Temple Mount War Between Israel and Jordan

 

If there is one thing that can be said for Israel, they often do the wrong thing for the right reason and then face a myriad of consequences. At the close to the June 1967 Six Day War, after Israel had liberated the entirety of the Shomron, Judea and Samaria, and all of Jerusalem, then Defense Minister Moshe Dayan convinced the center-left government of Golda Meir to allow the Jordanian Waqf to control the Islamic buildings constructed on the Temple Mount. This has proven to be yet another instance of the Israelis attempting to do the compassionate thing and receiving nothing but spite and hatred in return. By now most everyone has heard of the term referring to the Temple Mount of the “status quo” and how not permitting anything to change so as not to disturb the balance between the major religions and their interest in the Temple Mount. Here is some advice for understanding the concept of the “status quo” in reference to the Temple Mount. Whenever the term “status quo” is trotted out, you can bet that the Waqf and its Jordanian masters have just made an explicit change to the current rules through which they are denying Jewish and Christian, mostly Jewish, claims and attachments to the Temple Mount attempting to make the Temple Mount a purely Islamic holy site. The latest change to the “status quo” was initiated by the King of Jordan. It came about as the Waqf attempted to establish yet another Mosque on the Temple Mount which would have taken possession of a Jewish holy site and removed another entrance to the Temple Mount. The Islamic creep on the Temple Mount is reminiscent of the Arab tale of the Camel and the Tent.

 

IDF Rabbi with Celebratory Cigar and Torah Scroll Entering Old City

 

Initially, immediately after the Six Day War, the Temple Mount was open for people to visit and to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre while the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock remained limited access. The Waqf initially was cautious about making changes but with time, they restricted which entrances were available for non-Muslims to use until they restricted such to a single entrance accessed by a pedestrian bridge in need of replacement. When Israel attempted to rebuild this entryway the Waqf claimed that the Israelis were undermining the Dome of the Rock and riots ensued. These riots were used by the Palestinian Authority to claim that they were responsible for all the Muslim sites, the Dome of the Rock, the al Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. These claims coincided with the concept that Jesus was the first Muslim Palestinian who was persecuted by the Jews. The Palestinian Authority also claimed that the churches within Bethlehem were Islamic holy sites and they began to de-Christianize Bethlehem through intimidation, confiscation and outright violence against the Christian population of Bethlehem and the rest of the territories under the Palestinian Authority. Soon thereafter, the Christian population of Bethlehem had dropped precipitously. Quoting an article by Giulio Meotti from Christmas of 2018, “Under the control of Israel (1967-1995), the Christian population of Bethlehem grew by 57 percent. When Israel delivered the city of Jesus to the Palestinian Authority in 1995, Bethlehem had an 80 percent Christian population. Now it is just 20 percent.” Since the 1960’s and the end of the Arab world across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) expulsion of over 95% of their Jews, this has been the plight of the Coptic Christians in Egypt, the Maronite Christians of Lebanon and Syria and other Christian minorities across the region as they attempt to attain 100% pure Islamic populations by the destruction of all else. This has also been the tale of the Temple Mount and the Jordanian Waqf. The most audacious move by the Waqf was their claim that the entirety of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall and plaza were part of the al-Aqsa Mosque complex. There have also been numerous cases of weeks of rioting when Mahmoud Abbas, Waqf officials and others have claimed that the Jews were defiling the al-Aqsa Mosque (see video below) or attempting to tunnel under the Dome of the Rock in order to collapse the structure. Such provocations are nothing more than a call to arms for rioting in, on and around the Temple Mount Jews and other non-Muslims. These riots often use the al-Aqsa Mosque as their command station and the place they store rocks, bottles for Molotov cocktails and other items for use in the violence.

 

 

Another reality which Israel in general and Jews proud of their history in particular have had to put up with has been the intentional destruction by the Waqf using heavy construction equipment such as bulldozers to destroy any trace of the First or Second Temples by excavating large areas atop the Temple Mount claiming to lay new water lines. Just for the record, there have been no improvements or upgrades performed to the plumbing on the Temple Mount, no surprise there. Further complaints have been made by the Waqf and echoed by the Palestinian Authority have claimed that the Jews were attempting to destroy the Islamic centers on the Temple Mount, preparing to build the Third Temple on the ruins of the al-Aqsa Mosque and various other insanities which immediately spurred days of rioting. These claims and others almost always come the week before major Jewish holidays in order to close the Temple Mount to the Jews when there is an increased desire to walk upon the Temple Mount. What has always amazed us when the Muslims riot on the Temple Mount; they close the area to Jews who are not rioting. That is simply rewarding offensive behavior, thus it should be no surprise that this tactic is still being used. There is another falsehood perpetrated by media portraying the Dome of the Rock as being the less impressive al-Aqsa Mosque. For clarity, we have included a small guide to the difference below. Further down, we will include some pictures of the al-Aqsa Mosque being used to store rocks and weaponry as an armory for the rioting on the Temple Mount. After watching news shots and other reporting which has depicted the Muslims desecration of their own Mosque for use as a weapons platform and station from which to launch attacks knowing that when they retreat inside the Mosque they are more often than not safe from any law enforcement or other forces used to quell the rioting, it is hard to take their claims seriously any more.

