בס״ד sent in. This time, the  עש״ק פרשת ויקהל 24 Adar I 5779 NEWS police issued a March 1, 2019 celebratory message Issue number 1235 A collection of the week’s news from Israel claiming they "would not allow From the Bet El Twinning / Israel Action Committee of anyone to violate the law or harm the Jerusalem 4:57 status quo." By this point, the rest of Toronto 5:48 Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation the media outlets could no longer remain indifferent to what was transpiring in Jerusalem. They reported on "riots at the Temple Events… Mount" and "clashes between police and worshippers," language that would have been more fitting had this been an illegal demonstration at a Tuesday, March 12; Retirees 6:00-7:30pm; Families 8:00-9:30pm public square. Nefesh B’Nefesh presents “ Dollars & Sense: How Much Do I The Golden Gate is not just another public square or marginal area, Need To Make It In Israel?” at the Lipa Green Building, 4600 Bathurst but rather the only gate in the walls of the Old City that leads directly to Street. the Temple Mount. Inside it are the remains of an ancient gate dating back to around the Second Temple era and it is quite frankly horrifying to think what will become of those remains if the Israel Police allows the status quo to be violated. For inspiration, one can look to the mass destruction of the antiquities in Solomon's Stables by the Islamic Movement in Israel in Quote of the Week… the late 1990s, during the tenure of then-Prime Minister . I am not a religious woman but I am Jewish with every fiber of my US Legal Authority Alan Dershowitz Weighs in on Potential being. You don't need to be religious or on the political Right to Netanyahu Indictment understand that what is happening here, right under our noses, is A decision to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption extremely dangerous for Israeli sovereignty, public trust in the police and charges in Case 2,000 would "endanger democracy and freedom of the our legacy in the land of Israel and the physical markers of that legacy in press.” particular. "Such charges would open up a Pandora's box out of which would flow And in the meantime, despite the unequivocal denials from the police, a parade of horribles: Every government official – legislators, judges, the gate is now wide open. Muslim prayer in the Golden Gate area prosecutors, police offices, administrators – who sought positive coverage continues unhindered. Obviously, there can be no Jewish prayer at the site; in the media, and then did anything that helped the media, would have to be that would be a gross and provocative violation of the status quo and that investigated. is something the State of Israel would be absolutely unable to tolerate. "In the Yedioth Ahronoth matter, more than 40 and cabinet (Israel Hayom Feb 26) members voted in favor of the newspaper, while [Netanyahu] effectively The writer is a student at Columbia University, New York. killed the bill and went to elections. Many of the Knesset members then received positive coverage in Yedioth Ahronoth. Yet they were not investigated. Only the prime minister, who killed the bill, is being Leftists in Disguise By Ariel Bolstein prosecuted. This disparity illustrates the enormous discretion prosecutors Ever since entering the political race, former IDF Chief of Staff Benny have in selectively prosecuting alleged violators of this open-ended Gantz's approach has been to blur the distinction between Right and Left. prosecutorial tool. The connections he has made and the alliances he has forged have all been "There is no limiting principle to this open-ended intrusion of the subject to this goal. It appears that Gantz and his advisers recall the criminal law into the delicate, and legally protected, relationship between electoral success of Yitzhak Rabin in 1992 and Ehud Barak in 1999, government officials and the media. achieved, among other things, thanks to the smart branding of left-wing "Any such charge would give law enforcement far too much power to candidates as members of the center. But immediately upon entering the dictate to the media and to officials they cover how they relate to each Prime Minister's Office, both Rabin and Barak adopted the policies of the other. In a democracy, criticism of the relationship between media and Left. government should be left to voters, not prosecutors. Just like in the 1990s, this current attempt to flaunt the centrist label is "I urge you, Mr. Attorney General, to consider the dangerous a sham. In Israeli politics, there is no real Center because a majority of the implications for democracy and freedom of the press if you go forward with issues and challenges facing the Jewish state require a decisive choice these charges against the prime minister." - Professor Alan Dershowitz, in between two alternatives known as "Right" and "Left." When the time an open letter to Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit (Twitter Feb 26) comes to make major decisions, one cannot be a little on the Right or a little on the Left, just as one cannot be "a little bit pregnant." So, for example, in