TEMPLE WATCH: 3.18.17 - Ministers push for state-funded Temple Mount foundation

Ministers push for state-funded Temple Mount foundation - By Raoul Wootliff - http://www.timesofisrael.com/ministers-push-for-state-funded-temple-mount-foundation/

 

In response to UNESCO decision, new body would fight 'distortion of facts' relating to Jewish 'history, tradition and culture'

 

Hitting back at a controversial UNESCO resolution ignoring the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, senior Likud ministers put forward a proposal to establish a new government body what would preserve the holy site and educate about its Jewish history.

 

Proposed by Culture Minister Miri Regev and Environmental Protection and Jerusalem Minister Ze'ev Elkin, the plan includes a NIS 2 million ($550,00) yearly budget to set up the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation that will be responsible for "research, information and advocacy" about the Jewish connection to the site.

 

As first reported by Yedioth Ahronoth on Monday, the new body would be based on the government-funded Western Wall Heritage Fund, which administers the site adjacent to the Temple Mount.

 

"In recent years the State of Israel has been facing a deligitimization campaign based on a distortion of facts regarding the history, tradition and culture of the Jewish people," reads the explanation of the proposal, seen by The Times of Israel.

 

"One of the peaks of this trend took place recently with the October 2016 UNESCO decision to attempt to nullify the connection of the Jewish people to the Temple Mount. In light of this trend, the government of Israel sees itself as responsible to prevent this disinformation and distortion of historical truth," it says.

 

The controversial UNESCO resolution used only Muslim names for the Jerusalem Old City holy sites and was harshly critical of Israel for what it termed "provocative abuses that violate the sanctity and integrity" of the area.

 

 

Lawmakers from both the right and left of the Israeli political spectrum slammed the decision and accused the UN's cultural arm of anti-Semitism. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the decision "absurd," while President Reuven Rivlin called it an "embarrassment" for UNESCO.

 

The flashpoint Temple Mount, which is administrated by the Jordanian authorities, is the holiest site in Judaism, revered by Jews as the site where the biblical Temples stood.

 

Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary and believe it is the spot where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is the third-holiest site in Islam and houses the Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock shrine.

 

The Palestinians have frequently charged that Israel is trying to change longstanding understandings, in place since 1967, under which Jews are allowed to visit, but not pray at, the site.

 

Last week Regev unveiled the logo to be used in the upcoming celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli rule. The emblem features an Israeli flag flying atop the old city walls and the Temple Mount and is accompanied by the slogan: "50 years since the liberation of Jerusalem."

 

Regev said her insistence on using the word "liberation" and not "reunification" in the logo's design sought to counter efforts to distort the Jewish connection to Jerusalem.

 

Regev also stressed that part of the image featured "an Israeli flag that has returned to fly above the old city walls, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount."

 

Once a fringe issue, Temple Mount activism has in recent years become an increasingly prominent issue in the Israeli political discourse, even as Palestinians attributed the year-long wave of terror attacks in 2015 and 2016 to their public's anger at ostensible imminent changes by Israel to arrangements on the holy site, which Israel firmly denies planning.

 

Following the October 2014 attempted assassination of Temple Mount activist (and current Likud MK) Yehuda Glick, Netanyahu declared his intention to maintain the status quo at the compound.

 

In a Monday statement, Glick said he welcomed the plan for a Temple Mount Heritage Foundation and has personally lobbied for its creation.

 

"We need to state clearly: The temple mount is the foundation of the history of the Jewish people and of the return to the land since the beginning of Zionism," he said.

 

Temple Mount Conflict Proves Islamic 'Replacement Theology' Seeks to Usurp All Religions - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85155/temple-mount-conflict-proves-islamic-replacement-theology-seeks-usurp-religions/#FKdUWF6wcogGDTLv.99

 

"Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." Isaiah 56:7 (The Israel Bible�)

 

The conflict over the Temple Mount is a clear manifestation of Islamic replacement theology, a noted archaeologist told the Knesset on Wednesday. It is the site's holy status in Judaism that is the basis of Islam's interest, and this phenomenon has been seen throughout history, with Islam appropriating major Christian sites as well.

