Q&A on the Temple Mount with Dr. Eilat Mazar

Renowned archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University and the Shalem Center answers JPost's readers’ questions about the Mughrabi Gate dispute and the status of the Temple Mount in recent years. Of the hundreds of questions received, here are 20 which encompass the major issues at hand.

John, Hong Kong: The Muslims claim the Mughrabi dig is within their holy site. Israel says it’s nowhere near. Is it at all possible to answer this question with 100% reliability?

Dr. Mazar: The Mughrabi ramp is near the Western Wall of the compound, and it doesn’t risk it’s stability in any way. Moreover, it is of no risk whatsoever to the Al-Aksa Mosque, which stands about 100 meters to the east. There is no basis to the Muslims’ claims. We should pay attention to their claims, which they have repeated many times in the past whenever they sought to raise a provocation. The same claim has been made with regards to my excavation in the City of David — 200 meters south of the Al-Aksa Mosque — declaring that the purpose of the excavation is to dig a tunnel under the mosque. At this very spot, the height of the original Second Temple-period wall is about 25 meters high, while the Mughrabi Gate is only 3.5 meters above the Herodian construction. In any case, the ramp only leads towards that gate.

Zachary Lubwama, Kampala, Uganda: Do you think that the findings will resolve the long standing dispute as to who the owner of this place is? Do you see Muslims accepting it if the findings reveal that this was a site for the Holy Jewish temple before a mosque was put in its place? Do you see Israel wishing to rebuild a third temple in this place, and would this be possible?

Dr. Mazar: We have learned about the history of the Temple Mount compound from archaeological and historical sources. These facts do not influence the Waqf and the Israeli Islamic Movement (especially its northern wing), as they completely ignore the history and ancientness of the site. They declare that the site was built as a mosque "since the time of Adam and Eve" — unfortunately, there are no grounds for a scholarly discussion with them. Returning to academic and scientific research, excavations around the compound near the Mughrabi ramp will show that the original compound built at this place was the most impressive and ingenious construction of the Second Temple period.

Rudy Reichstadt, Paris: What can you say about the declarations of archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov, who said that one could be satisfied with "a simpler and less expensive solution"?

Dr. Mazar: The Mughrabi ramp was in dire need of significant restoration. It was in a terrible state for many years and no simple work can be done there. This archeologist has declared in the past that we should thank the Waqf and the Islamic Movement for their destructive activities on the mount. In his words, they were "cleaning the place."

Brian Anderson, Jerusalem: In a desire for accuracy of information often lacking in news coverage, I would like to ask what efforts have been and are being made amidst the Mughrabi Gate project to 1) have necessary dialogue with Islamic officials regarding the impact of these efforts on the Temple Mount, its current condition and structures, and 2) plans/efforts in place on the part of the Antiquities Department (or other government agencies) to safeguard existing structures to help alleviate the concerns being expressed by many in the Islamic world?

Dr. Mazar: In recent years, the Waqf and the Israeli Islamic Movement were very active at the site, conducting a large-scale destruction of antiquities and continuing to do so without any dialogue. As far as I know, they were told and actually know the terrible condition of the Mughrabi ramp and how it needs a restoration, which is currently taking place. They also know that the Israeli Antiquities Authority is conducting a large excavation in order to document the antiquities as the ramp is strengthened to prepare for a more stable structure above it. The Antiquities Authority is conducting a regular archeological excavation at the this site, and the methods of excavation are well known and up to date, just as in any other excavation at such an important site.

Joseph Abraham, London: Is it true the Muslims built their Dome over the wrong rock? I understand that the Holy of Holies was built on a different rock on the Temple Mount.

Dr. Mazar: It’s not the wrong rock, because at present it is on the highest spot on Mount Moriah, which is probably the same spot where the temple stood. Muslims believe that Mohammad went to a place that is called "extreme," and they relate this extreme place to be the location of the Al-Aksa Mosque, which was never claimed to be the spot of the temple itself.

Geoff Neilson, Cape Town, South Africa: Is there any specific location where the altar for sacrifices must be? Do we know the precise point of that location today?