the ultimate test of the vote in the Knesset on the nation-state law, 's Yesh Atid party chose to vote with the Left. Those who oppose the declaration that our country is the state of the Jewish people Commentary… and that no other nation has collective national rights in it belong on the Left regardless of how many times they succeeded in throwing around the Who is Violating the Status Quo? By Ophir Dayan word "center" in a minute-long speech. Last Monday, Israel Hayom reported that the wakf, the Jordanian body There are at least three other tests that can help differentiate between that for some reason has been given rights to serve as the custodian of the Right and Left; two concern policies and one political pragmatics. When Temple Mount, had added to its ranks Palestinian politicians and wheelers taken together, Lapid and Gantz, now allied in the Blue and White party, and dealers and that in its new composition, the wakf was now openly must necessarily be seen as being on the Left. acting to undermine the status quo on the Temple Mount. The territorial integrity test: The and the nationalist camp The next day, this newspaper reported on the way in which the support Israeli sovereignty between the Jordan River and the Jordanians, the Palestinians and the wakf are planning to change the status Mediterranean Sea. Lapid and Gantz, however, foresee the establishment quo through mass prayer in the vicinity of the Golden Gate in Jerusalem's of a Palestinian state and the expulsion of Jews from their homes. At a Old City, which had been sealed off by Israeli authorities to prevent time when the Right has drawn a clear conclusion from the 2005 Muslim prayer there in accordance with a court order. Jewish prayer at the disengagement from the Gaza Strip – opposition to any future eviction of Golden Gate area or at any other point inside the Temple Mount, it should Jews, Gantz and the Left support additional withdrawals. The evacuation be noted, whether as part of a minyan [prayer quorum] or alone, will put a of settlements will be carried out as part of future agreements, Miki person on a fast track to an interrogation room. Outside of Israel Hayom, Haimovich, a member of Gantz's Israel Resilience Party, has promised us. though, the other media outlets have ignored the issue, despite it being one The economic test: Under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin of the most significant turnarounds in the history of the conflict: The Netanyahu, Israel has come a long way from its socialist past to its current violation of the status quo has been given almost sanctified status. thriving economy. While the Right aspires to remove the remaining These were not just empty threats. On that very same day, Muslim barriers that keep this from being a total economic breakthrough, the worshipers broke through the Gate of Mercy and stormed inside the Golden economic Left and its satellites in the Histadrut labor federation are Gate area. Israeli police stationed at the Temple Mount tried to prevent interested in maintaining their power. The decision to add Histadrut them from breaking in but the next day, the Muslim worshipers returned. Chairman Avi Nissankoren and other members of the economic Left to the Once again, they broke through the gate and once again, the police were

Readers are requested to please mail contributions to: BAYT - re: Israel News, 613 Clark Avenue West, Thornhill, Ontario. L4J 5V3 Annual Rates: Friend - $36, Supporter - $50, Benefactor - $180. Dedications are welcome at $120/week. Call (905) 886-3810 for further info. See Israel News on the internet at www.bayt.ca and www.frumtoronto.com or email [email protected] to request to be added to the weekly email. Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of BAYT. party's list is a clear signal from Gantz of his preferred alternative. Thankfully, the electorate now has a choice between those who have The political alliances test: All of the right-wing parties have stated that supported capitulation, concession and defeat and those who support a they would recommend that the president task Prime Minister Benjamin path to victory. Netanyahu with forming the next government; all of the left-wing parties It is clear to those of us who choose the path of victory that the next have just as adamantly said they would task Gantz with the job. confrontation with Hamas must be the last. We must strike a hard and The political map is divided into two camps, Right and Left, according disproportionate blow against Hamas, completely break its willpower to to a clear ideological key. The radical Left, Meretz, for example, but even continue fighting against us and destroy its belief that it could ever defeat those further left, like the communists and the Arab nationalist and Islamist us. parties, have embraced the idea of forming a political alliance with Gantz. It We can do this by taking various steps. seems they understand full well just what is hiding behind the centrist Israel must return immediately to a policy of targeted assassinations of mask. (Israel Hayom Feb 26) the terrorist leadership. The State of Israel