 

Asaf Avraham, former director of the Jerusalem Walls National Park of the Parks Authority, addressed the newly formed Temple Mount Heritage Foundation headed by Rabbi Yehudah Glick (Likud) and Shulamit Mualem-Rafaeli (Jewish Home). Avraham explained that the Islamic connection to the gold-capped Dome of the Rock, and indeed the entire Temple Mount Compound, is based on the sanctity of the Jewish Temple that previously stood on the site.

 

Avraham based his claim on thousand-year-old Arabic writings he discovered in the Muslim village of Nuva, located next to Hebron. The writings refer to Sachrat Beit El Maqdis, which translates to 'Rock of the Holy Temple'.

 

"This was one of the names of the Dome of the Rock in early Islam," Avraham explained in an interview with Arutz Sheva. "This is of the evidence from early Muslim literature which defines the Dome of the Rock as Beit El Maqdis (Beit Hamikdash - 'Temple' in Hebrew)".

 

Avraham's claim stands in direct contradiction to UNESCO resolutions passed last summer which effectively erased any connection between Judaism and its holiest site.

 

"There is no doubt that the original source of the place's holiness is the Temple," said Avraham. "When Muslims arrived in the seventh century, and probably even before that, they absorbed the Jewish faith which then entered the Muslim faith. You see it in the Koran which is heavily laden with Biblical stories. "

 

Avraham explained to the Knesset committee that Islam is a form of replacement theology, seeing itself as replacing Judaism and Christianity. "The first Christians saw themselves as the new Jews and this phenomenon also affected the Muslims, who saw themselves as carrying on the traditions of monotheistic faith and the true followers of the Bible. Muhammad was considered to be the Messiah, and they hoped that the Jews would cooperate with them. This is not a surprise, but the strengthening of an existing theory."

 

Replacement theology, also called supersessionism, is the belief that one religion has replaced another, making the previous religion obsolete. For thousands of years, this was a tenet of Christianity, defining the Church's relationship to the Jews. Subsequent to and because of the Holocaust, many mainstream Christian theologians and denominations have moved away from the theological belief, and today, most Christian supporters of Israel reject it entirely.

 

As replacement theology becomes less prevalent in defining the relationship between Jews and Christians, it becomes clear that it does define the relationship between Islam and other religions. Professor Ze'ev Magzhen, a professor at Bar-Ilan University and Shalem College, explained replacement theology's roots in Islam.

 

"Islam is very open and candid that they came to replace all previous religions," Magzhen told Breaking Israel News. "We see in Muslim literature a belief that Judaism was appropriate for the Jews at a certain time, but that time has passed.

 

"They also say the same thing about Christianity. Islam is the abrogating but never abrogated religion, what they call, 'al nasikh wal rer mansukh'. It abolishes what came before, but Mohammed was the last prophet, so it is now the only truth."

 

"The same can be said for both Christianity and Judaism in regards to how they viewed the religions that came before," the professor added.

 

The professor observed that the Islam has a history of usurping the holy sites of other religions, and in that respect, the Temple Mount is not unique.

 

"Muslims frequently placed mosques where churches used to be, or simply turned the church into a mosque," the professor said, citing the example of Hagia Sophia. Built in Istanbul the sixth century, Hagia Sophia stood as the world's largest cathedral for nearly one thousand years. In 1453, it was turned into a mosque.

 

"The Temple Mount can easily be seen as a physical manifestation of this replacement  theology," Professor Magzhen concluded.

 

Yaakov Hayman, chairman of the United Temple Movement, attended Avraham's lecture in the Knesset.

