(National Review) David Harsanyi - Israel does not "attack" the Al-Aqsa mosque - though it is impelled to quell riots occasionally. Israel does not even occupy it. The country handed custodianship of the site to Jordan's Hashemites to avoid conflict. By contrast, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is peaceful because local Christians tend not to hurl stones at praying civilians nearby. The recent rioting in Jerusalem was sparked by the culmination of a long legal battle involving Palestinian families living on land that had been taken from Jewish families after 1948. Palestinians are upset that the case was adjudicated by a court of law rather than by the UN or a mob. Then again, it's a convenient excuse for more violence. It is the Palestinians who demand a Judenfrei West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. There is no other region in the world, no other conflict - involving no other ethnicity, race, or faith - in which Americans accept this kind of prejudice. Indeed, the real reason for Palestinian anger is that Israel is again celebrating Jerusalem's reunification this week. From 1948 to 1967, Jews had been banned from their holy sites in the city. An average American probably needs a translator to make sense of the coverage of this conflict. When the media say "settlers," they mean "Jewish homeowners." When they say "ultranationalist Jews," they mean "Israelis with yarmulkes." When they say "Palestinian protesters," they mean "rock-throwing rioters." When they say, "Israeli car hits Palestinian," they mean "Palestinians throw rocks at Israeli car until it loses control and crashes - and then attempt to lynch the people inside." And when someone says "provocation," they mean "the Jewish presence in Jerusalem," where Al-Aqsa sits on the rubble of an ancient Jewish temple in a city with a permanent Jewish presence.
2021-05-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive