Israel to PA: Reject ‘findings’ on claims to Kotel
By BY HERB KEINON, GIL HOFFMAN AND KHALED ABU TOAM
11/24/2010 03:29
Israeli peace activist [Gershon Baskin] calls Palestinian Authority’s denial of Jewish ties to site a "stain" and a "serious mistake."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s spokesman Mark Regev called on the Palestinian leadership Tuesday to publicly disassociate itself from the Palestinian Authority “study” denying Jewish claims to the Western Wall, saying “this is not the sort of statement to be expected from a partner in peace.”
“Denying the Jewish connection to the Western Wall is to deny reality. If you deny the Jewish connection to the Western Wall you are in fact denying the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and the land of Israel itself,” Regev said. “When they deny the Jewish connection, they are unfortunately raising very serious questions as to their true commitment to reconciliation.”
Regev said this type of statement was to be expected from “Ahmadinejad’s Iran, Hizbullah or Hamas, but to deny the Jewish connection to the Western Wall is something that we wouldn’t expect from a partner in peace, and I call upon the Palestinian leadership – President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad – to publicly disassociate themselves from it.”
Likud MK Tzipi Hotovely said the government must fight to prevent the world from adopting the libels spread by the PA against the Jewish people. She warned that the “study” could be endorsed by UNESCO, which recently declared that Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem was a Muslim holy site and not a Jewish one.
“We must declare war on the culture of lies circulated by the Palestinians before the world starts believing them,” she said. “One can only hope that the more the Palestinians talk about the lack of a connection between the Jewish people to their land, the less people will take seriously whatever claims they make.”
Meanwhile, the PA officially endorsed the “study.”
The PA’s Ministry of Information posted the results on its official website, and these findings were first published in The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday.
The project was prepared by al-Mutawakel Taha, a senior official with the PA Ministry of Information. He is also a prominent Palestinian poet and writer.
Taha’s “study” concluded that the Western Wall was never a Jewish site, but had always belonged to Muslims. He wrote that the Western Wall, known to Muslims as Al-Buraq Wall, is actually the western wall of the Al-Aksa Mosque.
Gershon Baskin, the joint CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information, sent a letter to the Palestinian leadership in the wake of the Post article, calling the findings “a serious mistake” and “a stain on the Palestinian Authority.”
“If the content of the article is correct, you should take immediate action against the author of the report in question (if he is in fact employed by the PA or by the PLO) because his baseless claims are a serious blow to the legitimacy of Palestinian claims and make a mockery of the idea of peace between the Palestinians and the Jews,” Baskin wrote. “This is a most serious mistake, similar to the one of the late President Arafat when he denied any Jewish connection to the Holy Temple Mount (Haram Al-Sharif) in Jerusalem.
“Any observer, even a non-professional archeologist, can discern that the stones used to construct the Western Wall (the Kotel) are from the era of Solomon’s Temple and the Temple rebuilt by King Herod which was hundreds of years before Islam appeared on the world stage.
“The falsification of history, as done in the report by the Palestinian poet Al- Mutawakel Taha, a senior official with the Ministry of Information, is a serious stain on the Palestinian Authority.”
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
PA endorses study denying Jewish claims to the Western Wall. Israel is stunned at falsification of history
Condolences on the passing of Harold Goldman
The Jewish Federation conveys with sadness and with its condolences the news as reported by Rabbi David Kaufman of Temple B'nai Jeshurun
Harold Goldman, beloved father and grandfather, passed away this morning. May his name be forever remembered for a blessing. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time. May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life.
In fulfillment of Harold's often repeated requests, there will be no funeral or memorial service.
DMARC: Need for food at record levels
http://bit.ly/gxI9ta
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Des Moines' emergency food pantry network is seeing
demand up 20 percent over last year. Need for food is at record levels.
New numbers specifically from October show a 15 percent spike in
individuals served compared to numbers from last October, which were
also high. In October 2010, the Des Moines Area Religious Council
provided food for 3,602 families.
"At this rate, we are on pace to provide over 1.62 million meals during
2010," said the Rev. Sarai Schnucker Rice, DMARC executive director.
KCCI visited one of DMARC's 12 busy pantries Tuesday. Constance Jones,
who has received food from the pantry for more than a year, said she has
seen the pantry get busier.
"Times are really hard and people really need the help," Jones said.
"People with limited income are making difficult choices, such as
selecting medicine over food or food instead of clean diapers," said
Rice. "DMARC is able to serve families in need thanks to generous
in-kind donations of food items and thanks to cash gifts. Cash is
especially important because we can use it to purchase food from the
Food Bank or wholesale, allowing us to buy about 2/3 more food for every
dollar that a food donor might spend."
Lynnette Thornton made her first stop at the pantry Tuesday. She told
the workers how grateful she was for the food.
"If it weren't for places like this, I don't know what people would do.
They would probably starve. There is a lot of starving out in the world
now so I think it's really nice. I really do," Thornton said.
How To Help
DMARC is asking for additional cash and donations:
# Cash donations may be donated online at the DMARC website:
www.dmreligious.org
# Cash donations may also be mailed or dropped off at the DMARC central
office: 3816 36th Street, Suite 202, Des Moines, Iowa 50310.
# Food donations may be dropped off at the DMARC central warehouse: 3816
36th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50310. For a complete listing of the most
needed items, please click here.