Dr. Mazar: The location of the altar near the temple itself can be located in the most probable way — where we all locate the temple itself — but to pinpoint exactly where it stood is disputed. It’s unlikely that this dispute will be resolved as long as excavations are prohibited inside the Temple Mount compound.

Yosef Zahav, Miami: Why isn’t the Temple Mount symmetrical? It seems there are no two walls that are parallel. Isn’t that surprising for a monumental architectural structure?

Dr. Mazar: You are correct. It’s not really a square and not even a rectangle, but we need to understand that the compound as it appears today is an enlargement of a previous compound from the First Temple period. King Herod enlarged it by overcoming deep valleys that surrounded the ancient compound, which is very impressive and almost ingenious, but did not make it symmetrical.

Ezequiel Doiny, Buenos Aires: In 1996, Binyamin Netanyahu allowed the Muslims to build a third mosque in Solomon’s Stables. By doing this, did Israel give the Muslims the opportunity to destroy important archeological remains?

Dr. Mazar: This was a huge mistake which took place without any archeological supervision. We are certain that a vast amount of important data was lost, especially when the Muslims dug the huge 2,000-square-meter pit in front of the stables and dumped the "garbage" along with ancient antiquities. They loaded hundreds of trucks — and I am not exaggerating — so you can imagine the scale of the data that was lost from all periods (Muslim, Byzantine, Roman and Jewish).

David Flug, Hillcrest, New York: How likely is it that the truckloads of material carted away by the Waqf in a previous construction project contained archaeologically significant material?

Dr. Mazar: We need to remember that the Temple Mount compound is very ancient and all the periods starting from the First Temple period were part of it. Although we know some remains were destroyed, others were left inside — maybe for secondary use, but nonetheless, they are there and can be revealed one day when proper excavations are allowed. Destruction took place mainly in the eastern part of the compound, and we should see to it that no further destruction is allowed there. Regrettably, there is no proper supervision. The east part is destroyed forever.

Regarding the construction and restoration of the previous path of the Mughrabis, the excavations — as they are currently being conducted on a large scale — should continue in order to stabilize the pathway and allow the public to approach the Temple Mount compound. This is the only gate through which tourists can visit the compound, and there is urgent need for it to be stable and convenient.

Inside the Temple Mount compound, excavations have been forbidden for centuries. Muslims do not allow anyone to excavate. It was tentatively agreed to leave the site as-is as long as no one made any changes. However, this is not the case. The Waqf and the Israeli Islamic Movement are conducting significant changes in order to convert the entire site into a built-up mosque.

Mary Ellen Marks Highland Lakes: Is it true that the Ark of the Covenant is buried under the mount?

Dr. Mazar: There is a very high probability that the most important ancient remains are inside the compound in the massive underground halls. This includes the Ark of the Covenant.

Saul Mishaan, Brooklyn, New York: I know that digging on the Temple Mount is a non-starter, but is there any research involving the use of aerial infrared photography or sonar to assist in determining the layout of the Second Temple compound?

Dr. Mazar: I know that research using these methods had been conducted from outside of the compound in order to trace hollow spaces. There were very interesting results, such as the finding that the ancient walls of the compound are very thick, and that behind them are many massive underground halls.

Thomas Crispin, Phoenix, Arizona: What is the most exciting thing you’ve discovered in your career so far?

Dr. Mazar: My most exciting find was a personal seal impression one centimeter in diameter from the First Temple period that had the name of a minister who was part of the government of Zedekaya. I found it last year during my excavation in the City of David. His name is mentioned in the book of Jeremiah — he was the one who asked King Zedekaya to kill the prophet Jeremiah because he was telling the people of Jerusalem to surrender to the Babylonians. This is astonishing because it is a direct connection between an archeological find and a biblical document. It reinforces our understanding and appreciation of the bible as an historical source of great authenticity.

Abe Sender, Cambridge, MA: What do we know about the two chambers the Waqf claims are underneath the mount?

Dr. Mazar: These are chambers that were documented already in the 19th century. One of them served as a water cistern, and the other was used as a pathway during the Second Temple period and then most probably as a synagogue in the 11th century CE before finally being turned into a mosque in a later period.