 

Left side images Right side images
al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock
Top Pictures Outsides of the Two Islamic Holy Sites
Center Picture their placement on the Temple Mount
Bottom Pictures are an Inside of Each Structure

 

 

al-Aqsa Mosque Set for Use as Armory for Rioting

 

Now comes the latest outrage, which is hard to top the past where Jews are not permitted to pray on the Temple Mount, no Jewish, Christian or other religious material or jewelry including religious clothing is permitted on the Temple Mount or whatever can in any means be perceived as a challenge to the supremacy of Islam can be permitted on the Temple Mount. That is the current “Status Quo” which is a far cry from the original status quo when Israel was largely responsible, where all were permitted through any entrance and prayers and religious clothing and materials were freely permitted, and the Waqf only took care of the Islamic structures. Slowly but inexorably the Waqf has taken control of the Temple Mount and made it a completely Islamic place where all others are treated as the Dhimmi the Quran claims they are. What has always amazed us is how whatever the Waqf, the King of Jordan or the Palestinian Authority claim concerning the Temple Mount is repeated around the world to be the “Status Quo” despite the researchable fact that the “Status Quo” has been quite liquid and always becoming more restrictive of Jews and Christians. It is as if the world is frozen and afraid to even counter anything which comes from Islam, as they must be treated with kid gloves, as they are so easily offended. Guess what, as long as they get their way by acting offended, they will be the terminally offended. Despite the attempts of the Waqf, the Jordanian King, the Palestinian Authority and whatever other Islamic body, especially including the government of Iran, to remove the Temple Mount from Judaism, Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount has gone from 2,000 visitors a short seven years ago in 2004 to 30,000 in 2018. This number is a mere shimmering shadow when compared to Jews visiting the Western Wall where they ceased attempting to record the actual numbers. These two sites are the holiest in Judaism while Jerusalem has largely been an ignored backwater for Islam until the Jews returned and began to rebuild their precious Jerusalem. For the record, former third holiest sites in Islam include but are not limited to Damascus, Constantinople, Rome, Paris, Vienna and whatever city was the next one to be targeted by Islamic forces. What do you know, Jerusalem fits that role perfectly as the Islamic forces wish to destroy Israel and know were they able to deny the Jews Jerusalem, of simply the Temple Mount, then they would have a far easier fight. This is why the Palestinian Authority demands that east Jerusalem including the entirety of the Temple Mount and Western Wall plaza be ceded as their capital city.

 

King Abdullah II of Jordan said on Wednesday that his position on Jerusalem is “unwavering” and all the Jordanian people are with him. He was quoted by the Xinhua news agency stating, “To me, Jerusalem is a red line, and all my people are with me.” King Abdullah added, “No one can pressure Jordan on this matter, and the answer will be no. All Jordanians stand with me on Jerusalem. At the end of the day, Arabs and Muslims will stand with us as well.” Well, he sure knows how to draw a line, but one must wonder where he draws his line. These comments came following an Israeli court ordered the closure of the Golden Gate, also known as the Gate of Mercy, where the Waqf recently erected a mosque illegally. Even the Waqf requires building permits and approval of the designs for any new structure, but they believe they are above such petty things as laws. Additionally, Jordanian lawmakers are insisting that the Israeli ambassador be expelled from Jordan in protest to the Jewish presence preventing their complete mastery over the Temple Mount and by inference, Jerusalem. Should this latest temper tantrum be acquiesced to by Israeli authorities, then whatever comes next will be that much more difficult to stand against. The Islamic attempts at encroachment and territorial expansion go beyond the Temple Mount to include illegal building in Area C in the Shomron, illegal outposts and settlements in the Negev and illegal structures erected in the Galilee. We know that the only illegal structures and settlements which have been reported in your news are the Jews who are residing in Area C which is completely legal under the Oslo Accords as Area C was placed under Israeli control, not Palestinian Arab control, and legal under International Law which recognized the treaties from post World War I which assign all lands between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea to be used for the Jewish State and they remain Israeli lands until Israel formally signs a new treaty forfeiting the Israeli claims and ownership over such lands. All we will add to this is research the San Remo Conference and related material and all will become clear and you will realize that you have been spoon fed lies by the media, surprise, surprise.

