T. Belman. This is the first step in this governments path to reassert Jewish rights. We are in the right. They are interfering with our sovereignty. We must continue to defy them.
Ben-Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif could hurt the new far-right Israeli government’s relations with Arab states and Turkey.
This picture taken from the Mount of Olives shows a view of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its Dome of the Rock, Old City, Jerusalem, Jan. 2, 2023. – Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to a contested Jerusalem holy site Tuesday has sparked a diplomatic outcry.
What happened: Ben-Gvir, a hardline politician, took office along with the rest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet last week. Almost immediately, Ben-Gvir began planning a visit to the Temple Mount, aka Haram al-Sharif. The site is holy to both Jews and Muslims and is a frequent flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
After meeting Netanyahu Monday, Ben-Gvir said he would postpone the visit. The Palestinian armed group Hamas threatened escalation should Ben-Gvir head to the holy site. Former Prime Minister Yair Lapid also warned “people will die,” according to The Times of Israel.
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However, Ben-Gvir went ahead with the visit Tuesday alongside Israeli security forces. “Israel will not give in to Hamas threats,” he said, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) issued a statement condemning the Israeli minister’s actions, accusing him of “storming” the area.
“The UAE today strongly condemned the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyard by an Israeli minister under the protection of Israeli forces,” read the statement from the Emirati Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also released a statement “denouncing” the visit, accusing the “Israeli occupation authorities of actions undermining international peace.”
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry put out a similar statement, saying the Israeli government committed a “flagrant violation of international law.” The statement also referred to the area as a “solely Muslim place of worship.”
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan considers itself the custodian of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. Israel does not exactly recognize this role.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the move. Unlike the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, the Turkish Foreign Ministry specifically named Ben-Gvir in its statement.
“We are concerned by the provocative act by the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on the Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of the Israeli police and we condemn it,” read the statement.
Why it matters: The incident could threaten relations between Netanyahu’s government and other Middle Eastern states. Israel and the UAE agreed to normalized relations in 2020 as part of the Trump administration-brokered Abraham Accords. Relations have steadily strengthened since then.
Netanyahu was in power as part of a different Cabinet when the normalization occurred. However, his current government includes more far-right, Jewish nationalist politicians.
There are conflicting reports in Israeli media on Netanyahu postponing his trip to the UAE due to Ben-Gvir’s visit. Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Abu Dhabi next week.
Ben-Gvir’s visit could also harm Netanyahu’s efforts to reach a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia. This is one of Netanyahu’s main foreign policy goals, Al-Monitor’s Ben Caspit wrote last week.
Jordan and Israel have had difficult relations since Jordan recognized Israel in 1994. Most of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian descent and many harbor resentment toward Israel. At the same time, cooperation between the two neighbors is increasing. Last year, Israel agreed to send water to Jordan. Israel also exports natural gas to Jordan.
Israel’s long-strained relations with Turkey have also improved recently. Last month, Israel’s new ambassador to Turkey presented her credentials to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Israel had been without an ambassador in Ankara for four years.
Know more: Ben-Gvir is a controversial figure in Israeli politics. He has been charged numerous times with incitement toward hatred against Arabs.
Ben-Gvir is often associated with Kahanism, named after the late American-Israeli Rabbi Meir Kahane. Kahane called for expelling Arabs from Israel, and some of his associates committed atrocities — most notably the 1994 Hebron massacre. Ben-Gvir has both praised Kahane and tried to distance himself from the radical rabbi.
Ben-Gvir’s family originates from Iraq. The country had a large Jewish community for thousands of years until pressure and attacks after the establishment of Israel led nearly all Iraqi Jews to flee to Israel in the 20th century.
In no other country in the world, except Israel, those who want to liquidate this state do not sit in the Parliament of the state.
It is very characteristic that the left-wing enemies of Israel are quite satisfied with the presence of Arab Nazis in the Knesset, but they are not satisfied with the presence of even a moderately right-wing Jewish politician.
This is additional evidence that Ben – Gvir should be supported.
It doesn’t matter whether Ben Gvir had the right to do what he did.
People forget that with rights come responsibilities, and instead of thinking about his responsibilities as an MK, Ben Gvir decided to set up another provocation to massage his ego.
I am sure that he is thrilled with the effect he produced, and to hell with the consequences!
I think he should be thrown out of the Knesset and never allowed to come back to politics because he is a loose cannon who cannot be relied upon to act responsibly and intelligently.
and publicly dine with somebody he knew was an antisemite and his guest. He did do a lot for us but people change so who knows? Ego means a lot to this man.
But, I can’t find a single news item about Trump commenting on Itamar Ben-Gvir’s ascension to the Temple Mount. I say his full name because i think a lot of people think his first name is Ben. He comes from a family of Iraqi Jewish refugees.
Ben means “son of” in Hebrew right?
So could somebody say, “you ben so and so%#-” 😀
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/365445
I voted for Cruz against Trump in the Republican primary in New York (where he was trounced after making disparaging comments about New York) in 2016. After winning, Trump adopted Cruz’s platform. Caroline Glick endorsed Cruz as Israel’s champion in the Senate.
I realize Trump has his own problems but the only thing I’ve heard Trump say about Israel lately is that Jews are not grateful enough for what he did in the past though he did find a moment to weigh in on Ukraine.
https://www.meforum.org/3556/temple-mount
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/365439
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/365426
One tactic that could improve the situation is to educate the rest of the world about what the Temple Mount is and what it means to Jews. We hear a lot about Al Aksa mosque, because Muslims are masters of public relations. So to uninformed people, Israel is threatening access to a Muslim holy place. If those same uninformed people were informed by Jews about their own interest in the site, things would shift naturally without violence. Unfortunately, people who are ignorant of history are running things, probably always have and always will. So part of the answer is to educate them.