Lee Safran, San Jose, California: What do you know about the construction/destruction at Solomon’s Stables? Why wasn’t Israel able to create an international outcry about this? It seems a much more significant destruction than the work at the Mughrabi Gate. Why didn’t Israel petition the UN world heritage site committee or some other similar body? Or raise the issue with Jordan? Is this construction continuing as we speak, or has it finished?

Dr. Mazar: Israel made a big mistake by keeping mum about the illegal activities of destruction and conversion carried out inside the stables and around them. The Israeli government doesn’t really understand that by turning a blind eye to the illegal actions undertaken by the Waqf and the Islamic Movement, it does not achieve the true quiet it seeks, since it only increases the appetite of the Muslim side, which notices that its acts go without punishment. This is still going on.

Dave Abernathy, Columbia: The JP published an article last week stating that a cistern was found recently that proves that the Second Temple existed, and that it’s located more southwesterly than previously thought. Does this mean that a third Temple could be built without disrupting the current mosques on the Temple Mount?

Dr. Mazar: Prof. Joseph Patrich only suggested that he could locate the very spot where the altar stood near the Temple as he relates it to one of the underground cisterns at the site. It does twist the location of the temple a bit, and it is an interesting suggestion. I don’t know how much it holds for the time being. Even if this is the case, there are no facts that will convince the Muslim side to allow any construction at the compound, except their own. As we are witnessing with the Mughrabi path row, the facts themselves mean nothing to them.

Dan Morman, Miami Beach: Since 1967, after custodial arrangements of the Temple Mount were implemented, who has performed more digging and construction work in the area — Israel or Muslims?

Dr. Mazar: On the Temple Mount itself, Israel has not conducted any work, since the Muslim side does not allow it. Around the mount, Israel has conducted large-scale excavations and cleared space for tourists and visitors to reach the Western Wall. Other areas in the northern and northwestern parts have been left as before [1967]. On the other hand, the Muslim side has never stopped digging and building inside the compound for its own purposes.

Donna Diorio, Dallas: I have been reading a lot about the Mughrabi ramp repairs, but not much about the announced new construction of a 5th minaret on the Temple Mount. When the plan was first announced in 2004, you are quoted as saying that archeological supervision must be resumed at the site before any changes. If this is a good thing for Israel to observe at the Mughrabi ramp, why isn’t this call also being voiced regarding the Jordanian minaret plans?

Dr. Mazar: I was surprised to see that the Jordanians adopted the radical view that claims the construction of the Mughrabi ramp is destroying the Al-Aksa Mosque, despite the fact that they know all too well that there is no truth to this. Building a new structure like the minaret, the fifth one, is completely out of place in light of the status-quo situation of the site, which should have been maintained unless open options were submitted to all sides. Unfortunately, the Israeli government refrains from demanding that the site be under supervision so that its preservation is safeguarded. I want to remind you that the Jordanians did not once raise their voices regarding the destruction carried out by the Muslim side.

The main thing to remember is that the mount is an extremely important historical site that needs to be preserved for the millions of people worldwide who are interested in it. It is sad to see how cheaply the site is treated.

Margaret, Sydney, Australia: Why is the site important to the Christians?

Dr. Mazar: The Temple Mount is of extreme value to the Christians as well, as it was the very spot where the Temple stood, at which Jesus himself arrived and became infuriated when he saw that it was being desecrated by so many people. He said that this was the holy place that the people must respect, and then he overturned the tables in fury. I see many Christians near the Temple Mount, standing on the stairs leading into one of its gates and praying. I urge the Christian world to raise its voice in order to help us preserve this magnificent site, which is part of Christian heritage, as well.

As a member of the Public Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities for the past seven years, I feel that we do not have enough support from the millions of people all over the world who we assume care about the site. We need more support! People should write/call/email/fax the prime minister and the media, demanding to open the site.

Andrew, Boston: What can be seen at the site at present?

Dr. Mazar: The public is now allowed to enter site for a few hours only, but is not allowed to enter the mosques or any of the underground structures in which magnificent remains from the original Second Temple are located. These structures were converted in recent years to new mosques, after never being used as mosques before, and are now closed to the non-Muslim public.

© 1995 - 2007 The Jerusalem Post. All rights reserved.