has a full and unequivocal jus ad bellum to conduct these types of operations against those who not only openly and proudly call for our destruction but lead and direct the forces Digging in Near the Golden Gate By Nadav Shragai who would carry out this vision. Harsh words are one thing, and actions are another. The Gate of Mercy We must completely demolish the apparatus of terrorism. We must in the Old City of Jerusalem was open on Sunday, too. Crowds might not destroy its ability to threaten our population and our territory, and not stop have gathered, but the Waqf has started renovations at a place that has been until this has been operationally completed. closed since 2003, other than classes and matriculation exams held there We must stand strong against diplomatic and international pressure to with permission from the authorities. drive us to a ceasefire that leaves Hamas intact and even strengthened, as Officially, Israel made it clear on Sunday that it would enforce the it was recently. We must no longer gamble with the lives of our residents court's closure order and other orders that led to the area being shut off due for the negligible gains of a slightly less partisan resolution at the United to Hamas operations nearby. But the effectiveness of those orders are now Nations. in doubt. It's not at all clear whether the Hamas-affiliated group, whose Israel has been sold this deal before, and it was proven to be utterly activity led to the area being closed down in the first place, still exists. That illusory. question arose during discussions to remand Waqf leaders who – in a highly The operation should end only when the white flag of surrender is unusual move – were arrested Sunday. raised and we are able to impose our conditions and security needs. Meanwhile, the political leadership under Prime Minister Benjamin Wars have historically ended when one side wins, and one loses. We Netanyahu has decided to allow Jordan, which is outraged over the arrests know what a Hamas victory looks like; the terrorist group says it over and of the Waqf leaders, to submit a plan to refurbish the area, which will be over again. It seeks the full and utter destruction of the State of Israel and restored to the hands of the Muslims. The only question that is still massive bloodshed and annihilation for its citizens. unanswered is whether or not it will become an area of prayer. Realistically, How can our political leaders dare strengthen such an organization by it's hard to assume that after the area is reopened and the Waqf is already providing it with funds, gas, oil and cement? By doing so, we are building active there, Israel would be able to keep Muslims from praying at the site. and contributing toward our own destruction. We are also starting to see how deep the involvement of Fatah officials No leadership in the history of modern warfare has acted in such a and extremists in the Jordanian gambit at the Gate of Mercy, near the manner. Golden Gate, runs. The Jordanians are the ones who put those people on the Nevertheless, we can stop this immoral, unconscionable and self- Waqf council, both because of reports that Jordan would be losing its status destructive policy with our ballots on April 9. on the Temple Mount as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's "deal of the Do not listen to those who say victory over Hamas is not attainable. century," and because of complaints those officials made to the Waqf over Similar voices said the same about ISIS, and we now see that it has been its acceptance of Jewish prayer on the Mount. physically routed and has been defeated in every way, shape and form. It appears that the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement and the It is clear that the likes of Iran, Hezbollah and others are watching us Al-Aqsa Association were major actors in the latest escalation. Members of and sensing weakness. They saw our recent capitulation and are the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement are now working with sharpening their knives for much tougher confrontations. Sheikh Ikrama Sabri, who is on the new, expanded Waqf council, and who Destroying Hamas is the only act that would return our deterrence and is identified with the outlawed Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement. make our other enemies sit up and take notice. Sabri is also an ally of Sheikh Raed Salah and Turkish President Recep Citizens can send the message that the Israel of tomorrow is no longer Tayyip Erdogan. (Israel Hayom Feb 25) prepared to tolerate a genocidal organization sending its rockets and murderers onto our territory, without severe and irrevocable repercussions. The decision on who will be victorious and who will be defeated is Only the Full Defeat of Hamas Can Ensure Israel's Security ours and ours alone to make. Let us choose wisely. By Oded Forer The writer is a member of Knesset for Yisrael Beytenu and chairman of Wars end, the historical record shows, not through goodwill but through the Knesset Israel Victory Caucus. (Jerusalem Post Feb 24) defeat. He who does not win loses," wrote Middle East Forum