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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Enough blame to go around

Early this morning several vehicles containing Jewish worshipers made a clandestine visit to Joseph's tomb in Shechem (Nablus). This kind of unauthorized visit to the Jewish holy site is not an uncommon occurrence, especially on the part of Brealev Hassidim, since according to the current security arrangements, only one nighttime visit per month is allowed... and then only to a small number of people.

According to published sources, there is currently a list of thousands of Jews waiting for permission to visit the site.

Because of this backlog, many Jews have become accustomed to visiting the tomb and adjoining synagogue under cover of darkness in the early morning hours; finishing their prayers as the sun comes up. This has been done largely with a wink and a nod from both the Israeli and palestinian security forces.

Until today, that is.

At about 6:00 AM this morning, several vehicles containing a group of Breslev Hassidim came under a hail of automatic machine gun fire, allegedly from Palestinian security forces. One worshiper was killed and several were wounded before they managed to make their way to an Israeli check point.

To my way of seeing things, this ludicrous, not to mention dangerous, situation has been deliberately allowed to develop by our leftist, anti-religious defense minister in much the same way that he has fostered the fallacy that the very presence of Jews within stones throw (and firing range) of Arabs is deemed sufficiently provocative to spark calls to remove the Jews rather than the stone throwers and shooters.

There is absolutely no reason why we should be meticulously maintaining access to Muslim holy sites (such as the Temple Mount) for Arabs, while Jews are routinely denied access to those same, and other, sites.

We'll leave aside my personal conviction that Islam is a modern, made up religion that flies in the face of all historical evidence, not to mention is incapable of coexisting with other faiths.

What really bothers me (aside from the wanton slaughter of innocent Jews), is the ongoing trend of discounting millennium old Jewish claims to holy sites in our own land, while holding as sacrosanct any and all Muslim claims and sensibilities, however modern and inconsistent with historical and religious texts.

The PA is calling this morning's murder shooting a "security event, not an act of terror". I beg to differ.

As I said earlier, both the Israeli and Palestinian security services are quite familiar with these unsanctioned early morning prayer visits, and have treated them as harmless for years. That the Palestinian police felt comfortable opening fire on these vehicles today indicates that they have received new orders.

I am so sick of Jews being arrested and assaulted for daring to move their lips in silent prayer on the temple mount. I am sick of our holy places having to be fortified like bunkers in order to ensure the safety of arriving worshippers (Rachel's tomb), and of Jewish life and property being deemed equally unworthy of protection by our own defense minister.

Jews praying at Jewish holy sites is not a provocation. It is not a security threat. It is not an obstacle to peace. Only the mindset of those who feel otherwise creates a climate where peaceful coexistence can never be achieved. And I include both Israelis and Palestinians in that accusation.

Posted by David Bogner on April 24, 2011 | Permalink

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"A security event"? That's rich.

Posted by: Dick Stanley | Apr 24, 2011 10:12:35 PM

Chag Sama'ach

with all the people who have died because of the actions of Barak. how and why is he still in office?

Posted by: dave | Apr 24, 2011 10:24:05 PM

Well said!

Posted by: Yael | Apr 25, 2011 12:08:50 PM

Leftists seem to be afraid of accepting the responsibility that comes with being a Jew. As such they have no right to sovereignty in the land of Israel which is why they do not assert one. Nature abhors a vacuum, of course. The arabs don't hate Jews per se, they hate Jews who do not behave like Jews - and rightly so. Israel needs to take responsibility and either civilise the arabs or kick them out.

Posted by: aparatchik | Apr 25, 2011 3:39:06 PM

why didnt you blame the jews who violated what is essentially sovereign space?
of course they didnt deserve death. but they really did not belong there.

Posted by: fred | Apr 25, 2011 10:12:05 PM

Fred... Actually, under Oslo we Joos are supposed to ha e free access to our holy places. As usual the Arabs have not lived up to their end of the agreement. Way to blame the victims though.

Posted by: Treppenwitz | Apr 25, 2011 11:51:33 PM

just for clarification... what makes islam a "made up " religion... and Judaism " authentic" ( let's be honest about one thing, there is much debate about the veracity of much if not most of our tradition as well...)....? besides.. like it or not.. there is a tradition that goes back over 1000 yrs... doesnt that count for something? as far as the nonsenses going on now with these radical cretins- even assuming that they have hijacked this faith and are using it for their nefarious plan ( which I tend to think is the case ) that statement seems troubling...

Posted by: shabtai | Apr 26, 2011 12:57:13 AM

Islam is an attempt to hijack the monotheistic tradition, try to appropriate its blessings, make it exclusive to one group and kill its development.

Posted by: aparatchik | Apr 26, 2011 11:37:25 AM

but Aparatchik.. do you have any defiinite thoughts about this? :)

Posted by: shabtai | Apr 26, 2011 4:35:02 PM

@ shabtai what do you mean?

Posted by: aparatchik | Apr 27, 2011 2:40:52 PM

My rule of thumb regarding religion is as follows: 1) beware any religion whose main revelatory experiences were by lone individuals; 2) beware any religion that views everyone else as the enemy, the Infidel, or says everyone else must convert or die/burn in hell; 3) beware any religion that encourages suffering, poverty, fatalism, or martyrdom; 4) beware any religion that has two standards of justice, one for believers and another for everyone else; and 5) beware any religion where belief is more important than behavior, scholarship, personal responsibility, and the sanctity of life. (Kind of narrows it down, don’t it?)

Posted by: Shimshonit | Apr 28, 2011 10:59:47 PM

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