Some truths about Jerusalem and the Temple Mount

Submitted by YJ Draiman (United States), Jul 17, 2016 at 21:45

Some truths about Jerusalem and the Temple Mount

Jerusalem - For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the [sic] Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem (1948-1967), they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.
In the Jewish Bible, Jerusalem is mentioned over 669 times and Zion (which usually means Jerusalem or, sometimes, the Land of Israel) 154 times, for a total of 823 times. The Christian Bible mentions Jerusalem 154 times and Zion 7 times. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran. Jerusalem is also not mentioned in the Palestinian Covenant.

King David established the city of Jerusalem as the capital of the whole Land of Israel. Mohammed never came to Jerusalem. Jerusalem remained under Turkish Ottoman Empire rule from 1517 to 1917, and under British rule as trustee for the Jewish people from 1917 to 1948. The British violated that trust and that is part of the reason for the conflict and bloodshed.
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is the holiest site for Jews. It was the site of the Beit HaMikdash ("Temple") built by King Solomon (950 BCE), which was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (587 BCE), rebuilt in 541 BCE, and then destroyed again by the Roman army in 70 CE. That final Roman destruction led to the exile of Jews from Israel. Al Aqsa Mosque and the Shrine of Omar on the current Temple Mount were built at the site of the ancient Jewish Temples. The Arabic name for Jerusalem, "el-KuDS", is derived from the Arabic name, "BeT el-MaKDeS", which is a translation of the Hebrew, "BeiT ha-MiKDaSH", the name of the Jewish Temple.

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