Events of the past week in Jerusalem are extremely troubling, and indeed for the past four months. The al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in the world for Muslims, and the Israeli authorities and their squatter movement are becoming more and more aggressive toward the site and the Muslims who try to visit and worship there.
Sixteen arrested after clashes at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa (via AFP)
Israeli police arrested 16 Palestinians Sunday as they clashed with demonstrators at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, a sensitive holy site that is frequently the scene of tensions. “This morning, after the site was opened for visitors and…
This post was republished using Repost. Please read it on Informed Comment directly: https://www.juancole.com/2014/04/coming-mosque-temple.html
Related video:
Press TV: “Israeli forces attack Palestinian worshippers in the Al-Aqsa”
Too bad. We know who will win this holy war. The Jews/Israelis with the backing of American “Exceptionalism.”
Actually @Jay L, there is the very real probability that the Israelis would lose badly for some fairly straight forward reasons. (1) In reality, very few Americans are willing to die for Israel. Note that less than 1% of Americans have died for the US in Iraq and Afghanistan and virtually none of the US military would fight another war in the ME and any attempt at a draft would fail. (2) The IDF is mostly conscripts and not well trained. If a major war breaks out, many Israelis will desert and flee. Note that in every war, most humans flee the war, not rush to the front. Israel probably has less than 2 million people to fight a war with. 1% of all Muslims is over 15 million. (3) missiles are cheap and plentiful. Per the IDF there are over 100,000 pointed at Israel right now (I discount that by 50% because it was said during budget discussions). Rust dome and the other “defensive” systems can only stop less than 1000 incoming projectiles, so at least 49,000 are going to make big rubble piles (causing more people to flee). (4) Israel has no “magic” weapons and the rest of the world is awash in weapons equal to or better than anything Israel has or will have. (5) Nukes are only good for one thing – committing suicide. If Israel uses nukes, at a minimum its economy would collapse but the most likely scenario is Israel would get nuked in retaliation, especially if it nukes Saudi Arabia (who probably has nukes on-site). In the real world, a country of 7 million people always loses to a group with 1.5 billion. Also remember that Israel will run out of fuel for its tanks and planes real quick because the global oil markets will be shut down. The bottom line is Israel is actually a miniscule country with very little real power and starting a war with Muslims would be the dumbest thing they could do.
As long as there are “holy cities” and “holy sites” human beings will murder one another over their competing claims. No enlightenment since men worshiped standing stones only more efficient ways to kill.
See also this piece: link to al-monitor.com
And once again, R.A. Wilson is proven to be prophetic: he defined religious wars as “an argument as to who has the better invisible friend.” Please, can we not move past this archaic, medieval attitude? All signs point to “no.”
While claiming that those who criticize Israel are anti semitic, Israel shows it’s arrogance by disrespecting other religions, and treating their Holy places as insignificant. Israel’s claim to Holy places, even when it is disputed by other religions, has become the norm. When the zionists want someone else’s property and resources, the US usually looks the other way, while it is being ruthlessly stolen. It is time the Christian zionists of the US, realized that the zionists have treated Arab Christians very badly, prevented them from visiting their Churches, which can be considered bigotry and anti Christian. If ONE Jew was stopped or prevented from going to synagogue in that region, we would have been deafened by the predictable cries of “anti semitism”, and the zionists would have seized on that incident, to justify one of their brutal crimes, as retaliation.
Oh so I guess its OK for Arabs to ban Jews from the Temple Mount even though it was once part the 1st and 2dn temples? Can you explain your logic to me please ?
Religion is supposed to be the cause of peace, tranquility and spirituality. Jerusalem is the best proof that religion is none of those things. A bunch of seemingly mature and intelligent people fight over some bricks and mortar under the excuse that it is holy, and in order to prove the holiness of that spot or a building they kill their fellow human beings. I have been to Jerusalem. Nowhere else have I ever felt the same degree of tension, hostility, fanaticism and bigotry that I have felt in that “Holy Land”. How right Ralph Waldo Emerson was when he wrote: “How little love is at the bottom of these religious shows; congregations and temples and sermons, – how much sham!”