Friday, February 24, 2012

Is Silverstein Provoking Arabs to Violence?

[see UPDATE below]


Following Silverstein's posting about Jews being provocative [if you do not wish to click on his site and also, if you want to leave comments, go here] and thereby causing the Arabs to throw rocks, two things happened today:

First,

Dozens of riot police were deployed to quell a Muslim riot on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday.

Israel Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said more than 100 Muslims began throwing rocks at a police location following Friday prayers, prompting the police to enter the compound.

Note: Jews do not ascend the Temple Mount on Fridays.

Second,

2 US Congressmen Elliot Engel and Jerald Nadler, along with Malcolm Hoenlein and other VIPs were touring the Mount of Olives with the JewishPress.com this morning when they came under a barrage of stones from Arabs exiting a nearby mosque.

Since the Mount of Olives cemetery has nothing to do with being a Moslem holy site vying for primacy over any Jewish site - like the excuse given for the Temple Mount contretemps - maybe these Arabs read Silverstein and figured they have 'cover' from a Jew to keep up the violent activity.

Is that possible?

See this response of his in his comments:

Richard Silverstein says:


February 23, 2012 at 12:14 PM

I see police breaking into the mosque. I have no idea what preceded this. I don’t care the reason for police violating the sanctity of the mosque, it’s an egregious breach of its sacred status.

So, is Silverstein provoking Arabs to violence?


P.S. (Post-Shabbat Update)

hundreds of Muslim worshippers clashed with police at Jerusalem's Temple Mount earlier on Friday.

Following Friday prayers, worshippers began hurling rocks at the Mughrabi Bridge at the entrance to the Temple Mount, which prompted Israeli police forces to enter the plaza and attempt to scatter the protest.

Israeli police said that dozens of protesters gathered inside the Al-Aqsa mosque after hurling rocks at security forces, who, in a rare move, came to the entrance of the mosque and used stun grenades to scatter the protesters.

Eleven policemen and 15 Palestinians were wounded as a result of the clashes. Four Palestinians were arrested.

UPDATE

A rock throwing Arab mob attacked on Friday, in front of a mosque in the Ras Al-Amud neighborhood, a group that included Congressmen Elliot Engel and Jerald Nadler. The two legislators from New York State were on tour of the Mount of Olives Cemetery, along with Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Malcolm Hoenlein, and Rabbis Abraham and Menachem Lubinsky, founders of the International Committee for the Preservation of Har HaZeitim. Their tour, which included some 40 Jewish American leaders, was guided by JewishPress.com Managing Editor Yishai Fleisher

Jerusalem Post, too.

PPS  The incident in Haifa.
^

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