president Daniel Pipes. It is clear that in the over 100 years of violent rejectionism against Abbas’s Popularity Alters Israel’s Political Landscape sovereignty for the Jewish people in its historical, ancestral and indigenous By Jonathan S. Tobin homeland, the Palestinians have yet to fully feel defeated. It was a rough week for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Pipes explains that "wars usually end when failure causes one side to He saw his main opponents join forces and the Blue and White Party that despair, when that side has abandoned its war aims and accepted defeat, and resulted from this merger surpassed Netanyahu’s Likud Party in the polls. when that defeat has exhausted its will to fight." If that wasn’t enough, Netanyahu’s decision to encourage one of his Hamas and other violent rejectionists on our borders have yet to coalition partners to take in a party whose leaders are followers of the late abandon their war aims of destroying the Jewish state. This is a simple fact Rabbi Meir Kahane set off a storm of criticism from Jews who felt he was that must be addressed, if Israel is ever to achieve true long-term peace and wrong to help legitimize an extremist group. security. But while Netanyahu has been taking it on the chin, the man that much That is why we need bold thinking and courage to end this war once of the world still imagines is Israel’s peace partner seems to have had a and for all. very good week. And the explanation for that unexpected development is We have been told for some time now that Hamas is readying itself for the reason why Netanyahu’s prospects for holding on to his office are not the next confrontation. Sadly, our recent policy of preparing for the next quite as gloomy as his detractors may think. bloody confrontation is to strengthen it financially while allowing it to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas is currently serving the strengthen militarily. 15th year of the four-year term as president of the P.A., to which he was In November, after trying for many months to convince his colleagues elected in January 2005. He is widely reviled by most of those whom he in the security cabinet to deliver a mortal blow to Hamas, then-defense pretends to serve. The same is true for his steadfast refusal to negotiate minister Avigdor Liberman quit the government. peace with Israel. The kleptocracy over which the 83-year-old presides is a After 500 rockets had been fired at Israeli civilian centers, our only disgrace. He refuses to make peace with Israel, but is also dependent on response was to rush to a ceasefire and to pay "protection money" to security cooperation with the Jewish state. Hamas, through Qatari largesse, for a meaningless promise to stop the But Abbas’s popularity is suddenly soaring. In the last year, both the rocket fire. United States and Israel have enacted measures to cut back on cash This was, as Liberman put it at the time, a capitulation to terrorism. flowing to his regime in order to force him to end the practice of There is no other way of explaining it. rewarding those who attack, wound and kill Israelis, Jews and Americans As defense minister, Liberman had spent the previous few years with salaries and pensions. reorienting the defense establishment away from merely policing or Last week, Israel tried to force Abbas’s hand on the issue of his pay- maintaining the conflict to one that is ready to win again. However, with to-slay policy by deducting some $138 million from the tax revenue that it this weapon locked and loaded, and with Hamas in its crosshairs, members collects and then transfers to the P.A. But the Palestinian leader refused to of the security cabinet decided to lay it down at their feet, throw their arms budge. To the contrary, he vowed never to accept a single penny of the in the air and walk away. money Israel hands over to his government so long as any of it was held back. Jews as the hypnotic conspirator, the duplicitous manipulator, the sinister In theory, this ought to have generated a revolt from ordinary puppeteer is one with ancient roots and a bloody history.” Palestinians, who shouldn’t want the minimal services the P.A. performs On her first day in office, Tlaib displayed a map with a note posted for them to be impacted for the sake of terrorists. But it has had the opposite over Israel that reads “Palestine.” She also expressed the popular anti- effect. Semitic canard that Jews have dual loyalty and care more about Israel than Palestinian social media is buzzing with praise of his stand. Outside of the United States. Referring to supporters of anti-boycott legislation, she Gaza, whose people are being starved and squeezed by Abbas’s efforts to said in a tweet, “They forgot what country they represent. This is the US pressure his Hamas rivals that govern the strip, there’s every sign that his where boycotting is a right & part of our historical fight for freedom & stand is widely applauded by most Palestinians who agree with his decision equality.” Later, she claimed the comments were not directed at Jewish to keep funding “martyrs.” members. To some extent, this