SPECIAL COMMENTARY

The Assault On History

New York

fairly newfound intensity. Over the
many years Jerusalem was in Arab
mong the casualties of the
hands, no major Arab leader ever saw
ongoing Arab uprising
fit to even visit her, much less pro-
against Israel has been
claim her a central spot in
something very
the collective Arab heart.
dear to all cultivated people,
Yet much of the press
and to cultivated Jews in par-
feels compelled to treat the
ticular: history.
Mount's Jewish roots and
A number of journalists
Islamic ones as equally deep
have lately come to refer to
and equally real. A recent
Jerusalem's Temple Mount by
example was the New York
its Islamic name, despite the
Times' correspondent Joel
fact that the site was where
Greenberg's characterization
Solomon's temple stood more
of the site as that "of the
than a thousand years before
RAB BI AVI
First and Second Temples
Islam's founder's grandparents
SHAF RAN
of the ancient Jews, sacred
were even glints in their own
Spe cial to
to Muslims as the Noble
parents' eyes.
the Jew ish News
Sanctuary, where Muham-
It is not only the antiquity
mad ascended to Heaven."
of the Mount's connection to
A subtle but astounding
the Jewish people that is tren-
indignity lies in that clumsy
chant here, but its intensity as
attempt at political correctness.
well. Even after the Temple and its
That Jewish Holy Temples stood
successor had been deStroyed by for-
on the spot in question is historical
eign armies, Jews the world over con-
fact, part of the unbroken millennia-
tinued — and continue — to venerate
old historical tradition of the Jewish
the significance of the site, praying in
people and corroborated by histori-
its direction and (at least the Ortho-
ans ancient and modern alike. To
dox among us) for the Temple's
equate that historical truth with a
restoration by the hand of God.
fanciful myth is simply beyond
bizarre.
Astounding Indignity
The founder of Islam may or may,
The Islamic bond to the Mount is of
nor have traveled to heaven, or else-
much more recent appearance and
where, from Jerusalem; but there is
certainly no historical evidence that he
Rabbi Agri Shafran is director of public
ever left the Arabian Peninsula, noth-
affairs for Agudath Israel of America
ing but sectarian legend behind the
and American director of Am Echad.
claim that he did.
His e-mail address is
Why then is Mr. Greenberg speak-
shafran@amechad.com

A

U.S. State Department to release their
warning? No.
The lobbyists argue that not all
areas of Israel are dangerous.
People can also say parts of New
York City are dangerous, so in com-
parison, why not also travel to Israel?
If Israel wants tourism, then they
should try harder to get along with
the Arabs. Is this blasphemy? No. In
my experience, the Jewish Israelis dis-
like their Arab neighbors, workers, etc.
On a very individual basis, many
Israelis treat Arabs with contempt, and
Arabs dislike the Jewish society in
Israel.
The U.S. State Department is not
purposely trying to hurt the Israeli

economy. Facts are facts. There is a
civil uprising in Israel now There is
war and terrorism and deadly vio-
lence.
When I was there in 1999 at the
Western Wall at the end of Shabbat,
there were gunshots fired outside the
gated area. Israel is not a Disney
Land-style religious theme park. It is
in the Middle East. It has always been
a tumultuous place, and I believe it
always will be.
As adults, we should all have free-
dom of choice to make informed deci-
sions. Let us not let our sympathies
for Israel cloud sound travel adver-
saries to potentially dangerous places
where there is constant civil unrest

It's sad that Arab
and Islamic leaders
and writers have
shown utter
contempt for
inconvenient facts
of history.

ing of the existence of the Temples
and the "night flight" in, so to speak,
the same breath?
That Arab and Islamic leaders and
writers, sadly, have demonstrated utter
contempt for inconvenient facts of
history is well documented. They reg-
ularly deny the fact of the Holocaust,
and assert that Jews murder non-Jews
to gather their blood for Passover mat-
zos (a recent such accusation appeared
only recently in Al Ahram, Egypt's
leading newspaper and a government
organ). It should not surprise anyone
that they are now trying to deny the
Jewish, connection to the Temple
Mount.
In fact, that assault on history is
taking place not only in word but in
deed: The Waqf, the Islamic authority
that oversees the mosques currently on

-

and bloodshed.
I say to leaders of our Jewish com-
munity to please be careful about urg-
ing our community into travel to
Israel against the United States warn-
ing advisories.
Alisa Lefkowitz
Commerce Township

Today's Israel
Is A Must-See

If you are looking for a wonderful
place for a vacation, there is no better
destination than Israel ("Is It Safe?"
Dec. 22, page 27).

the Mount, has been reported by
archaeologists to be systematically
excavating and destroying relics on the
Temple Mount, presumably in an
attempt to obscure signs of its Jewish
character.

Listen To The Message

But for reporters to join that effort,
however good their intentions or sub-
tle their words, is beyond justification
and beyond comprehension.
Journalism, after all, is supposed to
be about presenting objective truths,
not abetting malevolent lies.
Jewish tradition teaches that the
highest response to personal adversity
is the determination to better oneself,
and that the highest response to
national adversity is a similar determi-
nation on a national scale.
As we Jews regard the intensifying
assault by our enemies on our history,
and its widening acceptance by the
larger world, we might do well to
ponder whether it may be a message
to us that we have not been paying
sufficient attention to that history our-
selves.
Because our illustrious past, after
all, contains not only a historical
account of the second and first Tem-
ple eras but of the very ground-zero
of the Jewish people, God's revela-
tion to us at Sinai. Might not our
determined reconnection to that
event, our re-embrace of its mandate
for our priorities and our lives, be
the way to end the ongoing assault
on our history? ❑

Seeking sun and fun? Try Eilat.
There you will find beautiful beaches,
snorkeling over some of the most
magnificent coral in the world and the
underwater sea museum.
How about a spa? The Dead Sea
has multiple offerings that include, of
course, the Dead Sea mud packs plus
all of the amenities associated with a
first-class spa.
Sightseeing and museums are avail-
able in all of the major cities:
Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. Cae-
sarea offers fascinating ruins overlook-
ing the Mediterranean Sea. Try the
biblical landscape gardens of Neot
Kedumin. There is no end of sights to

LETTERS

on page 34

1 / 12

2001

33