 

Should King Abdullah II of Jordan actually stand behind every implication of his threats, then perhaps he should be warned that Israelis are losing their patience with the entirety of the offensive and disrespectful attitudes and treatment they have put up with for the past seventy-plus years. We and our governing representatives have bent over backwards in attempts to find some middle ground where the two sides could come to an agreement. All which has come from these attempts have been land grabs, demands, threats, rioting and an all out offensive through propaganda and use of international bodies all in attempts to chop Israel into little pieces which Islamic forces could then gobble up one after the other until all Israel and her Jews are gone. That is a dream of yours which will become a nightmare of Biblical proportions for the Islamic interests and may result in Israel cleansing the foreign entities from her legal lands. This would push the Palestinian Authority and all that entails across the Jordan River and into Jordan where Abdullah II can be their king which he apparently is so fixated on becoming. As for Gaza, as it is obvious that Egypt would resist allowing them to be pushed into the Sinai Peninsula, we could arrange for transport by ship to their benefactors lands in Iran as Israel turned the area into one of the world’s best vacation regions.

 

We are aware that the recent election madness going on in Israel gives the Arabs hope that the Jews will fight one another and make their task for erasing them all the easier, do not count on this as we may argue amongst ourselves, but when the time comes, we will be as one. We also advise that the forces which believe that Israel is weakening and about to elect a governance which will fall before their Islamic overlords and simply fold giving them everything they desire, wait until the results come in before believing what you read about polling in Israel. Polling has become more and more suspect throughout the Western world and this is another area in which Israel took the lead. Simon Peres won virtually every poll when running for Prime Minister yet he was only elected to the position once plus held it for a short period after the death of the sitting Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. Israeli polling is almost universally slanted leftward, which may be due to methodology or the questions asked and their phrasing. Israelis almost always go through several phases of trauma while vacillating between which person and party they plan to support before finally, and more often than not, voting for the same party they did last elections. Still, there has been a noticeable shift towards nationalism, Zionism and an increase in the percentage of religious Israelis in the electorate. This will be depicted in full spectral color once the results of the election are known and the post election second guessing as to who President Rivlin will choose to try to form a coalition first as well as who, in the final measure, will actually succeed in forming a coalition and as to how strong and unshakeable that coalition will prove in being. The one thing we can guarantee is that the coalition after the elections cannot be any weaker than the last coalition which consisted of the smallest any coalition can be under Israeli law, sixty-one Ministers out of the one-hundred-twenty possible.

 

The end result of the challenges of the Temple Mount will eventually result in the Waqf being deported back to Amman where they can explain to King Abdullah II exactly what happened and why they are appearing before him. We would not wish to be in their shoes and have to find some excuse. The same will eventually be the result with the Palestinian Arabs. The ones under the Palestinian Authority will probably be the more fortunate as they will be offered payment for their properties and receive an additional relocation allotment, likely a generous one, and be required to sign a pledge that neither they nor their families will return to the regions within the Israeli border and that they had received suitable recompense for their relocation. As for those in Gaza, should they remain tied to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, then they will be considered terrorists and as such simply be deported when the rockets and other destructive efforts originating from Gaza exceed Israeli tolerances. Name another nation which would have tolerated the threats, terrorism, murders and destruction caused by the Islamic war against Israel being waged by the Arab Palestinians (and some allies from within Israel) for anywhere near as long as Israel has already, and we have yet to remove them. With far less provocation, the Chinese sent tanks to Tiananmen Square. With just the liberalizing of laws and reducing communist restrictions by a new government in Czechoslovakia brought on the Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 by Leonid Brezhnev and the USSR. All it took from Tibet was a few monks were chanting too loudly and far too freely, which brought on a massive conquest throughout 1949 and 1950 by China. We could continue with other relatively recent historical and numerous ancient historical military conquests and other forms of suppression which were in response to far less of a provocation than what Israel has faced, yet Israel has always attempted to find a settlement and peace, which will be denied as Islam does not share the Israeli love of peace, they love conquest and subjugation of all that stands as part of Dar al-Harb, which simply denotes that which is outside of Dar al-Islam. It would serve the Arab Palestinians, the Waqf and Jordanian King Abdullah II far better to find an agreeable compromise with Israel before Israel figures out that they do not desire an agreeable compromise, merely complete surrender and acceptance of Islamic subjugation eventually followed by convert or die options. When a sufficient and sizable number of Israelis accept this reality and realize the implication of the only solution which will permit their safety and continued ability to worship as they please, that will begin the end of this entire farce and the establishing of Israel on all of her land with a finality that ends any idea of continued conflict. Such a day may not be as far into the future as most people believe. The one thing we can guarantee is that the United Nations, European Union and very likely the United States will all stand demanding that Israel return to her previous state of constant threat and apologize for choosing life and rejecting threats of their death which currently are common fare from the Palestinian Arabs and many in the Muslim world with Iran as a perfect example.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

Terror Attack Grants Israel Prime Opportunity

 