 

"It is true that there is a Muslim minority who recognize the Jewish source of the site's holy status, and see it as their role to return it to us," Hayman told Breaking Israel News. "But the main Palestinian narrative, as seen in UNESCO, is driven by the element in Islam that seeks to replace Judaism, especially on the Temple Mount."

 

He contrasted the present Muslim-dominated reality on the Temple Mount with the Jewish vision for the site.

 

"It is intended as a House of Prayer for all nations," Hayman insisted. "Anyone who believes in one God and follows the seven Noahide laws will be part of the Third Temple."

 

 

 

As Jerusalem Jubilee Approaches, Knesset Seeks to 'Reclaim' Temple Mount - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/85006/time-jerusalem-jubilee-knesset-strengthens-state-connection-temple-mount/#JUR8FsDcK7d7dtHQ.99

 

"A Song of Ascents. They that trust in Hashem are as mount Tzion, which cannot be moved, but abideth for ever." Psalms 125:1 (The Israel Bible�)

 

As Jerusalem's Jubilee celebration approaches, the Israeli parliament has, for the first time, proposed establishing a government body focused on strengthening the connection between the Jewish State and its holiest site: The Temple Mount. This move has generated anger among Palestinian politicians, who believed recent efforts by the UN to erase this Jewish connection were successful.

 

In a move that has attracted the ire of the Palestinians, Culture Minister Miri Regev and Jerusalem Minister Ze'ev Elkin proposed a new foundation to promote the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount.  A $550,00 yearly budget will be added to the already existing Western Wall Heritage Fund, establishing the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation. It will be responsible for "research, information and advocacy" about the Jewish connection to the site.

 

Arab MKs attacked the proposal in the Knesset, claiming the site is holy exclusively to Islam.

 

Ahmad Tibi of the Joint Arab List decried the foundation in the Knesset hearing, declaring, "The Al Aqsa Mosque and the Holy Sanctuary (The Dome of the Rock), and all of its surrounding land, are holy to Islam and they are all an Islamic Mosque.

 

"That is how it has always been, and that is how it will remain, despite the conquest, and despite this new funding."

 

MK Yehudah Glick (Likud), who has been advocating universal prayer at the site for many years, was enthusiastic.

 

"After many long months, I am pleased that our efforts have finally produced fruit. This is a good time, and thank God it has finally arrived, albeit fifty years late (actually 2,000 years late). The Israeli government has recognized that the Temple Mount  is our national site."

 

The move comes as Israel is about to celebrate Jerusalem's Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of the IDF conquering the city in its entirety in the 1967 six day war. At a cabinet meeting last week, Regev unveiled the logo for the occasion, explaining its significance.

 

"It tells the true story of Jerusalem," she said."The base of the digit 5 is a harp, reminiscent of David, King of Israel, who founded Jerusalem as our eternal capital 3,000 years ago. The head of the 5 is a lion - the symbol of the modern city of Jerusalem."

 

She noted that some had criticized the logo's wording describing the event as the "liberation" of Jerusalem rather than its unification.

 

"The fact that Jerusalem was liberated should be above all political dispute," Regev said to the ministers. "I am saddened that any Israeli, whether right or left, is bothered by this.

 

"The Jewish nation's bonds to Jerusalem are perhaps the deepest there have ever been in history between a people and a city. If we are unable to tell ourselves that we have liberated Jerusalem from generations of foreign conquest, how can we complain against the rest of the world for not recognizing our intrinsic connections to the city?"

 

Regev was referring to a series of UNESCO resolutions last summer which tried to erase any connection between Judaism and its most holy sites, renaming them in Arabic, while blaming Israel entirely for the conflict in the region.

 

The Israeli government has not allowed Jews to pray on the Temple Mount since shortly after the Six Day War, when it gave control of access to the site to the Waqf (Muslim authority). According to the agreement between the government and the Waqf, Jews were permitted to visit the site for the first time since the destruction of the Temple, but were prohibited from praying.