A "Vatican" Solution?

 

“הר הבית בידינו” (the Temple Mount is in our hands). Israeli Lt. Gen. Mordechai “Motta” Gur, June 7, 1967

Al Aqsa Mosque (the “farthest mosque”) is part of a compound of buildings (Al Aqsa Compound or Haram esh-Sharif), theoretically under the supervision of Jordan, constituting the third holiest site in Islam. It was built several decades after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, who is said to have miraculously traveled to this site, overnight, to pray. It has been updated, destroyed and rebuilt over time and has been subject to major conflicts over the centuries.

Temple Mount is the holiest site in the Jewish faith, a site where two ancient temples once stood: the first built by King Solomon, son of King David, in 957 BCE. According to Jewish tradition and scripture, after its destruction by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 586 BCE, it was replaced in 516 BCE by a second temple, which was destroyed by the Romans. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the third and final temple will be built upon the arrival of the Messiah. It is towards this site that many Jews pray, and it continues to hold a divine presence. According to the New Testament, it is also the Temple where, as a child, Jesus was taken to be presented and attend a Passover celebration and where, later in life, where he preached and where certain biblical events took place: Pentecost, Acts of the Apostles and the Cleansing of the Temple. It is among the holiest sites in Christianity.

As most of us know, this is a single area in the midst of Old Jerusalem, a site of ancient conflicts, the Crusades into the recent and continuing struggles between Jews and Arab settlers in the region. The buildings that stand today are the surviving Islamic structures built centuries after the death of Christ. The fact that this site is of such religious importance to each of the three major western faiths has been at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that most sacred part of the contested city of Jerusalem.

For a substantial part of the 20th century, Jerusalem was part of the Arab nation of Jordan. On June 7, 1967, the Israeli army captured the old city of Jerusalem, seizing it from the Jordanians. For the wars and regional conflicts against and within Israel that followed, the struggles over the Palestinian homeland, the anger over the Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the treatment of even Israeli-born Arabs as second class citizens, the Intifada, terrorist attacks in and against Israeli cities, the rockets lobbed by Hamas fighters in Gaza, and even the 11-day war between Hamas and Israel last year… are profoundly influenced by the religious importance of this focused area of Old Jerusalem.

To the delight of the evangelical community in the United States – who believe that an apocalyptic war in the Middle East will thus accelerate the Second Coming of Christ and the resulting rapture where only the most dedicated Christians will instantly be elevated into the Kingdom of Heaven – Donald Trump officially moved the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel to Jerusalem (hence recognizing that the disputed City of Jerusalem was now recognized by the US as the official capital of Israel). Even though the bulk of diplomatic activities remained in Tel Aviv, this gesture infuriated many in the Arab world and particularly angered local Palestinians who, as the above picture illustrates, still hold major services at the Al Aqsa Mosque on the holiest occasions.

April represented an uncommon confluence of Easter, Passover, and the beginning of Ramadan. A larger than usual Jewish contingent of worshippers thus ascended to the Temple Mount than would be normal, absent a religious holiday. The result was decidedly unholy. Violence between Muslims and Jews erupted, to the point where Israeli forces temporary curtailed Jewish visitors. But it was not enough. It was a sore reminder of the Jewish occupation of this holy site. Each side, of course, blamed the other. Israeli police then stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque.

“Palestinians and Israeli police have regularly confronted each other at the site over the last week [mid-April] at a time of heightened tensions following a string of deadly attacks inside Israel and arrests made during raids in the occupied West Bank. Three rockets have been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas.

“The recent events have raised fears of a repeat of last year, when protests and violence in Jerusalem helped ignite an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas and communal violence in Israel’s mixed cities… Palestinian youths hurled stones toward police at a gate leading into the Al Aqsa compound, according to two Palestinian witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns. The police, in full riot gear, entered the compound, firing rubber bullets and stun grenades.

“Israeli police said the Palestinians, some carrying Hamas flags, had begun stockpiling stones and erecting crude fortifications before dawn. Police said that, after the rock-throwing began, they waited for early-morning prayers to finish before entering the compound.

“Video showed the police firing at a group of journalists who were holding cameras and loudly identifying themselves as members of the press. Police wounded at least three Palestinian reporters with rubber bullets… Some older Palestinians urged the youths to stop throwing rocks as dozens of young masked men hurled stones and fireworks at the police. A tree caught fire near the gate where the clashes began. Police said it was ignited by fireworks thrown by the Palestinians.

“The Palestinian Red Crescent medical service said at least 31 Palestinians were wounded, including 14 who were taken to hospitals. A policewoman was hit in the face by a rock and taken for medical treatment, police said.” Los Angeles Times, April 23rd. The relative poverty of Israeli Arabs, the sense of isolation as some Arab nations have formalized diplomatic normalcy with Israel, combined with the religious symbolism of the Al Aqsa Mosque within a hostile Jewish state, ignited into that violence. The designation of Jordan as the mosque’s caretaker was not enough.

With Israel as one of our most vital allies, a nation of modern productivity and technology, American interests require that strong continuing mutually advantaged relationship. But desperate peoples (many local Palestinians), with nothing left to lose, create an exceptionally difficult challenge to world peace. There’s already enough at stake with Putin’s genocidal war in Ukraine.

By recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, however, the United States has effectively negated its potential role as a mediator between Palestinian and Israeli factions. Perhaps a better solution might be for the United Nations to suggest a Vatican-like status, literally an independent state helmed by a triumvirate of prelates from Islam, Judaism and Christianity, open to all worshipers… even if that only embraces the Al Aqsa Mosque/Temple Mount and its immediate surroundings... with guarantees of safety by all surrounding countries and the UN itself. We know one thing: the current model is not working.

I’m Peter Dekom, and there simply must be a better solution to modern day holy wars fought continuously in and around Israel.