The terror attack at the Lion’s Gate on the Temple Mount where three Arab Palestinians armed with two rifles and a pistol intentionally targeted three police officers killing two and leaving the third with severe to moderate wounds in the extremities, neck and torso according to one early report was simply a reinitiating of the terror paradigm resulting from Palestinian leadership’s payments to terrorists and terror families. Below we have included a brief interview with an MDA medic summarizing the attack. United States Ambassador to Israel David Friedman stated to media, “I am shocked and horrified by the despicable attack today in Jerusalem. Terrorism must be condemned by all and defeated. We pray for the victims.” This is the unfortunate response we get time after time, attack after attack, fatality after fatality and still the world demands that Israel cater to and bend before every demand made by the same institutions which condone and support the murderous terrorism. These are the same institutions which pay terrorists in Israeli prisons and the families of terrorists who were eliminated in their murderous acts thousands of dollars making murdering Israelis the highest paying profession for the Palestinian Arabs.

 

 

We did see a quote with which we could work with as apparently somebody else has reached well past the point of believing it is time for an alteration to be made. Israeli Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev offered the following commentary and a good suggestion, “The murderous terror attack which occurred today immediately after the terrorists left the Temple Mount, forces us to examine thoroughly the Temple Mount’s status-quo. It’s time the Temple Mount was opened to everyone, without limiting the hours they can come or the areas which they can visit. The Temple Mount should be like any other site in Jerusalem. The Waqf should only run the mosque – not the entire Temple Mount, which is under Israeli sovereignty and is the responsibility of the Israeli government. This is the only way we will be able to restore quiet and security to the Temple Mount and the Old City. We will all pray for the welfare of the victims, and we wish them a speedy recovery.”

 

We discussed the so-called status-quo several times over the years here, here, here and here. Now is the time for a change whether the rest of the world approves or not, it is time to do just as Miri Regev stated and just open the Temple Mount to the world. I can almost hear the world’s reaction to Israel doing exactly the correct act in response to this murderous terrorist attack. There will be cries from Europe that punishing the Palestinian Arab Muslims by taking away their Holy Site because of a terror attack which they had no responsibility. That is the big lie that will be sold and Israel should simply not allow that to pass unopposed and without revealing the payouts from the Palestinian Authority (PA) to terrorists and their families, the incitement that permeates Palestinian Authority media, television, schools, children’s camps, naming of soccer tournaments, parks, roads, schools and the immortalizing of terrorists all to encourage their youth to want to be terrorists, some even to be martyrs. Don’t believe us, here it is in their own words and from the mouths of babes in the videos below, which is such a crime it actually makes us sad because these youths are not naturally evil but are corrupted by an evil regime which thinks nothing of the lives of their own children.

 

 
 

 
 

 

The Waqf will demand that the status-quo of no Jews permitted onto the Temple Mount except through the most stringent of circumstances and that only Muslims have the right to pray and all non-Muslims also have to use the Jewish entrance, as the main entrances must be reserved only for the holy people, the Muslims. The Israeli response should be to inquire, would you wish to be responsible for the Mosques on the Temple Mount or not. The Waqf will simply demand as their Allah given right to monitor and control the entire Temple Mount and will try and instruct Israel that they have no power against their rights which come from Allah. At this point, Israel should inform Jordan that their Waqf are no longer permitted in Israel and will be returning to Amman, Jordan immediately and escort the Waqf and the security personnel who are Jordanians to the Allenby Bridge and see that they cross and not permit their return. Then Israel should declare the Temple Mount open to all people using all entrances as an Israeli World Heritage Site. When UNESCO then informs Israel that their having decided that the Temple Mount belongs wholly to the Muslims and that there can be no Jewish claims or control allowed, Israel should simply challenge them to enforce their preposterous declaration. In the meantime, until they successfully enforce their declaration the Temple Mount will remain an Israeli site and open to the general public. Israel also will not permit UNESCO to influence their decision in any way, period. Israel should still enforce the sanctity of the Mosques and if the Muslims decide they do not allow non-Muslims to enter the Mosques, then so be it, that is not an Israeli concern, just the open areas where tourists can experience this holy ground. As for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, its visitation rights will be left to the numerous religious priests who care for this Christian holy site as to whether they will permit tourists or just restricted supervised tours or closing it to the public, it will be their call. Then, once the noise and declarations of extreme aggravation and indignation finally calms, then Israel might desire to make plans for the construction of the Third Temple on some open area of the Temple Mount and until the Temple is built, there should be no further Mosque construction or extensions permitted and this should be strictly enforced otherwise there would be massive mosque construction simply to cover every piece of open ground just to deny it to the rest of the world. We provide a picture of how the Third Temple can be placed on the Temple Mount without any damage or impingement on the other holy sites already on the Temple Mount including the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock below.

 

Temple Mount with Proposed
Options to include Third Temple
Without Destroying or Interfering
Other Religious Structures

 

Then the United Nations will likely decide in the General Assembly with some fair and impartial decision where the vote runs somewhere around 138 in favor to 9 against which will likely be Canada, Czech Republic, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Panama, Palau and the United States, with 41 abstentions which will mostly be from European nations who are too frightened to stand with Israel but still are not quite ready to turn their backs completely on their Judeo-Christian roots and a few African nations mixed in. The Security Council will likely refuse to accept any motion for them to vote on such an issue simply because the United States would use their veto and not likely bother to beg the other nations to avoid their doing so. President Trump and United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nicky Haley are likely all but drooling for their first opportunity to veto an anti-Israel motion in the Security Council simply to make a statement that there is a new sheriff in the Security Council and the old management has left the building. After this has had absolutely no effect upon any actions by Israel and the Temple Mount has become one of the favorite sites that tourists make a must see location and has been secured such that it is also extremely safe, maybe the world will simply accept the new reality. Wait, whom are we kidding. The world will continue to carry on caterwauling and screaming making the most dire claims bordering on the edge of going over the edge, beyond the cusp, into the darkness and eventually leading them to sulking when it has absolutely no effect.

 

This terrorist attack upon police officers that took the life of two and wounded a third should not be allowed to pass without making a change to the situation would be criminal and this could be used as a statement that no longer will terrorism simply pass without any consequences. This should be taken as the start of the new era where the Palestinian Arabs and their terrorist laden leadership will pay a price for every terrorist attack and that no longer will these murderous assaults be permitted to pass without consequences. The era of Israel as the world’s patsy must end and this should be the turning point where Israel now stands up and faces the world as an equal if not as one of the elite and most advanced nations on the planet with few equals. It is time Israel stands up for its rights and impress upon the Palestinian Arabs that the war is over, they lost and if they do not settle soon for what Israel will permit they could very soon have nothing at all and all be somewhere in Syria dodging Bashir al-Assad fired artillery and other forms of murderous attacks. Should the PA decide that they still have the upper hand and can get away with murder and never have to pay a price, they must be disabused of such ideas and educated that things are going to be different and their time to settle for a settlement where they get anything has become limited. Perhaps this Victory Caucus can step up and make the bold statement needed and necessitated right now. They and Daniel Pipes said that they are calling for President Trump to simply tell Israel the war is over and Israel won, well, we could use the backing and we believe that Israel needs to stand up for herself and make the move and then President Trump will find backing Israel far easier and will very likely have the opportunity soon thereafter at the United Nations, of all places. Imagine this as the events over the next few weeks. Israel internationalizes the Temple Mount opening it up to all people with free access using all gates and entrances and prayer permitted for all peoples of all religions or no religion if the feeling strikes them. The United Nations getting all their panties in a bunch and bringing a motion to the Security Council brought by Egypt and backed by China, France and the Russian Federation and President Trump making the veto for the United States in person and announcing his full support for the new Israeli initiative whereby terrorism will no longer be tolerated and will cost the PA after every attack with no exceptions. Now is the opportunity to start a new era where terrorism ends or else, no exceptions.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

History of Jerusalem and Status Quo Incompatible

 

Of the cities within Israeli Control; Hevron, Jericho, Safed (Tzfat), Shiloh, Bethel and Akko are amongst the oldest. Shiloh and Bethel are most notable as locations for the Tabernacle before it was brought to rest in Jerusalem by King David. Hevron is notable as the first capital city of the Israelite Tribes before King David made Jerusalem the capital city around 1100 BCE to 1200 BCE depending on your source (yes we understand some claim different dates and others claim Kings David and Solomon were myths and the Hebrew Bible belongs next to Aesop’s Fables and the Tales of the Brothers Grimm in the fiction and moral tales aisle, but we tend to ignore such tripe). Safed was considered one of the four holy cities along with the aforementioned Jerusalem and Hebron as well as the later addition of the Roman city of Tiberius. Tiberius was built by the Romans in a location that made it visible from much of the entirety of the Israelites civilization and was built with one simple and overriding purpose, to dazzle, impress and force the will of Rome through visualizing Roman superiority and greatness through the magnificence of the city of Tiberius, and it worked except the Hebrews (Jews) simply included it as one of their own taking away the Roman attributes and simply thanking the Romans for constructing what Hashem demanded of the Romans to do for the Hebrews. This leaves Akko which presents an interesting set of tales. It need be mentioned that Akko is considered to be the oldest city in all of the area which became Israel by quite a number of years. Thus let us compare the two oldest cities and Jerusalem and their respective status-quo.

 

Jericho is the city which guards the gateway to the Holy Lands. It is centered in the Jordan River Valley and guards the largest of the passes through the Judean hills and as such must be taken if one expects to supply their armies. Oddly enough, battles for Jericho, other than the one time its walls came tumbling down, are rather absent from much of history despite it being taken by many conquerors including at least one Islamic Leader. Once any group is established in the areas of the Holy Land, they are able to use multiple trade routes; it is largely necessary to take Jericho if one is attacking from the east or south as from the south one is more likely to circle around the Negev Desert and attack crossing the Jordan River necessitating taking Jericho. Should any of these invasions succeed, then their conquest is noted crowned by their conquest of Jerusalem, not Jericho. Jerusalem and Akko are the two main gems in the crown of those wishing to conquer the holy lands simply because Jerusalem was the Capital City of Kings David and Solomon which made it the notable city in the entire area. Akko is the oldest city even older than all the aforementioned especially Jerusalem and older than Beersheba, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza City and any other as Akko is claimed to be approximately five-thousand-years old. It is worth reviewing Akko, the great port city of its age, as it has a protected port in the small bay guarded by the city as well as a seaward port which can handle deep draft vessels meaning Akko could be a port for any ships or smaller boats for across the sea and local trade with more natural docking berths than even Alexandria, especially deeper draft berths. This made Akko as important as Jerusalem to controlling the Holy Lands.

 

Mosaic of the Early Holy Land

 

So let us compare Akko and Jerusalem. Before the Hebrews, the Israelites, the area of Canaan was ruled by city-states of which Akko was one of the oldest and displayed the greatest of walls. The walls of Akko would only be challenged by the walls of Jerusalem herself. The main powers of the early history, almost prehistory, were the Hittites and the Egyptians who basically would fight one another for control over the Holy Lands and even the Sinai Peninsula when Egypt was weakest. These two would mostly fight in the open and whichever side won the day, that would be the greater power which the area city-states would pledge allegiance. On occasion the ruling force might demand additional troops from the cities under their control and whether they were given forces who fought well, they were probably considered the preferred and stronger of the two superpowers fighting to control the region. Akko being located farther north than Jerusalem was often not as likely of being contested and thus remained largely under Hittite rule with only occasional Egyptian rule; this was a more secure and established city with a steady rule while Jerusalem was often under contention, siege, and often would change hands sometimes for days or weeks and at other times for some years. The introduction of the Hebrews, the Israelites, around the year 1525 BCE started their exodus which led to their conquest of the Holy Lands starting roughly sometime in the fourteenth century BCE. Akko already had some history but much of that was Hittite with brief periods under other rulers. There is one individual’s conquests which depict the special difference which Akko held and why for many years during the Crusades remained in Crusader control despite the rest of the area falling to the Muslims. Jerusalem during these times changed hands which led to many individual sweeps which tried to purge the non-believers from Jerusalem. The Crusaders murdered Muslims and the Islamic rulers purged Christians and both sides had one concept in common, both purged Jerusalem of its Jews yet somehow some number of Jews always survived. The conquest of the region by Napoleon was revealing in that he controlled Jerusalem but despite two separate assaults on the walls of Akko, Napoleon was unable to breach the walls and thus Akko never fell to Napoleon. What are we trying to convey? Namely that of all the cities of the Holy Lands, Jerusalem was the most conquered, most divided, and the city with the least amount of a status-quo as the changing of hands led to different rules with each change of rulers. Simply, the status-quo of Jerusalem is about as fluid as any city in all of recorded history and even before.

 

But the talk now is about the recent status-quo of Jerusalem that we are referencing when we talk about status-quo and mostly about the status-quo of the Old City and the Temple Mount even more particularly. The reason that the Muslims specify the Old City and Temple Mount is because Western Jerusalem has been under Israeli rule and was the Capital City for Israel from May 15, 1948, uninterrupted to this day and thus it actually has a status-quo, Israeli rule under Israeli law with Israel responsible for its security and the Jewish State never lost control of this area resulting from the invasion by much of the Arab world the very first day of Israeli existence with the intent of a genocidal conquest slaughtering every Jew in the lands. At dawn of May 15, 1948, Israel legally was the ruling force of all the lands west of the Jordan River to the eastern border of the Mediterranean Sea. The Arab forces had already infiltrated the easternmost lands by stationing troops and special forces inside most of the Arab cities, towns, and other communities with the intent of breaking any lines of communications, reinforcements and resupply thus weakening the Israeli defenses. These defenses were already in disarray with the many different forces spread between the Haganah, Irgun, Sternists, Palmach, Lehi, Mahal (foreign volunteers such as Colonel David Daniel “Mickey” Marcus played by Kirk Douglas in the movie Cast a Giant Shadow) and various individual forces made up mostly of community guards and volunteers from farmers to refugees straight fresh from the boats from the numerous detainment camps which the British used to keep the vast majority of Jews trying to reach the Holy Lands after World War II. The result of this war left Jerusalem split in half with the eastern half which included the entirety of the Old City and Temple Mount in Jordanian hands and the western parts of Jerusalem in Israeli hands. The Jewish residents of the Old City were forced from their homes by the Jordanians or shot during the fighting simply because they were Jews in Arab controlled areas. This situation led to two completely separate status quos for the divided city of Jerusalem.

