency Shahab this week published a photograph taken in east Jerusalem showing a replica of the Dome of the Rock in some public institution. Resting on top of the replica are the pictures of three of the terrorists who carried out the recent shooting and vehicular attacks. The model even includes a drawing of a highway with a toy car, bloodstains, and, sitting nearby, a small doll, as well as a doll meant to represent Rabbi Yehuda Glick, the Temple Mount activist who was gunned down by a Palestinian.

Glick, whose picture was posted dozens of times alongside text which agitated for his murder, was not the only one who should have feared for his life. The popular Facebook page “The Road to Al-Aqsa,” which has over 250,000 visitors, published the names and images of 12 other prominent Jewish activists who are campaigning for Jewish rights on Temple Mount.

Tom Nisani, one of the heads of the Jewish student movement for Temple Mount, was featured prominently. His image was posted with an arrow pointing at his face. On Hamas sites, there are no subtle hints, but rather explicit warnings that “the gates of death will be opened before any Jew who goes up to the Temple Mount.”

‘Proud of the motorist terrorist’

Anyone looking for more examples of sources used as inspiration by those perpetrating the riots, can refer to a recent edition of the newspaper supplement Yedioth Jerusalem, which catalogued content from the Facebook pages of youngsters in east Jerusalem. In the article, which was written by Elisha Ben-Kimon, one can read a direct quote from the status of one young Arab who praised the terrorist who rammed his car into commuters near the light rail station.

“You are the pheonix that flies skyward, my pride,” he wrote.

Another youth wrote: “Al-Aqsa — the red line. No to the occupation forces.”

Making Al-Aqsa the focal point of the recent campaign of incitement and terrorism is just part and parcel of the overall chorus of lies aimed at Israel, which is being falsely accused of preparing a missile attack on the mosque. Israel is also being accused of working to instigate an artificial earthquake that would topple the mosque, initiating archaeological digs meant to undermine its foundations, and involvement in prior attempts to damage the site by Jewish and Christian extremists like Denis Michael Rohan and Alan Goodman.

The mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammed Hussein, may have been quite circumspect in his language of late, but his statements continue to reverberate against the backdrop of the recent riots. Hussein was investigated by police for saying the Muslims were at war with “the descendants of pigs and apes” (referring to Jews) and that the two sides were now engaged in “a war of religion and faith.”

“The resurrection of the dead will not come until you fight the Jews,” the mufti said. “The Jew will hide behind stones or trees, and the stones or trees will call out: ‘There is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him.'”

While these statements were made long ago, their echoes reverberate to this day. The Jews are depicted as those who are planning to commit awful crimes, including murder of Palestinians by burning them alive in ovens, performing experiments on Palestinian prisoners “similar to what the Nazis did,” and more.

Palestinian Media Watch, headed by Itamar Marcus, has been consistently documenting anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic hate speech and incitement. This systematic campaign of propaganda dissemination casts Jews as snakes, dogs, vampires, and bats. The three kidnapped teens were portrayed by Fatah as three mice caught in a trap.

A caricature from the Jordanian newspaper Al-Dustour shows Israel as represented by a soldier with elongated teeth biting into the Dome of the Rock. Another cartoon in Al-Ayam depicts us as an octopus that is swallowing up Al-Aqsa mosque. According to Marcus, the PA officially paid homage to a Palestinian poet who wrote: “Our enemy, Zion, is the devil with a tail.”

Another Palestinian “poet” repeats the statements made by the mufti, Mohammed Hussein, and uses the platform afforded him on official Palestinian television to declare: “Oh, sons of Zion, the evils of creation, barbaric apes, despicable pigs, as long as my heart is my Quran and my city. … I will not fear your mobs, for I will be armed with my explosive belt and my gun.”

These statements are depressing to hear, and they do invite despair, but in recent years they have become routine. They add more layers to the wall of hatred and incitement, which includes other elements: the de-legitimizing of the State of Israel as a Jewish state; songs in praise of suicide bombers and terrorists; immortalizing terrorists by naming streets, schools, town squares, and kindergartens after them; constant rewriting of history which entails the invalidation of Jewish ties to the historical land of Israel and Jerusalem. The Temple is referred to as “Al-Mazum,” which means “the imagined thing” or “the apparition.”

Perhaps the most heinous aspect is the continued dissemination of this material in children’s textbooks and schoolbooks in the Hamas and PA educational systems. The youngsters in the West Bank and Gaza learn that the State of Israel is a disaster without historical precedent. In many textbooks, Israel isn’t even mentioned, and it is nowhere to be seen on maps and atlases.

The poison wellspring

The “Al-Aqsa is in danger” blood libel and the false stories of Israeli plans to allow Jewish worship on Temple Mount are the fuel propelling this latest wave of violence and terrorism. This is the view of the Shin Bet and Police, and is also plainly evident to those who have monitored the situation closely.

Mahmoud al-Habash, the Palestinian minister of religious affairs, has in recent years taken an active part in spreading this lie. Two weeks ago he promised that “when Jerusalem will be the capital of Palestine, the Jews will be permitted to ascend the Temple Mount as guests.”

Earlier this year, though, Habash did his best to lend credence to the lie. “There are systematic plans, gradual plans prepared by Israel, and the Israeli government supports this and the Israeli army defends it, and its goal … is not dividing the Al-Aqsa mosque. … The goal is to remove the Al-Aqsa mosque … as a final goal.”

Israel’s problem is that this lie, which is rooted in religious sermons, has now taken on clear political and nationalistic connotations, which in turn allows it to burrow into the hearts of the Muslim masses around the world, including the Arabs of east Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and Israel proper. Many people there believe wholeheartedly that Al-Aqsa is indeed in danger, and that the State of Israel is indeed acting to destroy the mosques.

Those disseminating this tale — from the mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini to Raed Salah, to El-Habash and Abbas — do not hesitate to weave anti-Semitic elements, incitement, and threats of violence and bloodshed into this false narrative. The conflict is once again taking on religious overtones, and the terror attacks and incitement of recent weeks are springing up from this poisoned well.

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=21451