By: STEPHEN ROSENBERG – The Jerusalem Post

There is a persistent narrative by the Islamists to deny any past Jewish presence on what they call Haram al-Sharif. Like the cult centers of Mecca and Medina, they call it the Noble Sanctuary rather than the Temple Mount. The propaganda is spreading throughout the Arab world, and would deny any legitimacy to our claim to have experienced the destruction of two Temples on the site.

The Second Temple
Photo: Courtesy

All the evidence, the propaganda goes, is written by Jews and is therefore suspect. The claim for the building of the First Temple comes from the Book of Kings. It is a detailed description, but nothing of the structure has been found. The inscription on a little pomegranate showing it to have been part of a priestly scepter from the First Temple has recently been denounced as a later forgery. The parallels with temples in Syria are fine, but no proof that one existed in Jerusalem.

What evidence is there that a Jewish Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians? There is a tablet in the British Museum that Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem in his seventh year (597 BCE) and captured the city, but he destroyed no temple and only set up a “king of his own heart” (Zedekiah). The tablet goes up to the year 594 and then stops. The following years are missing and the next tablet restarts in 556 BCE. The crucial year 586 is lost.

In the Berlin Museum is a cuneiform tablet that the exiled king of Judah, Jehoiachin, was after some years restored to the emperor’s table and treated with respect, but no mention of a temple, either built or destroyed. Cyrus, who conquered the Babylonians, allowed the Jews to return to Judah and recorded his decision on a cylinder, called the first Bill of Rights, now in the British Museum. But there is no mention there of a temple. The Book of Ezra mentions a restoration document, but it was written by a Jew, as were the books of the prophets that called for the rebuilding to be hastened.

As for the second destruction, the work of Herod the Great in rebuilding the Temple relies on the testimony of the Mishna and Josephus – both Jewish sources.

Josephus was, of course, somewhat suspect to the Jews as well, having at one stage gone over to the Romans, but he remained a great exponent of Jewish values and deeds, and wrote a wonderful defense of the Jews in his work Contra Apion, so his testimony about the Temple is suspect in the eyes of the Islamists.

But what about the great stones of the Temple compound, still visible today all around Haram al-Sharif, in the lower courses of the Western Wall and elsewhere? Only Herod could have forced men to move such megaliths. Well no, the propaganda goes, after the Romans conquered Jerusalem, they had to set up their temple to Jupiter, and thus built this vast platform as its base. The Roman builders were the equal of Herod when it came to monumental structures, just look at the temples of Baalbek. And there is nothing on the Temple Mount to indicate that a Jewish Temple ever stood there.

Our own history is so ingrained in us, and our belief in the First and Second Temples so deeply inscribed in our hearts that it is difficult to think of an answer to these charges. But there are answers that don’t depend on our own literature.

Firstly Josephus. His account of his own period is good history. His description of contemporary buildings is borne out by archeology. He lived shortly after the death of Herod, and gives a vivid account of that ruler’s ruthless personality as well as his achievements in construction. But as Josephus was not alive at the time, what were his sources? His main source was Herod’s personal historian, Nicolaus of Damascus, a non-Jew who would have had no reason to invent the story of Herod rebuilding the Second Temple.

Josephus mentions that there was a stone at the southwest corner of the Temple Mount from which one of the priests would blow the trumpet on Friday afternoons to announce the start of the Sabbath. That stone has been found, with the Hebrew inscription “Lebeit hatekia” (to the place of trumpeting). No such stone would have graced the corner of a Roman temple.

Furthermore, the existence of the Second Temple is made clear from the New Testament and the stories of Jesus within the Temple complex. But then, the Islamists would say, those Christian documents were also written by Jews, maybe by Jews with a new belief in a savior, but still Jews who needed to aggrandize the miracles of their messiah in the context of his Jewish past.

So the external sources are slim, except for one piece of evidence that is hard and fast. And that is the large frieze on the Arch of Titus in Rome, showing the spoils of the Temple being carried by Jewish slaves through the Forum Romanum. The shapes of the menora and silver trumpets are clear. Trumpets appear everywhere in the Roman world, but there was no menora at that time at any place in the world except Jerusalem.

