Dear Hillary, What were you thinking?!

Dear Madame Secretary Mrs. Hillary Clinton,

Shalom from Israel.  Pardon my directness, but I was flabbergasted by some of the findings of the USA's State Department's newly published, "International Religious Freedom Report for 2011," regarding religious freedom in Israel.  Obviously, it goes without saying that the State Department would find fault with the characteristics of a Jewish State, using the report to scold Israel for a myriad of issues,  ranging from the use of halacha for determining conversions to the "discriminatory" nature of Israel's view towards missionaries trying to sway Israel's citizens away from Judaism.

Yet in the State Department's attempt for "completeness," I did not expect the following criticism, which is in direct conflict to the US State Department's worldview on Israel.

"The 1967 Protection of Holy Sites Law safeguards the holy sites of all religious groups, including in Jerusalem. All holy sites enjoy certain protections under the penal law, which makes it a criminal offense to damage any holy site, while historic sites are protected by the antiquities law. The government provided resources for the upkeep of holy places of all recognized religious communities, but provided significantly greater levels of government resources to Jewish holy places.

A government policy since 1967, repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court and routinely enforced by the police citing security concerns, denies all non-Muslims opportunities to worship at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. While the government ensured limited access to the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif to everyone regardless of religious beliefs, only Muslims are allowed to pray at the site, although their access has been occasionally restricted due to security concerns. Police regulated traffic in and out of the compound and removed non-Muslim visitors if they appeared to be praying. Since 2000 the Jordanian Waqf that manages the site has restricted non-Muslims from entering the Dome of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Non-Muslim religious symbols are not allowed to be worn on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif."

 Is the State Department out of it's mind?  Do you honestly want there to be equal, or even semi-equal time for non-Muslims to pray, or even whisper words of prayer, on the Temple Mount?

The State Department wont let the Jerusalem-born children of US parents, to list Jerusalem, ISRAEL on their US passport for fear of upsetting the Arab world, yet you criticize Israel for not allowing Jews freedom of prayer on the Temple Mount?  Does not your worldview understand that allowing Jews to openly pray, freely, on the Temple Mount will release far more anger in the Arab world that writing "Jerusalem, Israel" on a passport, and will cause far more Arab angst than the construction of Jewish homes in the West Bank?

Have you lost your minds -- do you even realize what you have written?  Then again, I could be naive in the reading of "non-Muslim" to include, "Jews."  I could be mistaken, and your intentions were for non-Muslims, excluding Jews, which would fully match the State Department's policy towards Israel. 


While I personally have no issue with  Jews openly praying on the Temple Mount, I would appreciate your clarification on the issue.

Respectfully,

Jameel Rashid
The Muqata Blog




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Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

US State Department vs. The Settlers.

The other day I traveled to the US Embassy in Tel-Aviv to apply for a social security number for my son. Despite the "official" policy of the US Embassy's refusal to provide any consular services or "Federal Benefits Unit" services to any resident of the "West Bank", the majority of the time it's not a problem. As recent as 8 months ago, we took care of passports and US birth certificate issuance at the US Embassy Tel-Aviv, and they knew we lived in the Shomron.

The other day however, after taking care of all my paperwork, stamping everything, and I was getting ready to leave the window, the embassy window person said, "Uh Oh, You live in the Shomron"...and she pushed all the paperwork back through the slot in the window.

"You'll have to reapply in the East Jerusalem consulate, since we only service US citizens in Israel, not from the territories," she said abruptly.

"But you issued my son's birth certificate and passport here 8 months ago," I added.

"You'll have to reapply in the East Jerusalem consulate, since we only service US citizens in Israel, not from the territories."

Last week IDF radio informed me that the US State Department has issued a new travel advisory, for all American citizens to avoid "East Jerusalem". The official advisory on the US Consulate website simple said, "exercise caution"...around Salah Ed-Din Street, which as you can see below, is right next "Derech Shechem"...the location of the Jerusalem Consulate that I'm forced to visit.

"Travelers should exercise caution at religious sites on holy days, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Isolated street protests and demonstrations can also occur in areas of East Jerusalem, including around Salah Ed-Din Street, Damascus Gate, and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood."

I guess the US Embassy doesn't really care about exposing US citizens to danger.

What I did find annoying was the "security update" on the US State Department website (linked from the Tel Aviv Embassy homepage) -- the State Department's narrative of events looks like it was written by Helen Thomas.

The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to exercise caution when traveling to the West Bank. Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces are now deployed throughout the West Bank, including all major cities. As a result, violence in recent years has decreased markedly throughout the West Bank

The violence didn't decrease because of PA security forces, but because the IDF weeded out thousands of terrorists (many of them from PA security forces). Only once things were quiet, did the IDF slowly allow for PA forces to be deployed. The State Department wants to give credit to those who deserve it the least.

