Gesprekken over soevereiniteit Tempelberg

Terwijl iedereen naar de Klaagmuur kan, tijdens diensten daar of op sabbath of zomaar, is de rest van de Tempelberg meestal slechts toegankelijk voor moslims. Afhankelijk van de veiligheidssituatie mogen toeristen (waaronder Joden) er op bepaalde tijdstippen in. De moskeeën zijn ook dan niet toegankelijk voor niet-moslims. Volgens de Joodse religieuze voorschriften zou niemand toegang moeten hebben tot het 'Heiligste der Heiligen' op de Tempelberg (volgens sommigen op de plek waar nu de Rotskoepel staat). Deze lokatie is voor de Joden zo heilig dat ook zijzelf er niet mogen komen. Maar moslims komen er nu dagelijks. Dat is een enorm compromis, aldus Aaron Lerner van IMRA, en daarvoor in ruil zouden Joden op de Tempelberg moeten kunnen bidden, en er niet slechts op bepaalde tijden als toerist toegang verkrijgen.

Volgens onderstaand bericht uit Arutz7, is de VS in overleg met religieuze leiders van de verschillende religies over de toekomst van de Tempelberg. De VS zou een einde aan de Israëlische soevereiniteit over de Tempelberg en de gehele Oude Stad inclusief een paar omliggende gebieden (het bassin geheten) willen:

As a follow-up, the invitations to the Chief Rabbis to the White House for three days of meetings were issued. The meetings, which will be attended by members of the Islamic Wakf and Christian leaders, will reportedly deal with a proposal similar to that floated by Vice Premier Chaim Ramon (Kadima).
According to the proposal, the Jerusalem "Holy Basin" - meaning the Old City and surrounding areas - would be administered by a joint committee and not remain under Israeli sovereignty. According to Ramon's plan, the Western Wall and Temple Mount would remain under Israeli control, but the Americans are reportedly pushing to see the Temple Mount relinquished as well.

80 Jaar geleden zocht de Britse Shaw commissie na rellen bij de Klaagmuur naar een oplossing en hoorde de verschillende religieuze leiders. Men stelde voor dat de Joodse gemeenschap zijn claims op de Klaagmuur opgaf, maar wel het recht zou hebben er te bidden. De rellen die hieraan vooraf gingen waren overigens uitgelokt door de groot-moefti Al Husseini, die de biddende Joden verstoorde door er juist tijdens sabbath zogenaamde werkzaamheden uit te laten voeren.

Tussen 1948 en 1967, toen de Oude Stad onder Jordaanse soevereiniteit viel, werd Joden de toegang tot de Klaagmuur ontzegd, in tegenspraak met de wapenstilstandsovereenkomst. Ook vernielde Jordanie 56 van de 57 synagoges in de oude stad, en werden stenen van de Joodse begraafplaats op de Olijfberg gebruikt voor de aanleg van wegen.

Terwijl de Tempelberg en de andere religieuze plaatsen in Jeruzalem onder Israëlische soevereiniteit vallen, regelen religieuze comité's (zoals de islamitische Waqf) de dagelijkse en religieuze zaken. De Waqf heeft zoveel macht dat ze eigenhandig opgravingen laat doen in gebied dat zeer kwetsbaar is vanwege de mogelijke resten van vroegere artefacten en gebouwen. Ze gaan daarbij bepaald niet fijngevoelig te werk. In principe laat Israël iedereen toe tot de heilige plaatsen (waar ook mensen van alle gezindten wonen), maar vanwege de veiligheid is het voor Palestijnen uit de Westelijke Jordaanoever steeds moeilijker om Jeruzalem binnen te komen. Zij kunnen van daaruit immers vrijelijk door heel Israël reizen. Toch lijkt Israëlische soevereiniteit de beste en ook meest rechtvaardige optie. Israël heeft immers bewezen de meeste tolerantie en respect te hebben voor de heilige plaatsen van andere religies, en diens rechten het beste te waarborgen.

 

Bovendien is Jeruzalem altijd zowel het nationale als spirituele centrum van het Jodendom geweest, en is het in het verleden slechts hoofdstad geweest van een Joodse staat. De band van de Joden met de stad gaat vooraf aan die van de christenen en de moslims, en is daar in het eerste geval een afgeleide van. Jeruzalem komt in de Koran in het geheel niet voor, er wordt slechts éénmaal in gesproken van de 'verste hemelboog', wat volgens sommigen een verwijzing naar Jeruzalem zou zijn. Het hele verhaal van Mohammed die zijn paard aan de Klaagmuur zou hebben gebonden voordat hij erop ten hemel steeg komt niet uit de Koran, maar is later verzonnen om de Joden een voet dwars te zetten.

Ratna
--------------

[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:  A curious element of the Temple Mount issue is that the rabbinic views regarding restrictions on access to various locations on the Temple Mount are not vis-a-vis access for Jews in particular but instead their position regarding the presence of human beings - regardless of their faith - at those locations. If these rabbis expressed their view to Ms. Rice in the style of the Moslem clergymen they would be saying "the Chief Rabbinate doesn't think anyone should be on the Temple Mount today - not Jews, not Moslems, while there are other Rabbis who hold that it is acceptable to go to certain locations on the Temple Mount - but certainly not at the site of the Holy of Holies - where the Dome of the Rock is located today."

What would be the advantage of this?

The compromise of the Jews is that they accept that Moslems (or for that matter tourists of all faiths (including Jews)) have access to the area of the Holy of Holies where the Dome of the Rock is presently located even though this is in gross violation of Jewish law and considered to be an incredibly terrible thing.

In return for this tremendous Jewish concession the Moslems are expected to accept that Jews can pray (that's pray - not just come as tourists) at locations on the Temple Mount that, according to some Rabbinical authorities, access is permitted to human beings even though some Moslem clerics hold that it is an abomination for non-Moslems to pray on the Temple Mount.  In addition, Israel has sovereignty over the Temple Mount.

After all, while the Moslem "concession" of allowing Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount relates to a view held by some Moslem clerics regarding the prayer of non-Moslems at any mosque in general, the Jewish "concession" regarding access to the location of the Holy of Holies relates to a view universally held by the Rabbis and that is specific to the Temple Mount.

From a practical standpoint, it is hardly "PC"  for Moslem clerics to say to Ms. Rice that they don't want Jews and Christians saying a prayer on the Temple Mount while the Jewish clerics who say that they don't want any human beings at certain places on the Temple Mount actually sound "PC" since their view applies to all human beings. ]

==============

Exclusive: Rabbis Invited For Pre-Annapolis Temple Mount Talks
by Ezra HaLevi Arutz 7 News   4 November 2007

Israel's Chief Rabbis and the Chief Rabbi of Haifa have been invited to the White House for pre-Annapolis talks to explain the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount.

Chief Rabbis Yonah Metzger and Shlomo Amar, as well as the Chief Rabbi of Haifa and Chairman of the Chief Rabbinate Communications Committee Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Cohen departed Saturday evening for a series of meetings to clarify to US leaders that the Temple Mount is Judaism's holiest site.

Ahead of the Annapolis Conference, the Bush administration is trying to gauge Israel's "red lines" and examine the possibility of relinquishing the Temple Mount to Islam.

Despite the fact that many rabbis both visit and encourage other Jews to visit the Temple Mount in the manner permitted by Jewish law, the chief rabbinate says that Jews should not visit the Temple Mount. A large sign is affixed to the path leading to the Mount saying it is "forbidden for Jews to visit the Mount according to Jewish law."

All three rabbis agree that the Temple Mount must remain under Jewish sovereignty.  However, the chief rabbis believe the mount should be closed to all since a special level of ritual purity must be obtained before ascending to the site of the Jewish Holy Temple. Rabbi Cohen believes the Temple Mount should be open to Jewish worship and a synagogue should be constructed there.