Was this proof of a Temple on Haram al-Sharif? It’s pretty good evidence, but perhaps not enough for the Islamists, so let’s turn to their own sources. The Dome of the Rock was built during the caliphate of Abdul al-Malik and completed in 692 CE. It stands directly over the extensive rock which, by Muslim tradition, was the landing and departure point of Muhammad on his steed El-Burak during his Night Journey from Mecca. The “evidence” is the foot and hoof marks on the rock – a cultic relic from early days.

These marks also indicate that it is from here, and to here, that God will come and go at the End of Days. As His direction of travel is not known, the Dome of the Rock was built facing the four winds of heaven. It has no focus except the central rock, and entrances on all four sides. Does the central rock indicate the presence of a Jewish Temple? Not necessarily, but the Koran itself now makes that clear.

The prophet’s night journey is described in Surah 17: “Glory be to Him who made His servant go by night from the Sacred Temple [Mecca] to the farther Temple [Al-Aksa, Jerusalem], whose surroundings We have blessed…” It goes on to say, “We solemnly declared to the Israelites: ‘Twice you shall commit great evil in the land… and We sent against you a formidable army which ravaged your land… and when the prophecy of your second transgression came to be fulfilled, We sent another army to afflict you and to enter the Temple, as the former entered it before…”

Thus the Koran itself gives us the evidence of the destruction of the two Temples that had stood on the site of Al-Aksa.

Nothing could be clearer.

* ‘Russia, Iran to hold naval maneuver’ According to the report, the maneuver will include 30 Russian and Iranian ships, as well as helicopters.

* Must we lose the two Temples again? There is a persistent narrative by the Islamists to deny any past Jewish presence on what they call Haram al-Sharif.

* Temple Institute to Build Sacrificial Altar on Tisha B’av The Temple Institute will begin building the sacrificial altar on Thursday, Tisha B’av.

* Global warming is the new religion of First World urban elites Ian Plimer has outraged the ayatollahs of purist environmentalism, the Torquemadas of the doctrine of global warming.

* J’lem expects Arab gestures soon US Middle East envoy George Mitchell left his Israeli interlocutors with the impression Tuesday that he would be able to extract some normalization gestures towards Israel.

* Battles with militants kill hundreds in Nigeria, group says More than 400 people have been killed in a spate of violence in northern Nigeria.

* Saudis scramble to stop Hajj swine flu crisis Saudi Arabia has launched an investigation into its first fatality from the H1N1 Virus as it tries to head off a swine flu epidemic before millions descend for the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

* U.S., China agree on economic strategies Two days of high-level talks between the United States and China concluded with broad agreement on separate strategies to help their economies.

* Gates Pressures Kurdish Leaders to Cooperate in Iraq Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates pressed Kurdish regional leaders on Wednesday to resolve their disputes with the Iraqi government in the next few months.

* Saudi rejects Israel recognition without withdrawal Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia on Wednesday rebuffed US calls for diplomatic overtures toward Israel.

* ‘Say ‘No’ to US settlement pressure’ Calling on Israel to simply say “no” to US pressure to freeze settlement activity and to divide the capital, close to a thousand people rallied outside Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Jerusalem home.

* US-Israeli talks make ‘progress’ US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu say talks about reviving the regional peace process have made “good progress”.

* Ashkenazi: There is no imminent threat of war on Lebanon border Despite the turmoil caused by the explosion of a hidden weapons depot in southern Lebanon nearly two weeks ago, the IDF does not view the situation in the North as indicative of an impending war.

* US-China ties ‘to shape century’ The relationship between the US and China will shape the 21st Century, President Barack Obama has said, as top officials met in Washington for talks.

* ‘Obama unlikely to present peace plan’ Recent talks with US envoy George Mitchell have left Israeli officials with the impression that – contrary to expectations in some circles – President Barack Obama is not going to unfurl his own regional peace plan.

* As Tisha B’Av Approaches, Knesset Focuses on the Temple Mount As Tisha B’Av, the annual day of mourning over the destruction of the Temple, approaches, Members of Knesset met to talk about the Temple.

* Completed ‘Operation 11’ Greets Mitchell, Netanyahu Activists finished building 11 new outposts in Judea and Samaria Monday night in time for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s meeting with U.S. special envoy George Mitchell.

* US pressure on Arab states grows Amid a flurry of US diplomatic activity in the Middle East, the Obama administration is increasing the pressure on Arab countries to do more.

