By Marney Blom
Jerusalem today stands as the undivided capital of Israel. Those who live here – Jews, Muslims and Christians – enjoy peace and for the most part, the liberty to worship freely. But is that about to change?
In recent days the international community has increased its pressure on Israel to divide its capital, insisting that the sections of the city known as east Jerusalem be handed over to the Palestinians. In doing so the international community appears to have aligned itself with current Palestinian demands.
Hannah Siniora, Co-CEO of the Israel-Palestine Center of Research and Information says, “The Palestinian authority is very clear. They want an end to occupation. They want the recognition of the ‘67 borders as the borders between Israel and Palestine. We are asking for full Palestinian sovereignty over east Jerusalem so that it will become the capital of the Palestinian State.”
This arrangement would entrust the sovereignty of the holiest place of the Jewish people – the Temple Mount – into Muslim Arab Palestinian hands.
According to Rabbi Ken Spiro, Senior Lecturer of Aish HaTorah, Jerusalem, “The Temple Mount is the holiest spot in the world for the Jewish people. For Sunni Muslims, it is their third holiest site today. When they are up there praying and their loud speaker goes off, calling them to prayer, they all turn south to Saudi Arabia and turn their backs on the gold dome. Every Jew in the world prays toward Israel. In Israel they pray toward Jerusalem. In Jerusalem they pray toward the Old City. And in the Old City we actually pray toward the Temple Mount itself.”
But is the heart of the contention really about stones and boundary lines?
Pointing to Scriptures found in the book of Ezekiel, some Christian leaders think there is a deeper spiritual dynamic at work.
“You can’t really explain the depth of passions in this region simply in terms of traditional things like borders, refugees [and the] historical shifting of populations,” says Rick Ridings, the Director of Succat Hallel, a 24/7 Christian house of prayer in Jerusalem. Ridings quotes Ezekiel 43:7 as a key to understanding the central issue of the conflict. Here scripture describes the Temple Mount as the “footstool of God’s throne,” the place where God himself dwells among the Israelites forever.
“I believe that the battle in the Middle East … is a battle for Jerusalem. Within Jerusalem, it is a battle for the Temple Mount, and on the Temple Mount it is a battle for who will be worshiped and who will reign on God’s holy hill.”
Ironically, today the Jewish community has little access to their holiest religious site. When Jerusalem reunited after the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel immediately handed over De facto control of the Temple Mount to the Waqf – the Muslim religious trust. If a Jewish worshiper does attempt to pray on the Temple Mount today, he will be arrested by the Israeli police for provocation.
Even with these limitations, maintaining sovereignty over Jerusalem is non-negotiable for the majority of the Jewish community worldwide.
“In any future peace negotiations, Jerusalem is so central to the Jewish people,” adds Rabbi Spiro. “It is one of those issues [where] there is nothing to talk about. It is just too holy.”
Marney Blom is the news director for Acts News Network.
Copyright © 2011 Acts News Network.