Second Such Meeting

Arutz-7's Yedidya HaCohen reports that a secret meeting on the matter took place two weeks ago during one of the recent visits by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Jerusalem. The meeting dealt with Jerusalem's holy sites and was attended by Rabbi Cohen, as well as Muslim and Christian religious leaders. The meeting lasted over two hours.

Muslim leaders aired their claim that "the Jews want to destroy the Al-Aksa Mosques" and their oft-heard denial that there was ever a Jewish temple at the site. The chief Mufti has already declared that Jews should not be allowed to pray at the site. Recent archaological finds from the First Temple have not tempered Muslim denial of pre-Islamic history on the mount, as well as the Western Wall.

Rabbi Cohen responded to those present: "It is forbidden to deny that the Jews had our Holy Temple at that site. It is forbidden to forget that King David purchased the Temple Mount, King Solomon built the Holy Temple and Ezra the Scribe rebuilt it as well [after it was destroyed -ed.]. All who come afterward must recognize the rights of those who came first. Although I do not propose the demolition of the mosques, the Muslims must remember that they are there due to us."

Rabbi Cohen also recalled the historical fact that the Muslim Caliph Omar Suleiman built a synagogue on the Temple Mount where Jews prayed, and that it was later destroyed by another Caliph.

In summation, Rabbi Cohen told Rice and the other religious leaders that he is completely opposed to any withdrawal from the Temple Mount and site of the Holy Temple.

Rice reportedly responded: "Honorable rabbi, I understand you well. I am the daughter of a priest and the granddaughter of a priest, I learned the Bible and know what is written there."

Rice said, at the conclusion of the meeting, that she understood that religious matters were at the root of the disagreements ahead of the conference. "If this matter is not solved, then nothing will be solved," she said. Those at the meeting reported her demeanor as tense.

As a follow-up, the invitations to the Chief Rabbis to the White House for three days of meetings were issued. The meetings, which will be attended by members of the Islamic Wakf and Christian leaders, will reportedly deal with a proposal similar to that floated by Vice Premier Chaim Ramon (Kadima). According to the proposal, the Jerusalem "Holy Basin" - meaning the Old City and surrounding areas - would be administered by a joint committee and not remain under Israeli sovereignty. According to Ramon's plan, the Western Wall and Temple Mount would remain under Israeli control, but the Americans are reportedly pushing to see the Temple Mount relinquished as well.

Sources connected to the Chief Rabbinate say there is great significance to the inclusion of Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Cohen, who has declared publicly that he will fight such a plan and not just take part in the inter-religious arrangements being planned for the Holy City. Rabbi Cohen's position that the Temple Mount must be opened to Jewish prayer is well known, as well as his call for the establishment of a synagogue on the Mount.

Also joining the rabbinic delegation are Chairman of the Chief Rabbinate Oded Weiner and Rabbi David Rosen, former chief rabbi of Ireland and the head of the World Committee for Jewish-Christian relations.

Conference Mirrors Pre-State Events

The meetings resemble similar discussions by the British Shaw Committee that took place 80 years ago. Those meetings aimed to determine to whom the Western Wall belonged. Former Israel Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook went before the committee to offer his perspective, while the committee honored the Muslim Mufti by coming to his office adjacent to the Temple Mount.

Rabbi Kook presented the committee with arguments for Jewish rights to pray at the site and emphasized its holiness. When asked to bring supporting proof, Rabbi Kook responded: "By relying on documents, we are liable to weaken this truth, which is among those that are so well known that it is not in need of proof. It is similar to one who raises a candle to increase the brightness of the sun's light.It is known that this site is enwrapped in the same holiness of our Holy Temple."

Later in the deliberations, the heads of the Zionist establishment agreed to relinquish claims of ownership of the Western Wall and receive only the right to pray at the site. In response to the initiative, Rabbi Kook responded: "G-d forbid we give up the Western Wall; we have not received power of attorney from the Nation of Israel!"


--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il