40th Anniversary of the Reunification of Jerusalem

Via Israel HighWay:

Most Jews in Israel and throughout the world barely remember a time when the Old City of Jerusalem and the rest of east Jerusalem were not an important part of the fabric of the city and the country. For 19 years, from the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 until the Six Day War in 1967, Jerusalem was a city divided by barbed wire and dangerous "no-man’s land" running roughly north to south separating the Jewish people from the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City, the City of David, was the cornerstone of 2,000 years of Jewish longing for Zion. The long-held dream of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel was finally achieved, but the heart of the land was at once visibly close and miles away.

When Israel was born in 1948, its citizens and armed forces were unable to defend the Old City, and it fell to the Jordanian Legion. Jews were cut off from their holiest sites in Jerusalem, including the Kotel (Western Wall), the City of David just outside the Old City Walls, Mt. Scopus and the ancient Mount of Olives cemetery.

Throughout this time the Jewish character of the Old City was systematically destroyed by the Jordanian government. Thousands of Jewish residents of east Jerusalem and the Old City were driven from their homes. Fifty-eight Jerusalem synagogues, including some that were hundreds of years old, were destroyed or ruined and others were turned into barns for animals or public bathrooms. The entire Jewish Quarter was destroyed, houses were built immediately adjacent to the Kotel and all access to the ancient city was completely denied to Jews. Then suddenly, in the middle of the Six Day War, Israel found itself, unexpectedly, in control of the Old City.

With the news that Israel had taken control of the Old City and east Jerusalem, Israelis from all over the country began flocking to the Kotel to celebrate their young country’s miraculous victory. With Israeli sovereignty in all of Jerusalem, the holy sites of the world’s three great monotheistic faiths were opened to all, as they had never been under centuries of Muslim rule.

Now, 40 years later, many Israelis don’t know an Israel without a united Jerusalem offering free access to the Kotel and the important cultural and historic sites in the Old City. What was once "no man's land" dividing Israeli west Jerusalem from Jordanian-controlled east Jerusalem is now home to many landmarks and tourist attractions. One such place is the Haas Promenade, the first stop for many tour groups because of its scenic overlook of the entire Jerusalem panorama.

In recent years, Jerusalem has struggled as a growing and modern city. The city's narrow and winding streets are often snarled with traffic, and the city center, the site of frequent terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada, has struggled to keep shoppers and to attract people seeking entertainment who favor the modern indoor mall on the outskirts of the city. However, the city is in the midst of a major building campaign centered around the Jerusalem light rail system which will connect the outlying neighborhoods of the city with the center of town. The light rail, with its signature "Bridge of Strings" at the entrance to the city, will serve as a catalyst for new pedestrian malls, shopping areas and a reduction of traffic in and around the city center.

However, everything is not settled. To this day, 40 years after the unification of the city and almost 60 years after the founding of the State of Israel, the world refuses to fully accept Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Children born in Jerusalem to American parents are issued U.S. passports with the country of birth left blank. For decades, only two countries, Costa Rica and El Salvador, maintained their Israeli embassies in Jerusalem, and both of those countries announced last year that they would be moving their embassies to Tel Aviv.

The issue of Jerusalem has played a significant role in various diplomatic discussions in recent years and remains a key "final status" issue in the on-again, off-again talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The Oslo Accords, the negotiations at Camp David and the other interim discussions have all touched on the future of Jerusalem but opted to postpone the discussion. This year’s controversy over the Mugrabi Gate excavations shows just how sensitive an issue Jerusalem can be. The Mugrabi Gate serves as the entry point to the Temple Mount for all non-Muslim visitors. The bridge was built after the Six Day War to bring visitors to the Temple Mount. Recently it was heavily damaged during torrential rainstorms, and Jerusalem city architects ruled that is must be replaced with a more permanent and safer structure. In February, initial excavations of the site for the new bridge brought a swirl of controversy from the Muslim world, with Muslim and Arab leaders accusing Israel of seeking to undermine mosques on the Mount. Israel defended the decision to rebuild by inviting inspectors from various countries to observe and inspect the area themselves. A UN ruling on the incident cleared Israel of wrongdoing, acknowledging that they had acted with professionalism.

