Saturday, July 29, 2017

Fighting the lies on Al-Aqsa - Nadav Shragai




by Nadav Shragai

Up until 50 years ago, religious and historic Muslim literature was rife with accounts attesting to the clear bond between the Jews, the Temple Mount and Jerusalem; a bond they deny outright today.

The broader it becomes, the Al-Aqsa coalition reveal itself as a partnership of blood and lies, whose members are constantly trying to one-up the others in incitement and extremism. One warns that Al-Aqsa is "under attack," the second says it is being "plundered," the third will decry its "desecration," and others will speak of Al-Aqsa being "defiled" or "made filthy" by the Jews. 

Belonging in this "coalition" means having a stamp of legitimacy and trustworthiness in the eyes of the Arab public and beyond. Some of those engaging in the "Al-Aqsa is in danger" libel indeed believe their own lies. Some have lost the ability to distinguish between fantasy and reality, while others knowingly lie. The common denominator is the political-religious-leadership benefits they all derive.

One member of this coalition is the Islamic Movement in Israel, which is now recycling an ancient fabrication -- this time in the form of corrosive chemical materials, supposedly injected by Israel, into the walls of Al-Aqsa mosque. 

A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Tayeb Abdel Rahim, is declaring on behalf of his boss that Israeli actions on the Temple Mount are "a step on the path to resurrecting the fictitious temple." Fatah, the political faction to which Abbas belongs, is vowing that Palestinians will sacrifice their lives to prevent security cameras from being installed on the Temple Mount. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is again calling on all Muslims to go to Jerusalem and protect it from the filthy Jews contaminating Al-Aqsa. Hamas has called for "days of rage" to "ignite the flames," and Jordan, too, is telling its people about the "settlers who defiled Al-Aqsa." Qatari newspapers feature cartoons of satanic figures and fire-breathing dragons with Jewish Stars of David on them, threatening to swallow and annihilate Al-Aqsa. Even Saudi Arabia and Egypt have been incapable of eschewing this "communal bonfire." And we haven't even mentioned Iran, Hezbollah, Syria or Indonesia yet. They are all taking part, some more prominently than others.

Examples of severe incitement, which has transformed Al-Aqsa from a religious site to a tool of generating terror, are too numerous to count. They are present in the religious, media and political experience. The "viral" nature of this mass incitement is evident in the hundreds and thousands of online videos and cartoons; created, penned and funded by hate-filled, brainwashed minds.

The problem is that we are in a constant state of defensiveness, retreat and apology. No one ever mentions the enormous, profound and unimaginable concession Israel made back in 1967 regarding the Temple Mount. No one brings up the fact that Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, took the Temple Mount, the holiest place for the Jewish nation, and placed it in the hands of a competing religion, Islam, for which the Temple Mount is only the third-holiest site -- essentially infringing on the rights of Jews there. This unacceptable state of affairs is now being taken for granted for some reason, even though it really shouldn't be. In terms of religious relations across the globe, this concession is unprecedented in scope, but Israel downplays it, hides it, as if it never happened.

Israel is neglecting the obvious: It is not telling the world the most basic and elementary truth -- that the Temple Mount is first and foremost a holy place for the Jews. The mendacious discourse running rampant today -- with which Israel is unwittingly cooperating -- constantly and solely revolves around how holy the site is for Muslims. Only one issue is being addressed: To what degree does Israel respect and take this holiness into consideration? Is Israel maintaining the status quo? Completely absent from the discourse is the holiness of the place for the Jews. Also completely missing from the discourse is how the Muslims have maliciously altered the status quo to the Jews' detriment.

There are countless historical, biblical and archaeological resources that prove the Jews' link to Jerusalem and to the Temple Mount. There are additional texts that are not being utilized: Up until 50 years ago, religious and historic Muslim literature was rife with accounts attesting to the clear bond between the Jews, the Temple Mount and Jerusalem; a bond they deny outright today. All that's needed to counter this lie is a Facebook page displaying several dozen of these excerpts in Arabic (translated into English), but even this bare minimum is not being done.

This is nothing less than spiritual weakness; a type of paralysis and panic gripping us in the face of violence, terror, incitement and lies. The time has come to rid ourselves of this malady and wage a public relations intifada. It is time to unleash an offensive campaign of facts to counter the bloodshed and murder; to oppose the litany of falsehoods directed against us by the Al-Aqsa coalition.


Nadav Shragai

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=19557

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