is a familiar game of “chicken” that Israel’s Both women are shockingly ignorant when they talk about Israel. government and Abbas have been playing for years. Neither Netanyahu nor Omar, for example, said, “When I see Israel institute a law that recognizes Abbas wants to abandon the security cooperation that both keeps a lid on it as a Jewish state and does not recognize the other religions that are terrorism (if not eradicating it) and protects the P.A. leader and his cronies living in it, and we still uphold it as a democracy in the Middle East, I from Hamas. Israel doesn’t want the P.A. to collapse, which would force it almost chuckle, because I know that if we see that in any other society we to directly rule Palestinians in the West Bank, and Abbas and the rest of his would criticize it, we would call it out.” corrupt gang that profits from his rule don’t want the flow of cash to their Israel is the only country in the Middle East that guarantees freedom families and foreign bank accounts to cease. of religion. She supports Palestinian rights but does not seem to care that But however this standoff is resolved, it goes a long way to explaining the leaders of the Palestinian Authority deny their people not only what’s been happening prior to the Israeli April elections. religious freedom but freedom of speech, press and assembly. It bothers Netanyahu is facing potential political doom because unlike the last her that Israel is the one Jewish state in the world, but does not “call out” three elections which he won, he isn’t facing off against an opponent that is the nations where Islam is the state religion. easily labeled a “leftist” willing to make concessions to the Palestinians in As Weiss rightly observed, “Those who call themselves anti-Zionists the vain hope of peace. The Israeli left has been marginalized. Instead of a usually insist they are not anti-Semites. But I struggle to see what else to party of peace advocates, who can be pilloried for their naïveté, the call an ideology that seeks to eradicate only one state in the world – the alternative to the Likud is a party led by a trio of former generals. one that happens to be the Jewish one – while emphatically insisting on Netanyahu and his allies are accusing the Blue and White—and its the rights of self-determination for every other minority.” leader, —of being leftist peaceniks flying under false centrist As in the Ralph Northam case, a bipartisan uproar was heard when colors. Maybe there’s some truth to that argument, as Gantz will likely have another white male, Steve King, made outrageously bigoted remarks. The to ally himself to the left in order to form a government. But since it counts entire House censured him, and the Republicans went further by stripping among its leaders figures like former Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, him of his committee assignments. Contrast that with the silence of most who is arguably to the right of Netanyahu, that charge may not stick. Democrats following the anti-Semitic statements by Omar and Tlaib. It Whatever you may think of the new party, its rise, coupled with the took Omar writing that Jews and AIPAC buy politicians before we heard collapse of the left, stand as testimony to the post-Oslo era sea change in any strong condemnation of her words. Israeli politics. Democrats also took an additional step – they gave both women Who created that change? For all his tactical cleverness and sure assignments on key committees and defended them and have yet to governing skills, it wasn’t Netanyahu. The person who ensured that the rescind them. Israeli public would draw conclusions from the last 25 years and to House Democratic Caucus chairman Hakeem Jeffries said, “I’ve essentially give up on the notion of the Palestinian Authority as a peace found those two new freshmen members to be thoughtful colleagues on a partner is none other than Abbas. Had he really been different from his wide variety of issues.” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, “I don’t terrorist predecessor, long-time PLO chief Yasser Arafat, it’s conceivable accept the premise” that the members are anti-Semitic. that Netanyahu might have been in the opposition during the last decade. It was disconcerting when Speaker Nancy Pelosi put Omar on the But by sticking to the language of conflict with Israel and Zionism that Foreign Affairs Committee, where she will now have a platform to attack is inextricably tied to the sense of Palestinian national identity that Arafat Israel whenever Middle East policy is discussed. Omar and Tlaib are both and Abbas fostered, the P.A. has ensured that most Israelis have stopped out of step with the bipartisan consensus on the importance of the US- believing that peace is an option in the foreseeable future. Gantz is giving Israel relationship, and it boggles the mind that Omar would be put in a Netanyahu a run for his money because much of the Israeli public sees no position to undermine it. real difference between their stands on the peace process. If, after staying Democratic friends of Israel try to make us feel better by saying they