What is the future of Jerusalem? Will it remain the undivided capital of Israel or will the world demand official Palestinian sovereignty in parts of the Holy City? The answers to these questions remain unclear to all; but on this, the 40th Yom Yerushalayim, we should all stop to appreciate the Eternal City.

Take Action:

* Celebrate Yom Yerushalayim on May 16.
- Put an Israeli flag on your window or porch.
- Wear an Israeli flag pin.
* Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Attend a special service at your school or synagogue to mark the miracle of Jerusalem's reunification.
* Write a letter to your congressmen, senator, President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanded that the American Embassy be moved to Jerusalem.

* Watch these video clips on Jerusalem:

- Jerusalem of Gold
- Matisyahu's Tribute to Jerusalem

Click here to listen to a live broadcast of the liberation of the Old City on June 7, 1967.

Q and A with Archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar on the Mughrabi Ramp Dispute

From Jerusalem Post, Q&A on the Temple Mount with Dr. Eilat Mazar:

"The Mughrabi ramp is near the Western Wall of the [Temple Mount] compound, and it doesn't risk it's stability in any way. Moreover, it is of no risk whatsoever to the Al-Aksa Mosque, which stands about 100 meters to the east."

"The same claim has been made with regard to my excavation in the City of David - 200 meters south of the Al-Aksa Mosque - declaring that the purpose of the excavation is to dig a tunnel under the mosque."

Live Webcam: The Excavation at the Mughrabi Ramp in Jerusalem

In case you didn't see it here when it was posted the first time, here, again, is the Live Webcam: The Excavation at the Mughrabi Ramp in Jerusalem.

Israel Runs Live Holy Site Internet Camera at Repair Site

Here is the link to the Live Camera Feed: http://www.antiquities.org.il/home_eng.asp which Israel has begun to broadcast of a construction project in an effort to prove to Muslims that their propaganda and rhetoric and accusations that their mosque is in danger, are full of crap.

Israel began excavations last week to lay the ground to repair an earthen ramp leading to the hilltop at the Holy Jewish Temple Mount.

The work sparked immediate protests at the site and condemnation from across the Muslim and Arab world.

Three cameras at the site began broadcasting live images on Thursday and will work around the clock, Israel Antiquities Authority spokeswoman Osnat Goaz said.

"They film all angles of the works so people can view what's going there all hours of the day," she said. "The works do not go anywhere near any holy site and everybody can see that from the cameras."

However, angry Muslims said they were not satisfied with the cameras. "This procedure is not enough," said Ismail Radwan, a spokesman for the militant Palestinian group Hamas. "The Zionist enemy is engaging in trickery and continuing its digging. We don't trust these procedures."
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Heh-heh, see for yourselves, muzbots: http://www.antiquities.org.il/home_eng.asp

The Mughrabi Ramp - the Real Story

Articles from the Israel Antiquities Authority:

the Mughrabi Ramp - the Real Story
The Real Story
Why must excavations be conducted next to the Temple Mount

Prehistory
The Neolithic Period

Israel Cross Highway
Israel Cross Highway

Beit Shean, (Nysa-Scythopolis)
Introduction
The Hellenistic Period
The Roman Period
The Roman Period, Archaeological Remains
The Byzantine Period
The Byzantine Churches
The Umayyad Period

Conferences
The Thirty-Second Archaeological Conference in Israel
Bio- and Material Culture in connection with Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls - Cost Action G8 Working Group 7

Holidays
Shavuot - Pentecost

Study Days
Center and Periphery in the light of the Archaeological Research - The Early Periods
Center and Periphery in the light of the Archaeological Research - The Bronze and Iron Ages
Excavations and Studies in the Central Region Area for the year 2005
Innovations in the Research of the Chalcolithic Beer Sheva Culture - The Third Study Day
Transition Periods in the Archaeology of the Land of Israel - Transition Periods until the End of the Iron Age

Numismatics
Crusader's Period
Ottoman Period

Internet
Conferences

Archaeology and the Jewish Historical Sources
Roman Period
Second Temple Period

Sites
Roman Period

Christian Sites
Byzantine Period
Khirbet Abu Rish (Beit 'Anun)