Two interesting statements:

In Gaza:

Occasional small clashes continue to occur along the border. Rockets and mortars are still occasionally fired into Israel from Gaza, and the IDF continues to conduct military operations inside Gaza, including airstrikes.

Who is responsible for these "small clashes" or the rockets and mortar fire? Don't worry, the IDF is named as conducting "military operations" inside Gaza.

In Yehuda vShomron (West Bank):

Nonetheless, demonstrations and violent incidents can occur without warning. Vehicles have also been the target of rocks, Molotov cocktails and gunfire on West Bank roads.

No mention of who is involved in these incidents, nor who throws the rocks, molotov cocktails or who is shooting guns.

So who is the guilty party?

U.S. citizens can be caught in the middle of potentially dangerous situations. Some U.S. citizens involved in demonstrations in the West Bank have sustained serious injuries in confrontations with Israeli settlers and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Israeli settlers!?

Palestinian Terrorists are not named in this entire "security warning". Hamas is only mentioned in passing as:

Israel and Hamas, a State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization that violently seized power in Gaza in June 2007, declared separate truces to end the fighting.

Despite the US State Department's attempts to besmirch the settlers, whitewash Palestinian and Islamic terror, and make it difficult to obtain a social security number for my son, I'm not leaving my home.

PS: For all those living in Modi'in, the State Department says its "ok" to travel on 443, provided you ONLY travel there DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS.

U.S. Government personnel and family members are permitted both official and personal travel on Route 443 between Modi'in and Jerusalem without prior notification, during daylight hours only.

In Israel this summer?

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Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד

Arabs betray America (again)...pass the Humus.

Israeli columnist, Nahum Barnea analyzes the Palestinian Authority Meccafest, where terror groups Fatah and Hamas try to live together in harmony (i.e., stop killing each other, so they can focus on killing Israelis)

The bad news is that once again we are like rabbits caught in the headlights of a car. The really embarrassing news is that we are stuck there along with the United States.

By the time the agreement between Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas was signed in Mecca on Thursday, the American Administration had been betrayed three times: Once by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, then by Saudi king Abdullah, and finally by Abbas. These three American allies ignored Condoleezza Rice's pleas; they negotiated with Khaled Mashaal and bent her will in his favor.

The agreement constitutes a severe blow to Rice's reputation in Washington. Despite the White House's warnings, she has been investing much effort in a bid to strengthen and glorify Abbas. Next Monday, on February 19th, she was set to have been rewarded for her efforts in a festive summit under her auspices. The summit between Ehud Olmert and Abbas would have served as a first step towards commencing talks between the two sides. The agreement signed in Mecca has emptied the summit of content.

Currently Rice is debating whether to hold the summit or cancel it. Via diplomatic channels, Abbas promised to wait with the establishment of the Palestinian national unity government until after the summit. From Rice's point of view this is small consolation. Abbas is actually seeking to remain under US patronage as if the agreement he signed with Hamas does not exist, and to cooperate with Hamas as if America, the Quartet and Israel do not exist. Rice is finding this a bit too much to swallow.

Abbas and his associates did not go to Mecca by choice, but rather, out of fear. The violent clashes between Fatah forces and Hamas threatened to escalate into a full blown civil war. Abbas is not cut out for this type of conflict. He feared that anarchy would turn the Palestinian Authority into a Middle Eastern model of Somalia. And perhaps, as Israeli sources argued, he also feared for his own life. Either way, he preferred temporary calm with Hamas over a long-term treaty with the Americans. The Saudis and the Egyptians followed suit.

The US Administration believed it could cultivate a Sunni coalition that would span from North America to Lebanon and would stand up against Iran's Shiite megalomania. The Mecca agreement, signed last week, will force the Americans to rethink the situation. Perhaps those who are proposing that the Administration regard the Arab-Israeli conflict as a lost cause and focus their attention on other parts of the world are right. Perhaps they are right in proposing that Hamas' terrorist traits be ignored. Alternately, perhaps those proposing that the US Administration encourage talks between Israel and Syria are right. (More on YNET)

Unfortunately, Barnea really believes that glorifying Abbas "the moderate Sunni" will bring about the possibility of change.

Fundamentalist Islam is not the only threat to Israel, and "moderate" Sunnis, which the US State Department, Dr. Dore Gold, and others like to consider as realistic alternatives, are only possibilities -- if they aren't terrorists.

Glorifying a terrorist and holocaust denier like Abbas is what exacerbates the problem -- it does absolutely nothing for peace in the Middle East.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael