Saturday, October 08, 2011
Why did Yasser Arafat deny the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem?
Interesting article on Palestinian Jewish Temple denial and where it comes from, by Yitzhak Reiter in the American Interest. He explains why Yasser Arafat asserted in the 2000 Camp David peace negotiations that "the Temple never existed in Jerusalem, but rather in Nablus." Longstanding Muslim tradition never denied the existence of Solomon's and Herod's Temples in Jerusalem, but instead assumed them. It's only since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war that denial of the existence of those temples had spread among Palestinians and in the wider Arab world.
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From what I understand, no physical evidence for the Temple of Solomon has been found despite excavation. The whole situation of quarrel between the three Abrahamic faiths is a load of childish bs. God unites people, He does not divide them.
ReplyDeleteArcheological evidence is not the only proof of its existence.
ReplyDeleteGod may unite people, but people are very good at creating divisions among themselves. If you want to understand the conflicts between Jews, Christians, and Muslims, it's better to investigate the reasons for them, rather than simply dismissing them as "childish bs."
That fair. I agree with you on creating our own divisions.
ReplyDeleteBasically, I don't agree at all with Zionism, and from what I've heard and hear increasingly is that growing numbers of orthodox Jews also reject Zionism. Israel as a physical nation is tearing humanity apart. Take the Zionists out of the equation and humanity can get back to pursuing God.
I found your link because I was/am curious about the Temple of Solomon. Then it leads directly to conflict between the "Jews" and their neighbors.
I don't think you understand the arguments of (some) Orthodox Jews. Ultra-Orthodox Jews have opposed Zionism for a long time, because they believe that only when the Messiah comes should there be a Jewish State (a monarchy, ruled by the Messiah, who would be a descendant of King David).
ReplyDeleteI don't understand what you mean by saying that "Israel as a physical nation is tearing humanity apart." Israel is a very small country - how could it tear all of humanity apart? Israel is in conflict with the Palestinians over this small piece of land. I hope Israelis and Palestinians come to an agreement to divide the land between them and live in peace. Zionists are not to blame for humanity not following God - that's the fault of all of our sins.
Why do you write "Jews" instead of Jews (without the quotation marks)? Jews exist, just as Christians, or Muslims, or people of other religions exist.