@AS1818
Self-criticism is always welcome.
“Gaslighting” – another term you don’t know the meaning of but are not afraid to use.
Often those who seek to look extra smart look particularly stupid in reality.
Leave your gaslighting for someone else.
@AS1818
Don’t ascribe to me things that I didn’t say.
I am not the only one who thinks that Ben Gvir is a paid provocateur, this opinion was expressed as early as 2005, before the Disengagement, because he acted the same way even then.
If he were a true follower of R. Kahane, as he claims to be, he would not be anywhere near any politics, much less in the Knesset.
Moreover, if R. Kahane were alive today, I am sure he wouldn’t want to do anything with Ben Gvir.
This clown’s role is as a useful idiot at best.
This government is starting more and more to resemble a ship of fools (not that the previous one was without blame but this one is supposedly full of the followers of Torah):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_fools
and worse, it is chillul Hashem (in case you don’t know what this means, here is the definition):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chillul_hashem
since the main purpose of this government is to give ministries to a thrice-convicted, (extremely religious) criminal, and to keep Netanyahu out of the reach of the justice system with the help of the very religious who are bribed with important government posts in return and given the license to promote their favorite views instead of working to ensure the country’s security AND sovereignty, first of all.
The new government advent opens great opportunities to secure our ancestral rights in Eretz Israel. Jerusalem, the whole of Jerusalem is our Capital. The First and Second Temple’s areas and adjacent facilities were always Jewish and so will they remain. All Citizens and legal visitors shall have completely free access to relevant sites.
Violence by anyone shall not be tolerated..
Threats by other states or organizations must be dealt with without hesitation.
1) From the very beginning, I had no doubt that, through the Abraham Accords, the Arabs wanted above all to be able to blackmail and pressure Israel. So I’m not at all surprised.
2) The problem is not what happened (the Jew ascended the Temple Mount).
This can only cause resentment among arrogant gentiles and pseudo-jews who support them.
3) The problem is different. Once Dayan and Eshkol made a very serious mistake. Israel not only had the right to take control of the Temple Mount as a result of the war, but also had the obligation to do so. To whom? – HaShem. The one who helped Jews accomplish unique miracles.
But many years have passed since then, generations of politicians in Israel have changed, but no one has even tried to take control of the most sacred place for Jews.
This is a very big problem .
4) Another problem is the appearance of a relatively new idol in Israel – the “status quo”. It is enough for some gentile to express dissatisfaction with the violation of the “status quo”, as Israeli Jews rush to prove that the “status quo” is not violated. A shameful sight!
5) It is necessary to destroy this idol.
And for this it is not enough to make separate ascents to the Temple Mount. We need a radical change in legislation and the taking of the Temple Mount under the physical control of the Israeli security forces.
6) And last. Israel is opposed by the successors of Hitler’s cause, animals in human form.
Under these circumstances, it would not only be appropriate, but also necessary to have the extreme right in the Government. But this, unfortunately, is not yet possible. It’s good that Ben – Gvir and Smotrich managed to get there. But they are moderate right-wing politicians.
Only sworn enemies of Israel shout that they are far – right politicians, provocateurs, etc.
Ben Gvir either has an IQ of 80 or he is a paid agent-provocateur, in my opinion.
His antics and the scandals he provokes may be exciting to watch but politics is not sports and it is not meant for entertainment.
@Reader
There was nothing provocative or damaging about Ben Gvir’s visit. Jews must recognize that in their own country, they are not second class citizens. They may find themselves as such in foreign lands, but in Israel, they must find the inner strength to exercise their own sovereignty as relates to their Arab neighbors and their Western ‘allies’. Doing so is not provocative, and suggesting that it might be would likely fall under the phrase you often quote as ghetto mentality.
Ben Gvir’s actions also did not damage Israel’s cause. The only thing which might actually achieve this end result is to re-institute the status quo which Ben Gvir’s visit was to challenge.
As to what the people wanted, this would be determined by the vote tally. Ben Gvir had the third largest party in the Knesset in this past election and the second largest party in the coalition, prior to its post election division. Ben Gvir has always advocated for Jews to be free to visit the Temple. Anyone voting for him and his party would have known this prior to casting their vote. Consequently, I would suggest that the people received that for which they voted – a statesman who has the temerity challenge the status quo which has been quite damaging to the rights of Jews in their own country.
That’s what I was afraid of – that the only thing this man is capable of is cheap provocations which end up hurting Israel’s cause or even costing Israel Jewish lives.
The people elected this government to stop the Arab terrorism, not to hand the politicians license to do whatever the hell they want (which has nothing to do with what needs to be done).
INN REPORTS:
I totally agree. It sickens me to see the media reporting it as an ‘islamic’ site, when they do not even bother to see if it is holy for Jews.
Go Israel. Defy the US, the UK, and the hypocritical world. Remember Muslims took over Jerusalem in the 7th century, from thy Byzantiums. They valued life so didn’t bother fighting, but handed the city over.
Muslims took the land by force, and planted a mosque there, just like they did in Istanbul, India, and countless other places.
Hypocritical Biden, where do you think Jews pray? Jesus was a Jewish nationalist.
Also, if you note the UAE condemned Israel. I have warned before, about getting too pally with the Arabs, until they accept Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount with full rights to pray and possibly build a Third Temple, do not trust them or help arm them, which is what they want.