 

Colonel David Daniel “Mickey” Marcus

 

The following history of the city of Jerusalem for the nineteen years from May 15, 1948, through June 7, 1967, when Israel liberated the whole remainder of Jerusalem during the Six Day War after Jordan attacked on the second day of the war despite Israeli pleas that they not join the losing efforts of Syria and Egypt. Jordan chose to believe the reports by Syrian and Egyptian broadcasts that they were closing on Tel Aviv and destroying the Israeli forces on every front. The reality was quite the opposite as Israel not only was not losing but had liberated Gaza and taken the Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula plus had advanced towards Damascus with the Syrian forces being routed just as were the Egyptians. After Jordan joined the war, they were forced from their occupation, illegal occupation, of Judea and Samaria with Israel regaining the lands lost in 1948 during the war against the Arab world intent on destroying the Jewish State. During those nineteen years the eastern parts of Jerusalem, the parts occupied by Jordan, remained remarkably the same with minimal amounts of additional building beyond that necessitated by increases in population. That was a real status quo with almost nothing changed. On the western parts of Jerusalem under Israeli control the city was built up and modernized with an entire new city center and whole entire suburbs with new roads, schools, synagogues, homes, businesses and gained an entire new look. There is a whole new Jerusalem today than there was in 1967, let alone in 1948 or in the year 500 or back in 1100 BCE when King David conquered the city gaining access through the waterway from the spring outside the city to the central cistern from where his small raiding party opened the city gates and his troops poured in before dawn. The question kind of has to be what status quo as Jerusalem has been a city of constant change and change is the enemy of status quo.

 

Jerusalem 1950 Jerusalem 1970
Jerusalem 2010

 

We have spoken on the supposed status quo in Jerusalem before which can be found as the first seven links from these search results but let us speak of it once more. What the Palestinian Arabs as well as the Jordanians and much of the United Nations wish for Israel to do when they demand we keep the status quo in Jerusalem is to enforce the occupation rules when Jordan illegally occupied half of Jerusalem. Further, they are demanding that Israel also enforce the Jordanian rules in all of the lands which the Jordanians illegally for the nineteen years between May 15, 1948 and June 7, 1967 which would prevent Jews from even visiting areas of Judea and Samaria, let alone reside there. This would continue to forbid Jews from returning to their actual homes which they still retain the deeds to despite the fact that Israel has liberated those homes. They would forbid the Jews whose homes are in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem from returning to these homes and forbid Israel from restoring the Synagogues destroyed by the Jordanians simply because they could not tolerate a Jewish construction in the area while they controlled it, even illegally occupying the area. This is the status quo the world, or at least much of it, demand of Israel which comes down to one simple concept, they wish to deny Jews equal rights in areas within Israel. That is blatant anti-Semitism and that is not an enforceable or even allowable status quo no matter what anybody wishes to claim. Israel, in theory, has freedom of religion yet those demanding the retaining of the status quo are demanding that Israel suspend freedom of religion and allow only Muslims to pray on the Temple Mount and only Islam be observed. This is true even for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which would be an interesting question to pose as it is on the Temple Mount, surely they can hold services. Well, the priests inside may pray but they may not hold any public services as that would break the iron law of status quo. There has been a small concession in the status quo, on the days when the Islamic Waqf decides and only on the hours granted, people other than Muslims may visit the Temple Mount but they are not permitted to enter the Mosques nor may anybody offer even a suspected whim of praying. Even a Buddhist or Taoists or Native American would not be permitted to utter a solemn sound as that would destroy the status quo and the purity of Islam. But is this really the actual status quo or a new demand which is not new as the status quo has been a moving line where the rules have changed as the Islamic forces rise in their perception of their power while the Western World appears to be wilting. The truth is fascinating.

 

Back after the Six Say War and again after the Yom Kippur War when the Islamic forces were thwarted by Israel and handed them a crushing defeat the rules were very different. The Waqf said little if anything and the Temple Mount was open most of the time only closed on Muslim Holy Days and this was at a decision made by the Israelis out of respect. Prayer was not an issue and the Waqf rarely placed watchers on the Temple Mount as there would have been little for them to enforce. Entrance to the Mosques was limited but permission was given for those requesting a tour which was usually guided with the holiest areas off the tour though often visible from an adjoining area. These rules were the status quo for much of the time until the start of the First Intifada in the late 1980’s and the Oslo Accords in September of 1993. Then with each concession by Israel in order to persuade, read bribe, Yasser Arafat and then Mahmoud Abbas, read Yasser Arafat in a suit, the Waqf gained in strength and the status quo slowly but inexorably moved to be more and more strict. This progression would seem to have reached its end but there is still room to allow only Muslims onto the Temple Mount and all others banned from the site even to the point of demanding the priests from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre be removed from their posts and then the turning of the church into yet one more Mosque. Think that might be something they would not do, then you need to look into the history of the Hagia Sophia which was first made into a Mosque after the conquest of Constantinople, where even the name of the city itself was changed to Istanbul, and in recent times has been changed into a museum which depicts both of its histories. Do not hold your breath praying this becomes the status quo for that former greatest cathedral in all Christendom as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been slowly moving Turkey towards becoming an Islamic theocracy aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood; so the Hagia Sophia Museum may be headed for a new future back to being a mosque.