Galilee
Western Galilee
New Studies in the Galilee, 2002

Gamla
The Identification of Gamla
The Archaeological evidence
Finds
The Period of the Big Revolt
Reference

Antiquities' Looting
Antiquities' Looting

More photos of the Mugrahbi Gate

From Lynn's In Context blog:

This is a really interesting new blog with a clever name that appears to be a play on the title of this auspicious book. While he (or she?) is covering a story or two that's already getting too much publicity for my taste, there's an excellent piece on the Mugrabi Bridge here. (Although, FWIW, I much prefer this aerial photo of the Temple Mount.) Lonely Man of Cake. Check it out.

More pictures of the Mughrabi Gate repair work

JoeSettler went yesterday to see what all the fuss was about. He wrote "Lots of security and soldiers. I took a few photos and put them on my blog".

Check out the photos, readers. The photos prove that the muslim mosque is nowhere near where the repair work is being done. You will see that the repair site is in the Western Wall plaza. The muslim mosque is on the other side of the Western Wall.

I'm going to tell you, folks, this is just one more example of muslim hysteria and muslim mendacity, because hey, they haven't killed any Jews in a while, and the adherents of the fake "religion of peace" are itching for an excuse to kill some now.

MK Eldad on Temple Mount controversy

From IsraelNationalNews.com, no link.

MK Eldad: The Mughrabi Gate struggle is not over a bridge, but over the principle of Jewish presence.

Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad (National Union) says that if the State of Israel is not able to carry out safety maintenance work at the Western Wall plaza, "it means that we are on a dangerous path towards disappearing from the political map of the Middle East."

Speaking with Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine, Eldad said, "The struggle is over the preservation of the only Temple Mount gate left out of Wakf [Muslim Authority] hands and in Jewish hands."

"The Arabs actually want the Mughrabi Gate passway to collapse," Eldad said, "so that they will be able to close the only gate that is under Jewish control. That will end the era of Jewish visitation rights to the Temple Mount. They have been waiting for this for a long time, and that's why they
don't want us to refurbish it."

The bridge in question leads from the plaza leading to the Western Wall up to the Temple Mount, and is considered a safety hazard in its current condition. Israel's Antiquities Authority is carrying out archaeological works there in anticipation of its refurbishing. Arabs around the country have taken advantage of the situation to accuse of Israel of trying to destroy the Temple Mount complex, and have called for a response sharper than the previous intifadas.

"It's true," Eldad said, "that the original sin was when the Jewish People, immediately after the Six Day War in 1967, ceded its hold on the Temple Mount in an unholy alliance between the Chief Rabbinate and Moshe Dayan - each side for its own reasons - but now the danger is that the Arab sovereignty on the Temple Mount will spill over to the Western Wall plaza, and from there to other places."

Then-Defense Minister Dayan, just days after Israel's liberation of the Old City, informed the Muslims running the Temple Mount that they could continue to run the mosques there - and later went further by preventing Jewish prayer all over the Mount.

"It was evident that if we did not prevent Jews from praying in what was now a mosque compound," Dayan later wrote, "matters would get out of hand and lead to a religious clash... As an added precaution, I told the chief of staff to order the chief army chaplain to remove the branch office he had established in the building which adjoins the mosque compound."

Eldad said that the Arabs' objective is to acquire a "veto right" over what the State of Israel can do on its property, wherever the Arabs feel the area is a "sensitive and explosive holy Moslem site." He noted that the Arabs openly demand the rights of a national minority in a joint state. "Israel cannot allow itself to live under threats and blackmail every time it wants to do something necessary or in keeping with our national and historic rights."

Government approves continuation of excavations at Mugrabi Gate ramp

Information Department, Israel Foreign Ministry - Jerusalem
Website: http://www.mfa.gov.il
====================================================================
Jerusalem, 11 February 2007

Government approves continuation of excavations at Mugrabi Gate ramp
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

The Government today (Sunday), 11 February 2007, unanimously approved a draft decision by which excavations will continue at the Mugrabi Gate ramp (http://tinyurl.com/25oubw).

The draft passed with the support of all Ministers present; three Ministers were absent from the discussion.

