Israel Protests to UN Against Arabs - Use of Mosque Fire to Inflame I.Passions
UNITED NATIONS (JTA) — Is
-
el protested in th e United Na-
tions Monday against the "unpar-
donable . . attempt" by some
Arab governments "to inflame re -
ligious passions in the Moslem
world" in the aftermath of a fire
that severely damaged the 1.400 -
year-old El Aksa Mosque in East
Jerusalem last Thursday.
The Israeli protest was contained
in a letter from Ambassador Yosef
Tekoah to Jaime de Pinies of
Spain, this month's president of
the Security Council. A similar let-
ter was addressed to Secretary
General U Thant.
Tekoah charged that the Arab
governments were trying to exploit
the occurrence "for political and
propaganda purposes" and to
"whip up hatred between the mem-
bers of the two ancient and re-
lated faiths of Islam and Judaism."
He said that "Such conduct can
only exacerbate still further the
unhappy conflict in the Middle
East."
The Israeli ambassador's let-
ter noted that the El Aksa
Mosque and all other Islamic
shrines in Jerusalem "is con-
trolled, administered and safe-
guarded solely by the Wakf, the
appropriate Moslem religious au-
thority."
He detailed the efforts made by
the Arab and Jewish fire brigades
in Jerusalem to confine the fire
to one wing of the mosque thereby
saving the rest of structure.
He also noted that at the Israel
government's request, the Israeli
Supreme Court appointed a five
man panel to investigate the calls ,
of the fire. Two members are
Arabs, a Christian and a Moslem
"On the basis of information
supplied by Moslem watchmen in
the employ of the Wakf, who were
on duty at the time, the Israel
police have arrested a suspect. a
visitor of Australian nationality.
His trial will be public, and open
to observers from any country,"
Ambassador Tekoah wrote.
Friday's announcement that a 27-
year-old Australian .was being held
on suspicion of arson mollified the
Moslem Religious Council to a de-
gree. But passions still ran high
among Arabs in Fast Jerusalem
and the occupied territories.
There was no lessening of in-
citement by Arab guerrilla spokes-
men and broadcasts from the va-
rious Arab capitals which blamed
Israel for the blaze and exhorteo
500,000,000 Moslems around the
world to launch a holy war against
Israel.
The Moslem Council expressed
satisfaction over the arrest of
Michael Denis Rohen, a member
of the Church of God, a funda-
mentalist Protestant sect, a lit-
tle more than 24 hours after the
fire. Israel police stressed that
the tall, blond Australian was
apprehended as a result of a
description given them by a Mos-
lem gate-keeper at the mosque.
But the Moslem religious leaders
did not call off the Arab general
strike Saturday.
It brought activities to a virtual
halt in the Arab quarters of Jeru-
salem, in the Gaza Strip and the
larger towns of the West Bank.
But the day passed without inci-
dent except for anti-Israel demon-
strations in Nablus which had to
be quelled by Israeli troops.
Rohen was remanded by a Jeru-
salem magistrate for 15 days. He
will be brought to trial before a 1 24 Moslem nations appealed to
district court panel of judges. The
trial will be held in one of the
largest halls available in order to
admit as many members of the
public as possible, it was learned.
Israeli police said F 'd h
had enough evidence against the
suspect to assure a conviction.
One report said that Rohen had
confessed though his motives re-
main unknown.
The arrest of a suspect came
none too soon. An ugly mood had
been developing among East Jeru-
salem Arabs since the fire. On
Friday. the Moslem Sabbath, some
2,000 Arabs shouting anti-Israel
slogans descended on the mosque
area several hours before Rohen's
arrest was announced. Israeli
troops dispers ed
sho ts
fired into the air. But some of the
soldiers were pelted with stones.
Reinforced patrols guarded the Old
City as a curfew was lifted on the
Temple Mount area to permit Mos-
lems to go to prayer. But the ten-
sion did not interfere with the
flow of tourists into the Old City.
About 10,000 poured through the
various gates on Friday and Satur-
day to visit religious shrines and
other sights.
Judge Abraham Granott, presi-
dent
Supreme Court,
announced the composition of the
special committee to investigate
the causes of the mosque fire.
Its chairman is Dr. Joel. Silberg,
a justice of the Supreme Court,
and it includes two Arabs, Judge
Mouhamed Nimri el Hiwari of
the Nazareth District Court and
Mayor Moussa Kthilli of Naza•
reth. It was still unclear however
whether Moslem religious author-
ities in Jerusalem would co-
operate with the committee.
Legal sources here said, how-
ever, that the arrest of Rohen pre-
empted the investigative aspects
of the committee's work. They said
the panel would probably concen-
trate on a study of future security
and fire-fighting needs at religious
shrines.
Israeli Attorney General Meir
Shamgar appeared before the
group Monday and asked that it
postpone its hearings until next
Sunday. at which time it would
have complete details of the police
investigation which led to Rohen's
arrest last Friday.
Shamgar said he would probably
file formal charges against Rohen
by the end of the week and that
his trial would begin 10 days later.
Justice Sussman indicated that his
committee would not submit a for-
mal report until Rohen's trial and
a possible appeal are over.
Sources here said the govern
ment would try the Australian ,
Protestant under the strictest se-
curity arrangements since the
trial of Gestapo deportation chief
Adolf Eichmann here a decade
ago. But the government is plan-
ning to give the trial the most
extensive world-wide press and tel-
evision coverage.
United Nations Secretary-General
U Thant for an impartial UN in-
vestigation of the fire. The Arab
League called for an emergency
session of the UN Security Council
to discuss what it called "Israel's
contempt for religious sacra-
ments."
The Jordanian government an-
nounced in Amman that it would
ask for a urgent meeting of the
United Nations Security Council
resolutions calling on Israel not to
proceed with measures to incor-
porate East Jerusalem into Israeli
territory. Amman said that Am-
bassador Muhammad el-Farra.
head of the Jordanian mission to
the United Nations would also call
for sanctions against Israel.
(At the United Nations, the
Pakistani mission issued a state-
ment "on behalf of the missions of
Islamic countries from Africa and
Asia" announcing that they had
unanimously I at an urgent
meeting Friday "that responsibil-
ity for this outrage lay squarely
on the shoulders of Israeli occupa-
tion authorities."
(Secretary-General U Thant said
that he was "greatly shocked and
saddened by the fire" and hoped
that "the full and verified facts
of this most distressing occurrence
will be promptly ascertained.")
An Argentine Arab organiza-
tion accused the "Zionists" Tues-
day of deliberately burning the
El Aksa Mosque and alleged
that Israel was "systematically
perpetrating similar crimes"
against Christian shrines.
President Nasser of Egypt calling
for a holy war against Israel, the
spokesman noted that every state-
ment and action carries with it the
The accusation was made by Dr. possibility of worsening an already
Hassan Santin, president of the bad situation.
(McCloskey stressed that the
Argentine Arab Federal Council.
He said the mosque fire was "a United States was "deeply con-
clear demonstration of the racist cerned" and was trying to reduce
and intolerant policy of Zionism, tensions arising from the fire.)
marked by a total contempt for
the spiritual values of all other THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, August 29, 1969-7
communities."
According to Dr. Santin, "all the
MURRY ROBLIN
pretended efforts to establish re-
DOES HIS THING
sponsibility (for the fire) only
AT 8440 W. 9 MILE
strengthens Zionism's guilt. - He
548-5600
contended that "This destructive
group which dominates Arab soil.
is trying by force and terror to
convert the holy places into smok-
ing debris, to the shame of all
humanity."
The U. S. government consid-
ers the fire that damaged the
El Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem
"regrettable and deplorable" and
is counselling restraint to all
parties concerned, State Depart-
A day of mourning was ob-
served in Moslem countries Sat-
urday though calls for a general
protest strike were largely un-
heeded. Shops remained open in
the Arab capitals. But Amman,
Jordan, was the scene of a major
demonstration Sunday when an
estimated 50,000 Arabs marched
on the U. S. Embassy shouting
for action to "free the sacred
places desecrated by Israel."
Calls for a holy war against Is-
rael were issued by President
Gamal Abdel Nasser, of Egypt, '
and King Faisal. of Saudi Arabia,
two heads of state who have been
at odds over the struggle against
Israel. President Nasser pledged
that Egypt would "fight to free
Jerusalem. - In a message to his
Defense Minister. Mohammed
Fawzi and the armed forces, he
said, "The enemy of God and our
enemy has closed the doors to
peace. There is no use resorting to
any quarter in the quest of jus-
tice." King Faisal said the UN
had proved incapable of forcing
Israel to abide by its resolution
so it depended on the Islamic
world "to liberate the holy places
in Jerusalem."
A call for a holy war was broad-
cast on Cairo radio by the Pales-
tine Liberation Organization which
accused Israel of deliberately
burning the mosque. All Arab
news broadcasts led off with the
headline, "Israel burned the El
Aksa mosque."
They told listeners, "Islam is in
danger, Arabism is in danger, the
world is in danger." Beirut radio
called the fire "Part of an Israeli
plan to Judaize Jerusalem and re-
Israeli authorities will place move its Islamic and Christian
extra guards around holy places landmarks.
in Jerusalem as a result of the
In Cairo, the former Grand Muf-
mosque fire, it was learned. Spe- ti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el Hus-
cial attention will be given to seini, a Hitler collaborator and on
Christian holy places where re- the Allied wanted list during World
taliation from Arab extremists War II, said the fire "should
is feared. Plans have been pro- make us, Christians and Moslems
posed to install fire alarm sys-
alike, unify our ranks and do our
tems in mosques and churches.
utmost to liberate the holy lands
In Cairo, the representatives of f rom Israeli occupation."
meat spokesman Robert McClos-
key said in Washington.
In a comment on a statement by
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JEWISH
Israeli High Court Judge Yoel Sussman (middle) presides over the inquiry in Jerusalem into the arson
fire in the El Aksa Mosque, one of Islam's holiest shrines. Two Arabs are members of this commis-
sion: Mayor Mussa Mai (right) of Nazareth and Nazareth District Court Judge El Hawaii (second
left).
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