too long in office, Netanyahu still has a decent chance of leading the next are just two members out of the entire Congress who support BDS. I government, it’s because a critical mass of Israelis think the coalition of agree. But consider what Rep. Lee Zeldin said: “Instead of the Dems parties of the center and the right that he leads is the only government that supporting Israel & combating BDS & antisemitism on college campuses can be trusted to deal with a P.A. leader that continues to financially reward & elsewhere, they’re now empowering it.” terrorism. Being a minority does not excuse inappropriate behavior, whether it Abbas may enjoy his popularity, but if his people actually wanted peace be racist, homophobic, sexist or anti-Semitic. We have seen this double and a two-state solution, they wouldn’t be applauding his intransigence. standard repeatedly on college campuses, where there is no such thing as Until something shifts, Israeli politics will continue to be a battle in which free speech when it comes to criticism of minorities; any speech or the parties of the left haven’t got a chance. (JNS Feb 25) behavior that the minorities consider inappropriate is dealt with severely. When Jews, or Israel as a euphemism for Jews, are criticized, administrations defend the free speech rights of the anti-Semites. Anti-Semitic Shock in the United States Congress The tacit acceptance of the views of Omar and Tlaib are indicative of By Shmuley Boteach a growing normalization of antisemitism. Outside of college campuses, There is a lot of talk these days about white privilege, and it is true that antisemitism has been almost universally seen as taboo in America. white Americans do enjoy many advantages. However, some of the people Today, however, critics of Israel increasingly feel impunity. They assert who are most vocal in making accusations of this type have created a new freedom of speech “for me but not for thee” and accuse those who type of privilege for minorities which is used to shield them from criticism challenge them of McCarthyism. Now major Christian denominations, for their own prejudices. We see this often in the willingness of liberals to leaders of the women’s march, and elected officials openly advocate the give a pass or, worse, endorse anti-Semitic views. anti-Semitic boycott against Israel. Public figures not only refuse to I can understand and agree with the outrage expressed toward the denounce the rabid antisemitism of Louis Farrakhan, they meet with him governor of Virginia for his insensitivity and tone deafness when and court his favor. confronted with his inappropriate behavior. What we should not abide is the I don’t know if it is just base politics or this new minority privilege silence of Democrats to anti-Semites in their midst, just as we should not that has prevented the critics of Gov. Northam and Rep. King from being abide Republicans who might turn a blind eye to white supremacists. equally vocal in denouncing the statements of Omar and Tlaib. Consider Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. Both women Politically, they are popular because they are young, outspoken and are advocates of the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions represent the far-left segment of the party. There is also concern that movement. Like some BDS proponents, they portray it as a human rights criticizing them would be seen as being anti-Muslim, when, of course, that campaign, but they have been told by their Jewish constituents, among is preposterous. As an Orthodox Jew, I am thrilled that observant Muslim others, that the goal is the destruction of Israel. This is why 134 women are being elected to high government office. It is their hatred of international Jewish organizations from across the political and religious Israel to which I am adamantly opposed. spectrum signed a statement opposing BDS. Pelosi was apparently afraid to answer questions about her decision to Their support for BDS alone should merit censure, but both have made put Omar on the Foreign Affairs Committee or her refusal to take her off incendiary remarks that cannot be excused as “legitimate criticism of after her AIPAC comment. Rep. Zeldin, a Republican Jewish male, got a Israel.” Omar has repeated the slur comparing Israel to Afrikaner South taste of what any critics are likely to experience when Omar accused him Africa, and in 2012 tweeted: “Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah of “Islamophobia” and said, “Don’t mind him, he is just waking up to the awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel.” As New reality of having Muslim women as colleagues who know how to stand up York Times columnist Bari Weiss noted, “The conspiracy theory of the to bullies!” She laid down a marker that anyone who tries to criticize her will and Hamas in Gaza, Kushner said that Washington’s aim is “to see immediately be demonized. Both women seem willing to use minority Palestinians under one leadership that will allow them to live in dignity.” privilege as shields against criticism. The chance of this happening is nil. Democrats cannot be intimidated and