The proposal determines:

1. To continue with the planned construction of the Mugrabi Gate ramp in a way that allows completion in the least possible time. To the extent that a municipal building plan will be required - one will be brought for approval as quickly as possible.

2. The Foreign Ministry will continue to deal with the international aspects, including in regard with UNESCO.

3. Continuation of coordination with international bodies, while maintaining full transparency of events at the site.

4. The ISA and the Israel Police will continue operational and intelligence preparedness.

5. Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Yaacov Edery will be responsible for this issue.

6. Information activities will be coordinated with the Prime Minister's Media Advisor.

After being briefed, all Ministers unanimously agreed that the excavations cause no damage whatsoever to any Islamic holy site.
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More Arab propaganda

Finally. Some tough talk from Israel, and more of the same crap from Arabs. As Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA points out, it would appear that no one is bothered by the fact that Palestinians threw rocks from the Temple Mount down onto the area of Jewish worship at the Western Wall. This Palestinian violence forced Israeli security forces to act. Via Jerusalem Post:

Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter told Israel Radio on Saturday that Israel would disprove the Arab propaganda that seeks to convince the world that the al-Aksa Mosque is in danger because of renovations being doneoutside the Mughrabi Gate to the Temple Mount compound. Dichter said police entered the compound on Friday in order to prevent rocks from being thrown into the Western Wall Jewish prayer area below, something he said was "crossing a red
line" and would not be tolerated. Dichter reiterated Israel's diplomatic stance that holds repair work on the ramp leading to the Mughrabi Gate is taking place outside the Temple Mount compound and that anyone that thought differently would have to prove it.

Temple Mount Truths

An excerpt from an editorial in Haaretz:

There has been a commotion since work began to replace a pedestrian bridge that links the Western Wall with the Mugrabi Gate. For those who have forgotten, the situation that prevails at the Temple Mount and the Western Wall plaza is based on a quite stable status quo that has been in place for forty years. David Ben-Gurion described the situation in June 1967 by saying: "The Western Wall is for the Jews at the moment, and the Temple Mount is for the Muslims at the moment, and that is the reality we have to accept." At the same time, Moshe Dayan determined that the Mugrabi Gate would remain in Israel's exclusive control, to prevent the Muslim authorities from having the ability to unilaterally close all the gates to the Temple Mount. The construction of the bridge from the Western Wall plaza to the Mugrabi Gate is therefore a crucial Israeli interest, which even the Waqf authorities do not deny, and it is part of the status quo.

The incitement against the construction of the bridge is a clear attempt to undercut the status quo. Therefore, it must not influence the authorities' decision to replace the temporary bridge. The situation in the Temple Mount area must be dealt with with sensitivity and intelligence - but also with resolution, to safeguard crucial Israeli interests that were determined two generations ago and retain their validity to this day.

Arafat is a liar

Folks, we already know that lying comes naturally to Arafat.

One of the pieces of information leaked to Muhammad el-Abzi of the international Al-Quds newspaper at Camp David, stated that Barak suggested to Arafat that he set up his presidential offices in Abu Dis.

Abu Dis is closer to the Old City and the Temple Mount than the Knesset building, so Barak allegedly said to Arafat that this would make it possible for him to pray every day at the Al Aqsa mosque.

To this Arafat replied, "My office will be in the Old City, on the property that is registered in my family's name, the Al-Qadwa family."

There seems to be some mistake in this statement, because there is no evidence that the Al-Qadwa family, which is Arafat's father's family, had any property in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Oh my. Could Arafat have lied? Let's read some more and find out...

The family that did have property there, and still does, is the Abu Sa'ud family, which is Arafat's mother's family. The house belonging to the Abu Sa'ud family tribe, which was among the oldest and most established arab families in Jerusalem, stood on what is now the southern corner of the plaza in front of the Western Wall, adjacent to the Mugrabi Gate that leads from the plaza to the al aqsa mosque.

Arafat has claimed in the past that he was an eyewitness to the destruction of his mother's home.

But he was lying.