* Obama says US, China to shape 21st century The 21st century will be defined by relations between China and the United States, US President Barack Obama said.

* Pakistan says Indian submarine harms regional peace India’s launch of its first nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying ballistic missiles is “detrimental to regional peace and stability.”

* US urges Iran reply by September US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has urged Iran to respond to US diplomatic overtures by September.

* Nigerian Islamist attacks spread Islamist militants have staged three co-ordinated attacks in northern Nigeria leaving dozens dead, meaning about 150 have been killed in two days.

* US envoy in Mid-East peace push The US has launched a new drive to kick-start Middle East peace talks, with visits to Israel, Syria and Egypt by special envoy George Mitchell.

* Clinton says Iran’s nuclear pursuit is “futile” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Iran would not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and reiterated Washington’s commitment to protect close ally Israel from any threat posed by Tehran.

* Hamas Implementing Islamic Law in Gaza In the two-plus years Hamas has been running Gaza, a process of “creeping Shariah-ism” has been ongoing,.

* Gaza campers stage Schalit abduction Children in Hamas summer camps reenacted the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Schalit in the presence of top Hamas officials.

* Right-wing rally planned in Jerusalem To protest the US demand for a settlement freeze and to take a stand in favor of a unified Jerusalem, right-wing activists and settler leaders plan to rally Monday evening in Paris Square on the capital’s Rehov Agron.

* More than 300,000 settlers live in West Bank There are now more than 300,000 residents living in Jewish West Bank settlements, according to the IDF.

* The Western Wall Enters the Twitter Age The Western Wall has entered the Twitter age with a service that lets people from around the world send their prayers to be printed and placed as notes in the wall.

* No option is off the table on Iran Israel has not ruled out any means of dealing with Iran’s nuclear threat, and is taking “no option off the table.”

* ‘We’ll hit Israeli nuclear facilities’ Iran threatened Saturday to strike Israel’s nuclear installations if it is attacked by the Jewish state.

* North Korea ‘executes Christians’ Human rights groups in South Korea say North Korea has stepped up executions of Christians, some of them in public.

* British foreign minister urges acceptance of Arab Peace Plan British Foreign Minister David Miliband told his Syrian counterpart on Friday that the Arab Peace Initiative was the best opportunity.

* Syria: We can help solve Iran nuclear dispute Syria can play a role in finding a political solution to nuclear and other disputes between Iran and the West.

* Netanyahu hails spirit of Arab peace initiative Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday expressed interest in the Arab Peace Initiative for the first time.

* Why is Israel suddenly resuming immigration from Ethiopia? Quietly, without fanfare or any sort of serious debate, the government is resuming Falashmura immigration from Ethiopia.

* Iraqi Kurds head to the polls Polls opened Saturday in presidential and parliamentary elections in Iraq’s autonomous region of Kurdistan.

* Global protests over Iranian crackdown Protesters in dozens of cities worldwide on Saturday demanded the release of hundreds of detainees in Iran.

* India widens climate rift with west A split between rich and poor nations in the run-up to climate-change talks widened on Thursday.

* WHO says pandemic gaining speed, sees winter risks The H1N1 flu virus is starting to infect older people, and pregnant women and the obese are at highest risk, the World Health Organization said.

By: Maayana Miskin – Arutz Sheva

(IsraelNN.com) Senior members of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah have announced that their group will never recognize Israel, and will continue to call for war against Israel. “Fatah does not recognize Israel’s right to exist, nor have we ever asked others to do so,” said senior Fatah member Rafik Natsheh, a close associate of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

Media reports, according to which Fatah has recognized Israel and has called on Hamas to do the same, are false, Natsheh said in an interview with the pan-Arab daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi. “It’s all media nonsense. We don’t ask other factions to recognize Israel; we ourselves do not recognize Israel,” he said.

Fatah controls the PA in Judea and Samaria, and is the party of Abbas. Unlike the rival breakaway PA led by Hamas in Gaza, the Fatah-led PA has agreed to recognize Israel, although it will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

The PA recognizes Israel because if it did not, it would not be able to “serve the Palestinian people,” Natsheh explained. However, Fatah does not have such constraints.