 

As the status quo of the Temple Mount has been altered with time and feelings of gaining the upper hand and becoming powerful while Israel appears to have weakened in protecting any Jewish rights to the Temple Mount even to not preventing the destruction of countless artifacts from the First and Second Temples which the Waqf had claimed to be installing drainage ditches in order to dig down and destroy every artifact they found and the Israeli Antiquities Authority protested but was overruled by the Waqf claiming their unopposable Islamic right to any action they chose. The reality is that the Waqf only retains any authority for as long as Israel is willing to tolerate their actions. Let me repeat that, for as long as Israel tolerates their actions. Why are they still here and not back in Jordan where they belong? Prime Minister Netanyahu that question is for you. Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, why is Israel not applying our authority over the Temple Mount as an integral part of our Capital City of Jerusalem and location of the holiest ground in the Jewish faith? We do not expect any of the myriad of Israeli officers, who have the authority to remove the Waqf from all of Israel and send them back to Jordan which is the nation responsible for choosing these officers, to perform their duty as currently demanded by a majority of the Israeli population. What we would expect is for Israel to finally get sick and tired of the world demanding that we shrink from our rightful claims and legal ownership under International Law through an entire series of treaties and other legal rights granted through the League of Nations and enforceable under the Charter of the United Nations that all the land west of the Jordan River belongs to Israel. We gave away Gaza under what became obviously an on again off again promise which was given by United States President Bush and not enforced by President Obama and overruled by the United Nations with Security Council Resolution 2334 which being under Chapter Six is not enforceable by military action or economic embargo by the United Nations itself and contrary to the United Nations Charter (which actually negates the entirety of Resolution 2334) and apparently will be honored by President Trump. Gaza will remain in the hands of Hamas which will be left to Egypt to either tolerate or retake control over the area as they had before the Six Day War. Israel has obviously taken a mow-the-grass attitude where whenever Hamas decides to attack at a level no longer tolerable by the Israeli public, then they will destroy Hamas and Islamic Jihad from being capable of continuing their destruction and aggressions against Israel. As far as Hamas and their aiding the terrorist forces in the Sinai Peninsula, as that harms Egypt far more than Israel, this problem will be left up to Egypt to address. Should this become the situation harming Israel, they would work with Egypt on resolving who would take the appropriate actions or what combined actions are required. But regarding the areas of Judea and Samaria, Israel has every right to resolve all aspects of the conflict in whatever means Israel might decide is to Israel’s best advantage. The rules which gives Israel dominion over the lands west of the Jordan River places an obligation to provide religious, social, ownership of property, and all rights with the exception of political rights. This allows that Israel treat any and all Arabs residing in Judea and Samaria as legal resident aliens which would allow them everything they currently have except they would not be permitted to vote in elections. Israel would likely allow them to continue self-rule in areas where they are the majority population at the time of the reestablishment of Israeli governance. This could be any date or time even ten minutes from now, the only requirement would be for Prime Minister Netanyahu making an announcement of such a decision, nothing more.

 

This is another one of those eventualities which will happen, it is simply a matter of when but we would advise not holding one’s breathe. The world will make a huge noise and protest as loudly as they are capable with the United Nations General Assembly passing more resolutions against Israel than usual. Many of the Arabs residing in Judea and Samaria would initially believe that they would be thrown from their homes and lose their businesses fearing the worst and expecting Israel to act as they had acted when they illegally occupied these lands and evicted or murdered every Jew residing within the region. Their reaction would be similar to any Japanese soldier captured by the allies in World War II as they had been told that they should expect to be tortured just as the Japanese did to the allied prisoners they captured. Much to the Japanese surprise they were treated well and with respect and much to the Arab’s surprise the Israelis would grant them more rights while allowing them to continue residing on their land and retaining most of their rights. They already do not vote in Israeli elections and that would remain the same. Israel would likely give them an offer to resettle outside of Israel with an incentive to aid their relocation and payment for the property they currently own as if they had sold it and once they took such a deal they would not be permitted to return with any intent to reside in Israel in the future. But all this is conjecture until Israel gets true, strong and confident Zionist leadership willing to take decisive measures to assure Israeli survival. We await such times and pray it will not require the Messiah in order to reach such finality.

 

Beyond the Cusp