by Nadav Shragai
The Islamist party is trying to have it both ways by working to better Israeli Arabs' lives while also embracing Hamas-style radicalism.
Those who have been pitching the new and improved Ra'am party to the Israeli public as a moderate faction promoting a civil agenda had something of a rude awakening on Sunday, courtesy of the "old" Ra'am – and Islamist party that operates in two parallel universes: one where it champions the good of the Arab Israeli sector, and the other where it acts like a Muslim Brotherhood' devotee.
Ra'am's warning Sunday against "settlers and MKs violating the Al-Aqsa Mosque" was taken right out of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar's playbook. Similar statements were made by the Gaza-base terrorist group as part of the ultimatums it gave Israel prior to May's Operation Guardian of the Walls.
Ra'am's statement, echoed by the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement from which it hails, adopted the menacing terminology used by Hamas with regards to the Temple Mount.
Ra'am knows very well that no Jewish visitor to the Temple Mount plans to breach Al-Aqsa Mosque. This didn't stop it from adopting Hamas-style radicalism in its statement by claiming full proprietary Islamic sanctity over the compound's 35 acres as a whole.
If anything, this means that the allegedly moderate Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement aims to take the place of its northern counterpart, which Israel outlawed in 2015 over its radicalism and ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Southern Branch officials are now expressing similar, radical opinions over the Temple Mount to those expressed by Northern Branch officials who are now jailed.
It is time to admit that the status quo on the holy site has been eroded to the point that it exists in name only. After years in which the Muslims have been making a mockery of its edicts, after they had turned the Dome of the Rock into a mosque despite no such history on the premises, after they built two underground mosques at the site, after enforcing any type of building regulation or antiquity protection on the mount has been reduced, and with Jews subjected to rigorous limitations on visiting the site – it is only natural that Israeli enforcement of the joke that is the "status quo."
The welcome change in Israel's policies on the Temple Mount vis-à-vis the Muslim offensive dates back to Gilad Erdan's time as public security minister and Yoram Halevi as Jerusalem District Police chief.
The two sought to meet the growing need by Jewish worshippers to visit the site and relaxed some of the restrictions. As a result, the number of Jewish worshippers visiting the Temple Mount has grown from 5,000 to 35,000 a year.
Erdan and Halevi also allowed low-profile group prayer on the holy site, as long as said groups relinquished the physical markers of the service, such as a tallit, tefillin, and siddur so as not to spark unnecessary provocation, and overall, they instructed Israeli security forces to be friendlier to the Jews there.
This did not go unnoticed by the Muslims. They exponentially intensified their "Al-Aqsa is in danger" propaganda, which accuses Israel of trying to raze the Muslim edifices on the site, citing the alleged changes in the status quo that benefit Jewish worshippers.
In recent years, however, this type of incitement has grown from mere statements into an actual fuel for terrorist attacks. Hundreds of terrorists set out to shoot, stab, ram, and stone Jews after they were tricked into believing that "Al-Aqsa is in danger." Those apprehended prior to executing their nefarious plans said they had planned to murder Jews visiting the site.
The Murabitun and Murabitat – two fundamentalist organizations that hail from the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement and were outlawed as well – have also tried to undermine Jews' visits to the premises.
May's hostilities, as well as the unprecedented riots in mixed Israeli cities, were all fueled by the false "Al-Aqsa is in danger" narrative.
Having said all that it is worth noting that the difference between Jewish presence on the Temple Mount and the Muslim presence there is as vast as the ocean: 10 million Muslims visit the holy site each year – as many as the number of Jewish visitors to the Western Wall, but only a few thousand Jews visit the Temple Mount.
If anything, Ra'am's statement about the mosque embraces the demands presented by terrorists who have been trying to harm Jews visiting the Temple Mount.
Nadav Shragai
Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/raam-has-shown-its-true-colors/
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