(Atlantic) Jeffrey Goldberg - This is how a Hamas spokesman reacted to the massacre of Jews at prayer: "The new operation is heroic." Hamas' endorsement of the massacre confirms that its goal is the eradication of Israel and its Jews. President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority has called on his people to protect the Temple Mount and has warned of a "holy war" if it is "contaminated" by Jews." The Temple Mount is the holiest place in Judaism. Abbas' belief that the presence of Jews "contaminates" the Mount speaks to his own susceptibility to Muslim supremacist ideology. The events of the past couple of weeks in Jerusalem suggest that a core issue of the conflict remains the unwillingness of many Palestinian Muslims to accept the idea that Jews have rights in their ancestral homeland. And in the case of Hamas and like-minded groups, that Jews have a right to live.
2014-11-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive