In all of the pretense that this war has something to do with “human rights” in Gaza and not an Islamic religious war against a non-Muslim minority group, there is an awkward fact that has to be talked around.
Hamas called their Oct. 7 assault the “Al Aqsa Flood.” Hamas leaders stated that it was about the Al Aqsa mosque. That’s what the Muslim invaders called the mosque that they built on top of the former site of the Jewish Temple when they invaded and conquered what had been Israel.
And Muslims get very upset when Jews visit the Temple Mount. They get even more upset when Jews pray there. On the Jewish fast of Tisha B’Av, which commemorates the destruction of the two temples, Jews mourned by trying to visit the Temple Mount.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount on Tisha B’av (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av) and stated that Jews should be able to visit and pray there. There were immediate condemnations from European countries and the Biden administration.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement declaring that “the United States strongly opposes Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount on August 13, which demonstrated blatant disregard for the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem.”
By “status quo,” Blinken means that under Muslim apartheid rule, Jews were not allowed to visit or pray at their holiest site. Even after starting and losing two wars, along with the rest of Jerusalem, Muslims demanded that the apartheid status quo be maintained or they would kill Jews.
Rather than say the ugly “apartheid” word, Blinken uses the vague term “status quo.” Just as it was once the “status quo” for black people to sit at the back of the bus.
Blinken continued by describing Jews praying on the Temple Mount as “provocative” and demanded that the “Government of Israel prevent similar incidents in the future. The United States reaffirms our commitment to the preservation of the historic status quo.”
The Biden administration is committing to maintain an apartheid Islamic status quo that bans Jews from praying at their holiest state. And it doesn’t have the guts to say so clearly.
And, obscenely, Blinken, who is of Jewish descent, demands that Jews stop praying.
No one asks why Muslims are so enraged by Jews praying. Or why that justifies violence. That’s one of those questions we’re not allowed to ask.
