Netanyahu seeks to ease East Jerusalem tensions at synagogue dedication
Netanyahu at Jerusalem synagogue: Israel allows freedom of religion for people of all faiths.
By Natasha Mozgovaya, Nir Hasson and Haaretz Service Tags: Israel news East JerusalemPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders attending the inauguration of a restored synagogue in Jerusalem's Old City on Monday tried to calm tensions surrounding Israeli actions in East Jerusalem.
The dedication of the restored Hurva synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City could spark riots, police warned on Sunday.
"Many people are excited about this moment - and justifiably so," said Netanyahu at the ceremony. "We have allowed believers in other faiths to conserve their houses of worship. We proudly hold on to our heritage, while at the same time allowing others freedom of religion."
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat also sent a message to Palestinian leaders urging calm.
"I want to send a message of peace to all religions," said Barkat, adding that Israel has learned to be sensitive to people of other faiths specifically because of places like the Hurva Synagogue. "I believe that from this place, where we experienced the terrible pain of the destruction of a place that was holy to us...we will know to be sensitive to others doubts and troubles."
Pamphlets distributed in East Jerusalem had claimed the opening of the synagogue was the first step toward the reconstruction of the Temple, while senior Fatah official Mohammed Dahlan and Hatem Abdel Kader, who holds the Jerusalem affairs portfolio in the Palestinian Authority, called upon Israeli Arabs to go to the Temple Mount and protect it from Israel.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department on Monday said it had concerns about the rededication ceremony and called on the Palestinians to end incitement regarding the synagogue's inauguration.
"We have some concerns today about the tensions regarding the rededication of a synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City," said spokesman Philip J. Crowley. "And we are urging all parties to act responsibly and do whatever is necessary to remain calm.
"We're deeply disturbed by statements made by several Palestinianofficials mischaracterizing the event in question, which can onlyserve to heighten the tensions that we see. And we call uponPalestinian officials to put an end to such incitement."
The Hurva, considered the most important synagogue in the country for many years, was destroyed at the end of the War of Independence and restored during the last five years.
Renovated with the help of old photographs, plans and drawings, the synagogue was rebuilt to match the original model identically.
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Seeing as how this is a synagogue being built in East Jerusalem, the equivalent would seem to be state support for mosques built in Israel since 1948. I did a search. Couldn't find anything.
"Of the approximately 160 mosques in Arab villages conquered by Israeli forces during the War of Independence, fewer than 40 are standing today." From: Sacred Landscape, The Buried History of the Holy Land Since 1948, by Dr. Meron Benvinisti, (2000), University of California Press. Benvenisti was deputy mayor of Jerusalem from 1974 to 1986, and Member of the Knesset (Labor). His father was Israel's most eminent cartographer.
Why should Israel give them citizenship? Don't they want to live in Palestine?
This would be amuzing if it were not so serious. Palestinians with help from jordanian troops in 1949 utterly destroyed every synagogue in the Old City, after ethnically cleansing the indigenous Jewish population of the Old City. The Hurva, one of the Old City's domed houses of worships (along with Dome of the Rock, the Holy Spulchre church) is now back! This protest tells me the Palestinians don't want peace, they want us, all of us, out.
...act of a jew in Israel to rebuild that which was destroyed by jordanian/muslim occupation is protested. It is time to ship those inciting these troubles to gaza. Transfer of 5th columnist jew baiters to Gaza should be looked into in future.
Israel does not allow freedom of religion, and Netanyahu knows that very well. Jews only freedom of religion. Why do Christians and Moslems need permits to go to their holy sites? Enough is enough. Giving more rights to Jews is against any religious principals, including Judaism. We have been lucky we have been able to fool the Western World for so long. So lets just cut out the BS and get this peace agreement settled and agreed to. And I do not mean the Israeli version. It is written for failure.
while at the same time allowing others freedom of religion." really wanna know how many palestinian were destroyed in 1948 According to a book by Dr. Meron Benvenisti, of the 160 mosques in the Palestinian villages incorporated into Israel under the armistice agreements, fewer than 40 are still standing
Why are Jews afraid to give citizenship to the W.B. non-jewish residents? Is it because Israel is afraid that freedom of religion will bring Muslims to be more numerous than Jews?
It's nice for Bibi and Barakat to talk about freedom of religion, but Israel actually fights against freedom of religion for the movements that make up the majority of the world's Jews. Reform and Conservative Judaism are subject to official discrimination in the Jewish state.