should not hesitate to condemn Finally, hinting at the economic and other creative aspects of the peace the statements by Omar and Tlaib. Furthermore, if Omar makes any plan, which the Trump administration has claimed is completely different additional anti-Semitic remarks, she should be removed from her committee from its predecessors, Kushner stated that Washington is “trying to come assignments. A good first step would be to adopt the resolution introduced up with realistic solutions that are relevant to the year 2019.” by Zeldin rejecting anti-Israel and anti-Semitic hatred in the United States Unfortunately, the Palestinian mindset is more medieval than modern, and around the world. thanks to the continued indoctrination by corrupt and evil rulers. Democrats must show courage if they intend to brand themselves in Netanyahu not only knows this—and has managed to contain it by 2020 as the party of tolerance that fights bigotry in all its forms. It would be fighting Iran and forging relations with other Mideast states—but has done a tragedy for the party, the Jewish people, and the country if they follow the a good job of convincing the Trump administration of the complexities example of universities and exempt Jew-hatred. (Jerusalem Post Feb 25) involved. Indeed, unlike the Israeli left, Trump’s team has not held Israel accountable for a lack of peace with the Palestinians. Whether Washington changes its tune when its plan doesn’t pan out False Hopes, Unwarranted Hysteria By Ruthie Blum will depend on Netanyahu’s remaining in power, hopefully with a When U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, Jared Kushner, coalition that includes Bennett. (JNS Feb 26) told Sky News Arabia on Monday that Washington’s yet-to-be-revealed Israeli-Palestinian peace plan includes a “redrawing of boundaries and resolving final-status issues,” right-wing campaign rhetoric went up a The Golden Gate: A New Focus of Tension on the Temple Mount notch. By Yoni Ben Menachem For days, those to the left of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin The new Muslim Waqf council on the Temple Mount intends to Netanyahu had been happily slamming the merger he helped broker revamp the Golden Gate or “Gate of Mercy” [Sha’ar HaRachmim, in between the Jewish Home and National Union parties, together with Otzma Hebrew, Bab el Rahma, in Arabic] and use it as a place of prayer. Yehudit, an offshoot of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane’s outlawed Kach Party. This is a flagrant violation of the status quo and is an apparent The glee with which the “anybody but Bibi” camp responded to the national provocation as part of the Jordanian-Palestinian plan to torpedo U.S. and international outcry was uncontainable. Finally, here was a move— President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century.” made to ensure that the votes for right-wing parties at risk of not passing the The new Islamic Waqf Council on the Temple Mount, headed by electoral threshold are not lost—that would be the nail in Netanyahu’s Sheikh Abdul Azim Salhab is striving to change the status quo on the political coffin. The feeling was that if the prime minister’s legal troubles Temple Mount. The council was recently expanded from 11 to 18 didn’t topple him, the wrath of American Jewry might just do the trick. members to include officials from the Palestinian Authority and Fatah Then came Kushner’s interview, which shifted the focus to criticism of movement. The council includes senior members of both entities, Netanyahu from Education Minister and New Right Party chairman Naftali particularly Adnan al-Husseini, P.A. minister for Jerusalem affairs. Bennett. Fatah officials say that the battle against Israel on the Temple Mount Bennett has been in a tricky position. On one hand, he wants and needs will escalate towards the expected publication of President Trump’s Netanyahu’s Likud Party to emerge victorious in the upcoming elections. Mideast peace plan. On the other, he has to “steal” votes from Likud in order to become a force On Feb. 19, Sheikh Salhab told Palestinian Ma’an News Agency of with which Netanyahu has to reckon while forming a coalition. the council’s intention to renovate the Golden Gate structure within the This paradox, coupled with the personal and political friction that has Temple Mount plaza and reopen it as a place of prayer for Muslims, as existed between him and Netanyahu over the years, requires that he walk a well as Waqf offices. tightrope. Kushner’s interview appeared to provide him with a net. This place should not remain neglected; we do not recognize the Although Kushner was vague—and said that the Trump administration occupation’s decisions in connection with it. The Gate of Mercy is part of has been “trying to come up with realistic solutions that are relevant to the Al-Aqsa, and the mosque is a red line. No Muslim can relinquish even a year 2019,” he did reiterate the age-old American mantra that “both sides” grain of its sand. would have to make concessions. Several members of the new Salhab-led Waqf council paid a visit to Translated into both Hebrew and