In the summer of 1967 he was still an unknown figure, and the pLO sent him to infiltrate the West Bank via the Jordan river in order to set up a cell of guerillas to wage a war against the "Israeli occupation". After spending a few weeks in the underground there, Arafat returned to east of the Jordan river, and that is apparently the last time he visited Jerusalem.

All the official pLO publications have always stated that Arafat was born in August 1929 in his family's home in eastern Jerusalem.

Several newspaper researchers have investigated this statement and found it to be untrue.

Arafat was born in Cairo.

His father, Abd al Ra'uf Arafat Al-Qadwa, was the son of a well-known family from Gaza and nearby Khan-Yunis, who had married Zahava Abu-Sa'ud from Jerusalem. In 1927, the couple had emigrated from Palestine and settled in Egypt. Two years later their son Yasser was born. When Yasser was three, his mother died and his father sent him to spend some time with his mother's family in Jerusalem. During the 1930s, Yasser lived alternately in Jerusalem and in Gaza, and after his father remarried, his family sent him back to Cairo, where he spent the rest of his youth.

It seems that during Arafat's early years as a pLO activist, he found it a great drawback to have been born in Egypt, in a foreign country, and not in the nomenclature palestinian homeland.

His friends also found it strange. Many arabs who volunteered to serve the pLO immediately after the Six-Day War noted that their leader, spoke Arabic with an Egyptian accent. Arabs from Middle Eastern countries can easily recognize the country of origin of any other arab they meet by his accent - and here the man who claimed to be a warrior representing and leading the nomenclature palestinian people spoke with an Egyptian accent.

Could the "palestinians" be led by a man whose speech indicated that he was not a "palestinian" and was apparently also not a refugee?

Not only this, but the issue of birthplace is also among the most important components here. There is hardly a discussion in which the "palestinian" claim of birthright is not raised - they were born here, this is their homeland, and they therefore deserve sovereignty over it.

And what could Arafat say to all this, when he, too, was born abroad?

Furthermore, his father and mother left their homeland of their own free will. They were not expelled by the Israeli government and were not refugees displaced by a wave of Jewish settlers, but they had simply picked up and gone down to Egypt because they felt they could earn a lot of money there (Arafat's father apparently emigrated to Egypt to claim ownership of a plot of land in Cairo that had belonged to his grandmother).

How credible could all the "palestinian" claims to standing firm on their ownership of their homeland be if the father of the national leader deserted the homeland to chase after riches? Amazing. His lust for money and thievery was taught to him by his own parents. Who woulda thunk it?

Arafat, being the scheming manipulator, was aware of all this. He understood that it would be better for whoever wanted to lead the "palestinian" struggle if his biography stated that he was born in "palestine", and there is no better birthplace than the Old City of Jerusalem, in a house adjacent to the al aqsa mosque.

How convenient to revise history when it suits your future terroristic agenda.

When, several years ago, journalists showed him copies of his birth certificate and other documents attesting to his birth in Egypt, Arafat replied that they were forgeries made by his father so that he would be exempt from paying tuition, as are all Egyptian residents who were born in Egypt.

So Arafat even rats on his own father.

Arafat said that his mother came back from Cairo to Jerusalem to give birth to him in the family home, adding that he spent most of his childhood in Jerusalem and only went to Cairo when he had almost finished elementary school. On several occasions Arafat also lied about his non-existant childhood in the Old City, near the Wall, when there were clashes between Jews and Arabs during 1936 to 1939.

In interviews during the 1980s and 1990s, Arafat gave detailed accounts of the years he spent in the Abu-Sa'ud family home in Jerusalem, and spoke very little of the Al-Qadwa family home in Gaza, or about his youth in Cairo.

There are very few members of the Abu-Sa'ud family tribe still living in Jerusalem. Arafat's closest relatives there are some first cousins, the descendents of his mother's brothers and sisters. One of them, the engineer Ahmed Al Husseini who recently died, was the head of the east Jerusalem Electric Company. The family still owns a house and a plot of land in Ras el Amud, above the village of Silwan.

The place on which the original family home stood, below the Mugrabi Gate, currently serves Jewish worshipers at the Western Wall plaza.

Even if a permanent accord grants Arafat presidential office space in the Old City, it is highly unlikely that it would be on the spot where his grandparents' home once stood.