I couldn't help but detect a certain tone of triumph in Aftenposten's report the other day, that the new Israeli security chief was warning that “Jewish terrorist groups” were planning to blow up the Noble Sanctuary, which is “also called” the Temple Mount.
The people who are plotting to blow up the Dome of the Rock are fanatics and criminals, and possibly murderers if they should succeed, but they are not terrorists. An attack of this kind is not aimed at causing fear among non-combatants, and it's probably not intended to kill anyone at all. Aftenposten takes great care to call Palestinian terrorists “militants,” but this caution only goes one way.
Another nit: why are papers like Aftenposten so anxious to put *Jewish* vs. *Palestinian* extremism? You might wonder if they are trying to attribute the “bad” acts of one to religious fanaticism, and justify “equivalent” acts of another to a frustrated independence movement.
Now, let me make it clear that I object to any thought of destroying or damaging the Dome of the Rock, the al-Aqsa mosque, or any other Muslim building on Mount Moriah on: moral grounds, because I think we must respect others' holy sites; religious grounds, because I think the third Temple must be built in peace; and political grounds, because the fallout would be devastating.
Having said that, I must also say that the Jewish claim to the Temple Mount is at least as strong as the Muslim one, and dismissing it amounts to antisemitism. In spite of the Waq'f's insistence that there never was a Jewish temple on the site (and their efforts to destroy archeological evidence that there was), there is a) overwhelming archeological and literary evidence that there was, and b) no doubt that the Temple rite is central to Jewish religion and history. There are lots of compelling reasons why Israel and the Jewish community should refrain from acting on the claim, but lack of legitimacy is not one of them. If the UN and its member states had any decency, they'd pass joint and separate resolutions acknowledging the Jewish people's claim and thanking Israel for her forebearance.
Sent wirelessly from my Blackberry.
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