MK Uri Ariel (National Union) is drawing up plans to construct a synagogue on the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site. Jordan's King plans to build a fifth minaret on the site as well.So what are the chances this will really happen?
The synagogue would be build upon the Temple Mount, but in an area that is indisputably not within the areas that require immersion and other preparations, according to Jewish law.
Ariel says that the synagogue would not change the Muslim status quo on the mount, which is home to the Al-Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
“This is not a new idea,” Ariel stressed, “it has been brought up and considered countless times since the [1967] Six Day War [during which the Temple Mount was liberated from Jordanian occupation –ed.].”
The plan will be submitted to the Jerusalem municipality and the Committee for Design and Construction for approval. Ariel says that every aspect of the plan will be submitted to leading Torah scholars for approval.
On the one hand:
MK Ariel points out that every ruling by Israel’s Supreme Court regarding the matter of the Temple Mount has recognized the right of every Jew to pray on the Temple Mount. “This is rectification of a historic injustice, much more than the transport to Israel of [Theodore] Herzl’s children’s bones [as was done recently, in accordance with his wishes ed.].On the other hand:
The project requires approval by the Israeli government before it can begin.Oh.
Technorati Tag: Israel and Temple Mount and Jerusalem.
2 comments:
You should read "Holy War, Holy Peace" by Marc Gopin...he has some interesting theories on this.
For those interested, according to the review on Amazon:
The Intifada of 2000-2001 has demonstrated the end of an era of diplomacy in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The style of peacemaking of the Olso Accords has been called into question by the facts on the ground. Elite forms of peacemaking that do not embrace the basic needs of average people on all
sides are bound to fail.
The complete neglect of deeper cultural and religious systems in the peace process is now apparent, as is the role that this neglect has played in the failure of the process. Building on his earlier book, Between Eden and Armageddon, Gopin provides a detailed blueprint of how the religious
traditions in question can become a principal asset in the search for peace and justice. He demonstrates how religious people can be the critical missing link in peacemaking, and how the incorporation of their values and symbols can unleash a new dynamic that directly addresses basic issues of
ethics, justice, and peace.
Gopin's analysis of the theoretical, theological, and political planes shows us what has been achieved thus far, as well as what must be done next in order to ensure effective final settlement negotiations and secure, sovereign, democratic countries for both peoples.
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