Saturday, February 10, 2007
It should be noted that the Western Wall is not, contrary to how it is regularly portrayed in journalistic shorthand, "Judaism's holiest site." The Temple Mount is. It just happens that "the Wall" is the closest place to the holiest site that Jews can get to to worship. Someone has built a newer holy site on Judaism's holiest ground, and that someone doesn't share well. Jews are used to compromise.
The reason, of course, that Israeli security is tight around the Temple Mount, and the authorities tread lightly with everything they do, is, in part, to protect Muslim Holy places -- not so much for the direct damage a vandalous zealot or unhinged person might do -- mosques can be repaired or rebuilt, after all -- but for the reaction that such behavior might trigger amongst the ummah. That, I'm sure, is what keeps Israeli security people and politicians up at night.
Even were a zealot (the idea that official Israel might actually plan to do damage to structures on the Temple Mount itself is so silly as to be beyond serious consideration outside Muslim demagogue conspiracy circles) to actually manage to cause damage, in a more sane world, no lives would be lost, and things quickly set right with the appropriate apologies and repairs.
But it's not a sane world, and it's made more insane because the ummah knows what they themselves would do, and have done, to other people's holy places, so it's easy to manipulate their emotions. They find it perfectly believable that Israel is planning to undermine the Al Aqsa Mosque...after all, isn't that what they would do...if they were us?
Think about that as you read this and look at the pictures of what happened in Hebron two weeks ago: Photos: Arabs Ransack Samuel´s Tomb, Vandalize Hevron Graveyard 
Samuel's Tomb, called Kever Shmuel by Jews and Nebi Samwil by Muslims, is located just north of Jerusalem's Ramot neighborhood and can clearly be seen from many areas of the capital. The main prayer hall in the tomb was smashed and phones and fax machines from an adjacent office were stolen. Police say Arabs are behind the attack and are investigating the incident to identify the perpetrators.
There is also a mosque in the tomb complex.
Hevron's ancient cemetery is located near the Admot Yishai (Tel Romeida) neighborhood. It also has a new section, which was targeted by the attackers.