Not only will Fatah never recognize Israel, but it will never end its call for armed struggle against Israel, he said. “Let those who are deluding themselves hear: this will never happen,” he said.

A second senior Fatah member, Azzam el-Ahmed, agreed that Fatah would not drop its call to wage war on Israel.

Natsheh and Ahmed gave interviews in advance of the Fatah general assembly in early August, in which the organization will meet to discuss its goals and to hold elections. The meeting will be the first in approximately 20 years.

* Barkat: We’ll resist attempts to divide J’lem Mayor Nir Barkat said Thursday that people of all faiths may develop property and live in any part of the city.

* Fatah: No Recognition of Israel – Ever Senior members of Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah have announced that their group will never recognize Israel.

* U.S. warns Israel: Don’t build up West Bank corridor The U.S. administration has issued a stiff warning to Israel not to build in the area known as E-1.

* FM: Iran nuke program could set off arms race If Iran develops nuclear capabilities it will start an arms race in the Middle East that would threaten the world.

* Poll: Israelis wary of PA leadership A new poll, conducted during a week of heightened tensions between Israel and the US over settlement construction and stymied diplomatic negotiations, reveals in stark terms just how wary Israeli Jews are regarding the Palestinian leadership.

* How robot drones revolutionized the face of warfare Barely an hour’s drive from the casinos of Las Vegas, a group of unassuming buildings have become as important as the trenches were to WWI.

* US Middle East envoy heads to Syria The US State Department on Thursday said that the Obama administration’s special Middle East envoy is heading to Syria.

* China set to overtake Germany as world’s largest exporter A World Trade Organization report published on Wednesday (22 July) repeats an earlier forecast of a 10 percent fall in world trade levels this year.

* US envoy: Securing Pakistan’s Swat a top priority President Barack Obama’s special envoy to Pakistan said Thursday that securing hard-fought gains in the Swat Valley and ensuring the safe return of refugees uprooted by the government’s anti-Taliban campaign should be Islamabad’s top priority.

* Flu chief: Pandemic in early stages The global swine flu epidemic is still in its early stages, even though reports of over 100,000 infections in England alone last week are plausible.

By: Daniela Feldman – The Jerusalem post

A global Islamic extremist political organization hosted its first organized conference in the United States on Sunday. Hosted by the group Hizb-ut-Tahrir, the conference, titled “Fall of Capitalism and Rise of Islam,” was hosted at a Hilton hotel in Chicago.

The conference was free to the public and attracted some 700 people, according to a report by Chicago’s CBS 2 network.

The organization, whose name means The Liberation Party, is known for being a political, non-violent Sunni movement formed as a reaction to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The party was established in Jerusalem in 1953 by Palestinian intellectuals. The leader at the time, Taqiuddin an-Nabhani, established the organization as an ideological political party striving to create an Islamic caliphate, i.e. an ideal, unified Muslim state.

Hizb-ut-Tahrir is “a political party whose ideology is Islam,” according to the group’s official Web site.

The group is the “first Islamic radical organization to adopt a global policy,” said Reuven Paz, the director of Project for the Research of Islamist Movements (PRISM). The party has established centers across the world, but has been banned in much of the Arab world and central Asia because the group has been seen as an opposition to Islamic governments already in place, he explained in an interview with The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

Paz said that though the organization has a strong base in London, the US branch was created in the 1970s in states with large Muslim populations.

Kamran Bokhari, STRATFOR’s director of Middle East analysis, explained that until this conference, the Hizb-ut-Tahrir has been largely dormant in the US, but he believes the group is trying to make a comeback and reestablish a presence.

“They are trying to make use of the financial crisis and show that capitalism is in decline and Islam is the answer,” he said. “They decided it’s the right time to come back – the hunt against Islam is not as intense as it used to be.”

He explained that the organization is serious about theology, idealogy and methodology. “Unlike organizations like al-Qaeda, they do not use force. They are more into doing conferences and holding study circles to shape public opinion,” he said.

Paz explained that the conference is taking place in the United States because the group is taking advantage of freedom of speech. Most of the members are young intellectual elites, he said.

Though anti-Israel, anti-Shi’ite and anti-Western, the organization is not at all violent, but is seen as a threat for having unique doctrines and attracting followers to demonstrations, said Paz.

