Showing posts with label al-Aksa Mosque. Show all posts
Showing posts with label al-Aksa Mosque. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

United Nations Just Gave Rachel's Tomb and Patriach Caves to Islam - Tzippe Barrow/CBN News

The Al-Asqa mosque.
The Al-Asqa mosque. (Reuters)


United Nations Just Gave Rachel's Tomb and Patriach Caves to Islam


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UNESCO passed a resolution Wednesday declaring two biblical Jewish sites, Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Islamic holy sites.
An earlier draft of the resolution, sponsored by six member nations of UNESCO's executive board—Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates—included the Western Wall, known in Hebrew as the Kotel, calling it an extension of the al-Aksa Mosque and therefore a Muslim holy site as well. The revised version dropped that claim.
The resolution also accused Israel of "aggression and illegal measures" on the Temple Mount that affect Muslim's freedom of worship and access to the al-Aksa Mosque. It further accused Israel of attempting to change the status quo since 1967, literally the opposite of what Israel is trying to do.
The majority of UNESCO's 58 member nations have historically supported Palestinian resolutions so Wednesday's vote was not totally unexpected.
For Bible-believing Jews and Christians, the idea that these biblical sites somehow morphed into Islamic sites is ludicrous.
The Bible records that Abraham purchased the cave and the field next to it some 3,700 years ago as a family burial site (see Genesis 23-25), with the exception of Jacob's second wife, Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, who was buried near Bethlehem (see Genesis 35:16-20).
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Israel Tuesday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
"I think it's time to tell the truth about Palestinian terrorism," Netanyahu said in his initial remarks to the U.N. chief. "It is not about the settlements; it is not about the peace process. It is about the desire to destroy the State of Israel, pure and simple."
Abbas, he said, has joined the ranks of ISIS and Hamas in propagating the lie that Israel is "threatening the Aksa Mosque." The international community should hold him accountable for incitement and support Israel's right to self-defense, he said.  
Ban, for his part, said he is "deeply troubled," in fact "concerned," about "instances of inflammatory rhetoric."
"We need to keep the situation from escalating into a religious conflict with potential regional applications," Ban said, admitting that he understands Israel's anger at daily terror attacks, and he also appreciates the "genuine concern about peace and security" that terrorism generates.
In a letter Tuesday to UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, B'nai B'rith International strongly condemned "the attempt to rewrite history," calling it a "malicious resolution" and urging her to steer the executive board clear of such a "vile proposal."
 
"The creeping but undisguised historical revisionism and territorial, cultural and civilizational appropriation taking root at UNESCO ... make clear which side in the conflict is truly inciting religious tensions and seeking to alter the status quo in Jerusalem," the letter stated.
Bokova's earlier statement to UNESCO's executive board "to take decisions that do not further inflame tensions on the ground and that encourage respect for the sanctity of the holy sites," is not reflected in Wednesday's vote.
A Palestinian mob recently torched Joseph's Tomb and attacks on Israelis visiting Rachel's Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs are not unusual. It remains to be seen how UNESCO's latest resolutions will play out.

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UN Vote Would Make Western Wall a Muslim Site - Tzippe Barrow/CBN

Men pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Men pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. (Flickr/Creative Commons)


UN Vote Would Make Western Wall a Muslim Site


Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

The Palestinian Authority's latest proposed U.N. resolution, sponsored by UNESCO, claims the Western Wall, known in Hebrew as the Kotel, is part of the al-Aksa Mosque and thereby a Muslim holy site, rather than the last remaining vestige of the Jewish Temple(s).
Sponsored by six member nations of UNESCO's executive board—Algeria, Egypt, Kuwait, Morocco, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates—the resolution also claims P.A. ownership of Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
The majority of UNESCO's 58 member nations have historically supported Palestinian resolutions.
For Bible-believing Jews and Christians, the idea that these historical Jewish sites somehow morphed into Muslim sites is nonsense.
The Bible records that Abraham purchased the cave and the field next to it some 3,700 years ago as a family burial site (see Genesis 23-25), with the exception of Jacob's second wife, Rachel, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, who was buried near Bethlehem (see Genesis 35:16-20).
Israel's Foreign Ministry condemned the petition.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely called it another "shameful and deceitful attempt" to rewrite history, predicting it would "fail the test of reality."
"The Temple Mount and the Western Wall in Jerusalem are the cornerstones of Jewish history. They are historical facts no one can dispute," Hotovely said, adding that Abbas is continuing the legacy of former PLO chairman Yasser Arafat to distort history and work against Jewish-Arab coexistence in Israel.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon paid a surprise visit to Israel Tuesday to meet with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon also arrived in Israel Tuesday to sit in on Ban's meeting with Netanyahu. Danon will return to New York to attend Thursday morning's Security Council meeting.
Ban condemned "the dangerous escalation in violence" in Israel, Jerusalem and what he calls "the occupied Palestinian territories."
The U.N. chief said he understands Palestinian anger over the "continued occupation and expansion of settlements," and their disappointment at the inability to end the conflict.
Ban criticized Israel's "apparent excessive use of force," while admitting that security is a priority when children are afraid to go to school and anyone on the street is a potential victim (of an attack).
Meanwhile, B'nai B'rith International strongly condemned "the attempt to rewrite history" in a letter to UNESCO Director General Irena Bokova, calling it a "malicious resolution" and urging her to steer the executive board clear of such a "vile proposal."
Co-signed by B'nai Brith International President Allan J. Jacobs and Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin, the letter maligns the "blatant hypocrisy that has been percolating with UNESCO."
"The creeping but undisguised historical revisionism and territorial, cultural and civilizational appropriation taking root at UNESCO...make clear which side in the conflict is truly inciting religious tensions and seeking to alter the status quo in Jerusalem," the letter stated.

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Thursday, August 22, 2013

Israel Blamed for Collapse on Temple Mount - CBNNews.com

Israel Blamed for Collapse on Temple Mount

Associated Press
JERUSALEM, Israel --The Muslim al-Aksa Foundation and Cultural Heritage Organization blamed Israel for the collapse of an area near the Bab as Silsila on the western side of the al-Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount.
The organization accused Israel of "paving the way for demolishing the al-Aksa Mosque by building new settlements and digging dozens of tunnels," Turkey's Anadolu news agencyreported.
"The collapse has caused a deep hole there," eyewitness Cum'a Usayle told the agency. "It is dangerous for the al-Aksa Mosque. It poses danger especially for children and women."
Usayle said it is the second collapse in the area within the past five years.
According to the report, Israel had taken no security precautions around the area and has yet to issue a statement about the incident.
Israel is responsible for security arrangements on the Temple Mount, while the Wakf, the Islamic trust, is in charge of day-to-day administrative duties.
Though the site of the First and Second Jewish Temples, Muslims are the only ones permitted to pray at the Temple Mount. Many attend Friday prayers at the shrine known as the Dome of the Rock.
Israeli archaeologists have long complained of the Wakf authorizing the destruction of First and Second Temple-era artifacts there as a way to erase evidence of the Jewish connection to the area.
At the entrance to the Temple Mount, a Wakf posted a sign that reads, "The Al-Aksa Mosque courtyard and everything in it is Islamic property."