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Last update - 09:34 31/08/2007 What is Zion if not the Temple Mount? By Nadav Shragai Tags: Israel, Temple Mount Only six years have passed since the night of Tisha B'Av 5761. Ehud Olmert, then mayor of Jerusalem, led thousands in the annual march around the walls of Jerusalem's Old City, and uttered the age-old Jewish oath of allegiance together with the emotional marchers: "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning, let my tongue cleave to my palate, if I do not remember thee." "Giving up the Temple Mount," explained Olmert then, in the spirit of Ben-Gurion's remarks about Jerusalem in 1948, "undermines the very existence of the state. If on the Temple Mount we have no rights, then where do we? Whoever concedes the Temple Mount, in effect says: I have no rights to any place in the Land of Israel." From an unknown place someone pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and read in a trembling voice four lines written by Jerusalem poet Yehuda Karni: "Yesterday and still this morning / you carried its sacred name and torch / I don't know when you moved to lying / with the oath or with the betrayal." Olmert's silence today, in light of reports on concessions at the Temple Mount and in the Old City as part of negotiations over a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians that are supposedly taking place in his name, cannot be understood as reassuring. On the contrary: His silence is troubling and calls for serious concern. Six years ago, the man who today holds the post of prime minister of Israel did not make do with a renewed oath of allegiance in front of the Lions Gate, but also moved his office closer to the Western Wall. Many people who were deeply shocked by the possibility of the city being divided and of a handover of the Temple Mount visited the ad-hoc office at the time. One of them, whose words moved Olmert in particular, was Moshe Landau, the retired Supreme Court president. Landau talked of the weakness of the national will, of embarrassment, of confusion and a loss of direction. He insisted on the importance of symbols, history and national honor, "things that we tend to belittle today," and also was not ashamed to mention the tears that flowed when he heard the news that "the Temple Mount is in our hands." "In my opinion," the distinguished judge explained, "Zionism is the yearning for Zion. And what is Zion if not the Temple Mount, the Mount of Olives and the Old City?" Conceding Jerusalem and its holy places, many fine people already understood then, is neither legitimate nor moral. Such a decision cannot be binding on the State of Israel or the Jewish people. If it is indeed true that someone is now working on Olmert's behalf, and perhaps even - perish the thought - with his knowledge, to again divide Jerusalem and its holy places, he is doing so without having received a mandate and, primarily, is misleading the residents of the state and the Jewish people. Advertisement It is no coincidence that the most vehement letter of objection to Ehud Barak's plan in 2000 did not touch on the issue of evacuating settlements, but related to the issue of Jerusalem. Figures such as legal expert Meir Rosenne, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States and France; Moti Ashkenazi, the driving force behind the post-Yom Kippur War protest movement; and Brig. Gen. (res.) Avraham Bar David, a former chief artillery officer, thought then that "whoever tries to hand over Jerusalem will violate the democratic rules of the game," and even "undermine the consensus on the basis of which the State of Israel exists." The dozens who back then signed the unusual letter of rejection made it clear that such a decision would not be binding on them, the State of Israel and on the Jewish people as a whole. These things apply today as well. The Old City of Jerusalem and its holy sites are not merely territory. They are the embodiment of the Jewish right and of justice, from which the entire Zionist enterprise is derived and upon which it is built. Without them everything will be undermined. Who knows this better than Olmert, who spoke of this from the depths of his heart only a few years ago? Bookmark to del.icio.us   Muslims study Holocaust For Dutch educators, Islamophobia can be a teaching aid for Holocaust studies. White House race Edwards is the angry candidate; Obama prefers conciliation.   1.   olmert 09:47  |  isaac 31/08/07   2.   EVERY COUNTRIES WITH THEIR OWN STANDARDS? 09:49  |  indrajaya 31/08/07   3.   EVERY COUNTRIES WITH THEIR OWN STANDARDS? 09:49  |  indrajaya 31/08/07   4.   MAYBE THE ZIONISTS ARE RIGHT 10:08  |  indrajaya 31/08/07   5.   According to international law 10:35  |  John 31/08/07   6.   Zionism on steroids 10:50  |  Natallie Durson 31/08/07   7.   # 5, JOHN 11:14  |  indrajaya 31/08/07   8.   The temple mount is NOT in our hands 11:25  |  Danny 31/08/07   9.   Olmert: No concessions, but high treason 11:42  |  Jonathan S 31/08/07   10.   Well Said, Shragai! 11:55  |  Ben Israel 31/08/07   11.   for danny #8 15:32  |  david d 31/08/07   12.   Israel 18:03  |  Israel`s friend 31/08/07   13.   LOL! I notice Haaretz didnt make this article viewable for long 06:24  |  Hal 01/09/07   14.   Mullah Olmert dreams about coming out of closet 16:04  |  Absolute Sweden 01/09/07   15.   Olmert has no mandate nor memory 17:26  |  Sammy 01/09/07   16.   since olmert seems to have "conveniently" forgotten his oath 17:35  |  virginia orrall 01/09/07   17.   To Indrajaya...and "holy" Mecca in the middles of the Sea? 20:50  |  SLAVO 01/09/07   18.   To John # 5 21:11  |  Dagma 01/09/07   19.   John, #5 22:13  |  Jason, Ph.D. 02/09/07   20.   The Prince of Peace 21:16  |  Dolores 08/09/07   21.   To Danny 21:21  |  Dolores 08/09/07   22.   Guess What? 07:05  |  Mi cha el 12/09/07   23.   That was cold man! 03:27  |  Paul 22/09/07   24.   Read the Book of Daniel 03:30  |  Paul 22/09/07   25.   Olmert Dividing Jerusalem 16:18  |  Marc 02/01/08

Today Online No moving Jewish lips in prayer on Temple Mount, says Dichter Responses: 136 IDF kills six armed Gaza militants in land and air strikes Responses: 151 Court rules to evict 8 Jewish families from E. Jerusalem house Responses: 44 Uzi Benziman: Sooner or later, Olmert will have to quit Responses: 31 Ely Karmon: Israel must keep up its effort against Hamas Responses: 22 More Headlines 15:04 Syria suspends ties with France over Lebanon crisis 16:05 IDF land and air strikes kill six armed Gaza Strip militants 15:11 Palestinian pilgrims return to Gaza, ending five-day standoff 16:18 Beinisch: Friedmann's bill will politicize judicial appointments 08:29 No moving Jewish lips in prayer on Temple Mount, says Dichter 16:20 Palestinians shave heads in solidarity with Fatah man in Gaza Strip 13:26 Barak warns PA against freeing the killers of two Israelis 14:27 Olmert calls on striking lecturers to bring arbitrator into negotiations 08:59 Nasrallah set to go on TV to discuss kidnapped IDF soldiers Previous Editions Select Day 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec 28 dec 27 dec 26 dec 25 dec 24 dec 23 dec 21 dec 20 dec 19 dec

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