israel today > Focus on Jerusalem > Jerusalem: A Cup of Reeling (Zech. 12:2)

Focus on Jerusalem

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Jerusalem: A Cup of Reeling (Zech. 12:2)
Meir Shamgar, the former chief justice of Israel’s Supreme Court, quoted this verse during a conference on Jerusalem to illustrate that, 3,800 years after Jacob’s dream, Jews and Arabs still revere the Holy City.

The forum posed this question: Will a compromise on the holy places in Jerusalem ever be possible? The answer from both Jewish Knesset (parliament) member Arieh Eldad and his Moslem counterpart Ahmed Tibi was a resounding, “No!” Neither Jews nor Arabs will be willing to relinquish control of the Temple Mount, marking the site of the biblical Temples and the holiest place in Judaism, and home to the Mosque of Al Aksa, the third holiest place in Islam.

Speaking to an audience of 200 professors, judges, rabbis, lawyers, journalists and Armenian and Greek Orthodox Church leaders, Eldad noted that Jerusalem has never been the capital of any other nation but Israel. That Israel reclaimed its capital after 2,000 years of exile is a thorn in the flesh of the Moslems.

“Jerusalem, meaning the city of peace, has not had one day of real peace in its history,” said Eldad, of the hawkish National Union party. “Jerusalem is affected by two forces, religious and political. Since both have become stronger in the last 30 years, the chances for a compromise on Jerusalem have decreased drastically.”

Tibi agreed: “The more time passes, the smaller the chances for peace. On both sides there is a lack of leadership that can make peace. Neither [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert nor [Palestinian leader Mahmoud] Abbas are capable.” Eldad and Tibi agreed that no Arab leader would accept a peace treaty that does not include the Mosque of Al Aksa. “Not even Yasser Arafat dared to sign a peace treaty that excluded Palestinian sovereignty over all of East Jerusalem in the summer of 2000 [at Camp David],” Tibi said. “And what Arafat did not dare, Abbas would never dare.”

‘How terrible is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ (Genesis 28:17)

(More in israel today from January 2007)

Back to Focus on Jerusalem