“The group is a minority in the Muslim world, but they are very vocal. They can be very extreme, but never violent,” Paz said. “They are far from the present doctrines of al-Qaeda.”

In a phone interview with CBS News, conference deputy spokesman Reza Imam stressed that Hizb ut-Tahrir does not call for violence or spread radical ideas. He said the group has not been accused of being tied to violent activities.

According to the organization’s Web site, Hizb-ut-Tahrir aims to educate Muslims as an “entity that seeks to change people’s thoughts through intelligent discussion and debate,” and “does not accept forcing people or societies to change by means of violence and terror.”

Imam said the conference was hosted to highlight the disintegration of capitalism during the global financial crisis.

“Our organization is an intellectual organization, so anybody who subscribes to its ideas is a member,” said Imam. “Our currency is ideas…it is not a card-carrying type of organization,” he added.

Hizb ut-Tahrir has no headquarters in the US and no leader, said Imam, adding that it has a strong presence in Chicago.

The conference was originally scheduled to be held at Al Aqsa Islamic School in Bridgeview, Ill., but the school canceled the event. According to CBS News, school officials felt the group misrepresented their goals when they asked to use the venu

* Bin Laden son ‘believed killed’ One of Osama Bin Laden’s sons is believed to have been killed by a US missile strike in Pakistan earlier this year.

* Hundreds planning Temple Mount ascent Hundreds of right-wing activists are intending to attempt to march up to the Temple Mount next Thursday morning, Tisha Be’Av.

* Afghan war is ‘worth the effort’ US Vice-President Joe Biden has told the BBC that the war in Afghanistan is in the interests of the US and the UK.

* PM delays discussion on Temple Mount project On the backdrop of protests from Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and the Muslim Waqf, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently postponed a decisive discussion aimed at setting a date for beginning the construction of the new Mugrabi Gate.

* Islamists gather at Chicago Hilton A global Islamic extremist political organization hosted its first organized conference in the United States on Sunday.

* US pessimistic on Iran overtures The US secretary of state has said Washington is still willing to engage with Iran but that political turmoil there means a response is unlikely.

* Christian Right Crusades for Israel John Hagee, a leading Christian evangelist who heads the Christian United for Israel movement, told 4,000 followers in Washington Wednesday night that, “The chief obstacle to peace in the Middle East is not Israelis living on the West Bank.

* Swine flu fears prompt Hajj curbs Arab health ministers have agreed to prevent vulnerable groups joining this year’s Muslim Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, because of fears over swine flu.

* Obama Boomerang: Demand for Building Freeze Spurs Rush to Buy U.S. President Barack Obama’s attempt to freeze building for Jews in Judea and Samaria appears to be backfiring.

* Obama presses Iraq troop withdrawal, promises help President Barack Obama pressed plans to remove US troops from Iraq in 2011 in talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

* Netanyahu aide says no to resumption of peace talks Israel’s National Security Advisor, Uzi Arad, rejected in recent days a Palestinian request to renew talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

* Netanyahu: Hamas, Hizbullah and Syria Are Directly Helping Iran In a speech to the Knesset Wednesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu hinted at covert intelligence Israel has.

* Clinton stirs Israeli fears US will accept nuclear Iran Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday stirred Israeli fears that Washington would accept a nuclear armed Iran.

* US ‘will repel nuclear hopefuls’ Iran and North Korea will face severe consequences if they do not abandon their nuclear ambition.

* Turkey ready to resume Israel-Syria mediator role Turkey is ready to agree to resuming its role as mediator in indirect talks between Israel and Syria.

* Solar eclipse wows Asia People across Asia have been watching the longest total solar eclipse this century.

* Pakistan Objects to U.S. Expansion in Afghan War Pakistan is objecting to expanded American combat operations in neighboring Afghanistan, creating new fissures in the alliance with Washington at a critical juncture when thousands of new American forces are arriving in the region.

* Iraqi PM in US for Meetings with Obama, Ban Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki meets with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House Wednesday.

* Israel cuts 1948 ‘catastrophe’ from Arabic texts The Israeli government will remove references to what Palestinians call the “catastrophe” of Israel’s creation from textbooks for Arab schoolchildren.

* Brussels takes Bulgaria and Romania to task again Brussels on Wednesday issued Bulgaria and Romania with urgent ‘to-do’ lists.