Israel Today Staff
Noted Jerusalem expert Dr. Samuel Berkowitz reminds Israel Today Editor-in-Chief Aviel Schneider that 40 years ago renowned academics at Harvard University actually presented a possible scenario for a third world war that would be sparked by conflict over the Temple Mount. “I take this very seriously,” he warns. “The Muslims are experts at instigating uprisings.” Berkowitz has written several books on the topic, among them How Terrible Is this Place(Carta, 2006). The title is an echo of Genesis 28:17 – מה נורא המקום הזה – “Mah norah ha-makom ha-zeh!” – which could also be translated: “How awesome is this place.”
Let’s assume that Israel had done things differently over the last 50 years and this neglect had not occurred. Would that have satisfied the Arabs?
No, it is impossible to buy off the nationalist Arab movement with money. And yet, the violence in Jerusalem is more subdued because the Arabs here have something to lose. They receive financial subsidies from the state, just like all citizens of Jerusalem. For this reason, the Arabs of Jerusalem are more cautious than their brothers in other areas. But they have the same goal, and are striving for a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Jerusalem is not mentioned even once in the Koran. All the European experts on the Middle East know that Mohammad was never in Jerusalem. The whole basis for the Palestinians viewing the Temple Mount as sacred is a minor story that even the Muslims originally considered to be myth. According to this story, Allah is said to have brought Mohammad on a flying horse from Mecca to a place called Al-Aqsa.
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