Just a few weeks ago, the Jerusalem police began re-opening the Temple Mount to non-Muslim tourists. In very small, supervised groups. Not to pray, not to even think about entering a mosque, but just to stand and pay respects to the holiest site in Judaism -- the spot where the First and Second Temples once stood.
Today, that "experiment" has been terminated. Why? Well because it was offending the palestinians, of course. And we certainly wouldn't want to do that.
Just last week, in a chorus of criticism spearheaded by the Palestinian leader, Arafat warned of "grave consequences" if Israel continues to allow Jews to visit the Temple Mount; Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas called the partial reopening of the site "provocative," and Arab League Secretary-general Amr Moussa called the developments "very dangerous" and "an insult to Muslims everywhere."
And that was that. More importantly, the police cited fears of "renewed Palestinian violence" as their motivation for terminating the visits.
The JPost article mentions that ultra-Orthodox mayor of Jerusalem Uri Lupolianski was "surprisingly" opposed to the opening of the site to non-Muslims in the first place. But it's really far from surprising. Most ultra-Orthodox (and many "modern" Orthodox) Jews maintain that Jews are religiously prohibited from entering the area of the Temple Mount, and this remains the offical position of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. (The reason has to do with the unknown historical location of the Holy-of-Holies and requirements of ritual purity). I therefore suspect that Mayor Lupolianski's position on this issue has less to do with his sensitivities towards the Arabs and more to do with his own religious convictions.
The Post article also points out that for the thirty-three years preceding the current terror campaign (a/k/a "intifada") the Temple Mount was completely open to visitors of all races and beliefs. That open access was suspended after the (orchestrated) "outbreak" of palestinian riots in response to Ariel Sharon's September, 2000, visit to the site. Access continued to be suspended for 33 months to avoid Arab violence. And now the threat of Arab violence has suspended it again. Who says terrorism doesn't pay?
(For a previous discussion on this blog of what I believe to be Israel's misguided appeasement strategy on the Temple Mount, click here. And if you have a few hours to kill and want to learn an incredible amount of stuff about the historical, political and theological background of that strategy, you can find that here.)
