Sanctifying God

Ledare i Jerusalem Post:
Sanctifying God 
" ‘Fear of deadly “religious war” between Jews and Muslims raised after synagogue attack,’ was the title of a news item that appeared in The Washington Post last week. The implication was clear: Both Muslim and Jewish leaders are deploying fundamentalist religious claims to escalate the conflict.

But in the article itself, the only mention made of religiously motivated “provocations” on the Jewish side was the demand that Jews be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount, which Muslims refer to as Haram al-Sharif.

All the other examples of Israeli reactions – the demolition of terrorists’ homes, a crackdown on potential terrorists, and even criticism of Islamic extremism – had nothing to do with the Jewish faith, but were simply understandable responses to the sort of murderous terrorism being perpetrated in the name of Islam. Some of these responses are more controversial than others, such as the home demolitions. These measures, both punitive and deterrent, are, however, based on security considerations and are not rooted in Judaism.

Similarly, a New York Times article, titled “Mistrust Threatens Delicate Balance at a Sacred Site in Jerusalem,” tried to explain why Jews and Muslims are equally to blame for escalating tensions surrounding the Temple Mount.

But once again, the only evidence cited for specifically Jewish provocations is the “clamoring” by “radical right-wingers” that Jews should be permitted to pray at the holiest site in the world according to the Jewish faith.

The Muslim side has a near-complete monopoly on religiously motivated violence in Jerusalem. Based on paranoid claims that the State of Israel plans to remove the Muslim presence from the Temple Mount, Palestinian “lone-wolf” attackers have murdered or wounded Israeli civilians, military personnel and police by running them over with cars and vans, by shooting them and by stabbing them..."