THE TEMPLE MOUNT IS JEWISH BY ORIGIN

Submitted by DAVID M. DASTYCH (Poland), Sep 4, 2002 at 12:24

DEAR DR. PIPES,

Your article reminds me of a visit on the Temple Mount in Winter of 1992, more than 10 years ago. I am not a religious person, though I have a Jewish origin (after my Mother's ancestors) and a Christian (Catholic) formation - after my Father's Czech and German ancestry. But I have high respect for the religious values and I believe in G-d as the "Alpha & Omega" of all life, all material things and all events on Earth.
That wintery day, with snow and rain, I went to see the holy places of all three great religions. My good companion was Jeremiah, a young orthodox rabbi from Jerusalem - a kind and knowlegeable person, with a high degree of tolerance and an ardent urge to make peace. When we reached the Great Mosque, I took off my shoes (pouring out water) and I entered the Mosque. But my companion had to stay outside - for religious reasons (this wasn't the case in Christian churches we had visited together).
The Temple Mount is, no doubt, the Jewish supreme sanctity in its origins. The Christians and the Moslems are the late-comers to that particular place. The Moslems are the last, who have taken over the responsibility for the Mount, claiming it is "their". The revival of Israel really didn't change much. I remember an anegdotic saying of General Moshe Dayan, when the Temple Mount has been reconquered. He was supposed to say then: "What to do with all that Vatican?" or something like that. General Dayan knew the Israeli sovereignity over the Mount would be lots of trouble. Prime Minister (General) Ariel Sharon also knew, and he went there to provoke an Arab intifada by his presence. Now, after a year or so, the Palestinian uprising is slowely dying out due to the Israeli resolve. But the problem lingers on...
What kind of solutions still could be possible, before the Mount collapses and the war begins?
I think that a pragmatic cooperation between the Israeli Government and the PA leadership is still possible, in spite of all the atrocities of the Arab suicide bombings and the Israeli retaliation.
Let's ask a primary question: who wants to destroy the Temple Mount and why?
Who wants to ignite a new, all-out war?
If such people could be named, then we have to stop them and find a solution of the Temple Mount problem.

Faithfully yours

DAVID M. DASTYCH
david.dastych@wp.pl
September 4, 2002

---

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".