Freedman in the Guardian: Pro-Temple Mount Also for the Jews

Yisrael Medad

My Right Word

06 October 09

This from a avowed sympathizer of the other side:

Meting out violence against worshippers planning to pray at Judaism's holiest site, as occurred several times during the last week, is a disgraceful way to demonstrate against the Israeli authorities, and the sooner Palestinian leaders condemn the aggression, the better for all parties concerned. Letting off steam in such a fashion might soothe the sense of injured pride felt by many on the Palestinian street, as well as score cheap political points among their more incendiary leaders, but it does not mitigate the negative effects of such a base response by the rioters.

The Temple Mount is, arguably, even more important to Jews than it is to Muslims, and as such there is a heavy onus on both sides to tread carefully when attempting to share the site. Anything that sets off a spark in the tinderbox atmosphere which perennially surrounds the compound will have long-lasting ramifications that will continue well after the teargas has cleared and the rock-throwers have been dispersed. By reacting as they did, the Palestinian protesters have done immeasurable damage to their wider national cause...

Radicals from the settler movement are adept at hijacking religious occasions and turning them into highly charged, political rallies – and when such instances occur, the Israeli authorities ought to stand in their path rather than aid and abet extremists in their provocation.

However, for Palestinians to demand that Jews not be allowed to hold services on the Temple Mount, especially over the Rosh Hashanah-Yom Kippur period, is a step too far, and demonstrates a level of intolerance that no Israeli should have to put up with. Love or hate one another, Jews and Muslims living in Israel and the occupied territories know full well that the contentious locations of many of their holy sites necessitate at least a minimal degree of co-operation.

Did you read that?

for Palestinians to demand that Jews not be allowed to hold services on the Temple Mount, especially over the Rosh Hashanah-Yom Kippur period, is a step too far

And this:

...officials such as Erekat and his Jordanian counterparts play into the hands of the Israeli right, who will use the incidents as proof that not only are certain elements of Palestinian society untameable, but that their backers both at home and abroad turn a blind eye to their misdeeds and offer no hope of calming such tense standoffs whenever they occur.

Well, nice to know the Guardian is a place where the truth occasionally can be found.
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