Arabic, this means Israeli territorial the “Gate of Mercy” structure on the Temple Mount in mid-February 2019 withdrawals in exchange for Palestinian terrorism. following clashes between Palestinians and the Israel police on the site. Bennett took the opportunity to remind the public that without a strong The police sent in a large force that arrested seven rioters and blocked right-wing flank in the government to keep Netanyahu from succumbing to entry to the Temple Mount. pressure from Trump and the Israeli left, there would be no preventing the The rioting stemmed from the Muslim Waqf’s attempt to change the establishment of a terrorist Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria of the status quo of the Gate of Mercy compound on the Temple Mount by kind that exists, de facto, in Gaza. having Muslim worshipers pray in the compound. In response, the police To sound the alarm bells, Bennett went as far as to claim that installed steel gates with locks and closed the entrance to the site. Netanyahu intends to join a national unity government with the Blue and Sheikh Wasaf al-Bakri, of the Jordanian Ministry of Religious White Party, which, some polls suggest, poses a challenge to Netanyahu’s Endowments, stated on the Donia Al-Watan website on Feb. 19 that 10-year incumbency. According to Bennett, if this happens, Palestinian following talks between the Jordanian government and the Israeli statehood is a done deal—a “deal of the century” that threatens Israel’s authorities the previous night, it was decided to reinstate the status quo on security, if not existence. the site. Discussing this development, pundits posited that by launching this The next day, the Israeli police removed the gates and locks it had put attack, Bennett was “shooting inside his tank,” the Hebrew equivalent of in place and released the rioters arrested the day before. sh***ing in one’s tent. In the morning, Waqf officials arrived on site and placed new gates at This is ridiculous, of course. Politicians running for election have no the entrance to the “Gate of Mercy” compound. choice but to punch strategically in all directions, sometimes inside their The Golden Gate is part of the eastern wall of the Temple Mount. It own camp. Bennett is no exception. His task right now is to persuade consists of two bricked-up openings. The “Gate of Mercy” is the sole gate potential supporters that he will look out for their interests in the next within the wall directly leading to the Temple Mount. Likud-led government. He can only do this by warning that Netanyahu is The gate compound consists today of an Islamic study room, the too weak to stand up to Trump on his own. entrance to which is only possible from the Temple Mount. The gate and But here’s why the right’s hysteria and the left’s hope are unwarranted. its adjacent compound have been closed since 2003 by court order. In the first place, the Blue and White Party has indicated that it would Following the metal detector crisis on the Temple Mount in 2017, the ask Likud to join a “Zionist national unity government” if called upon to closure of the site was extended until further notice. form the next coalition. However, this is predicated on Netanyahu’s exit Palestinian propaganda claims that Israel wants to build a synagogue from the scene, as the assumption is that he would not agree to join in the Golden Gate compound. someone else’s government. The likelihood of this happening is so slim as In its editorial from Feb. 20, the Jerusalem-based al-Quds newspaper to be a case of wishful thinking. claimed that putting up gates by the police at the entrance to the Gate of Secondly, the Palestinian leadership has vowed to reject any deal put Mercy constitutes a step in Israel’s plan to divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque forth by Trump. As Khaled Abu Toameh recently wrote for the Gatestone between Muslims and Jews in terms of place and prayer times. Institute: “Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will hardly “Ever since Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Israel accept a plan that he has repeatedly referred to as a US ‘conspiracy’ and the has been racing to Judaize Jerusalem and divide the Al-Aqsa Mosque on ‘Slap of the Century.’ … Palestinian leaders have incited their people the way to its removal and the establishment of the Temple in its place … against the Trump and his advisers to the point where it would be almost ,” the article claims. impossible for them even to be seen meeting with any US official. In recent The announcement by the new head of the Islamic Waqf Council of months, Abbas has been quoted as saying that he does not intend to end his the intention to rebuild the “Gate of Mercy” compound and repurpose it life as a ‘traitor,’ [which] means that it would also be impossible to accept into a prayer site is a provocation aimed at violating the status quo and any peace plan presented by the current administration.” renewing the struggle for Temple Mount control towards the publication Third, referring to the split and enmity between the P.A. in Ramallah of Trump’s deal. (JNS Feb 24)