The Center for American Progress is a most influential think tank in Washington, D.C.. Some of its proposals entered the Democratic Party platform; others were adopted later by President-elect Obama.
In June, the Center held a panel discussion about the Old City of Jerusalem being the main obstacle to peace in the Holy Land. Canadian panelist and diplomat, Michael Bell, proposed that Israel and a future Palestinian Authority sovereignty jointly appoint an administrator to run the Old City, until the two sides reach agreement about it. The purpose “…would be to ensure dignity, human rights and equity for all living in the Old City, all visitors, and all pilgrims.”
Someone asserted that Israel already fulfills that purpose. The panel had no responsive reply.
A Center report about the event declared that the whole Temple Mount is holy to Islam and just the Western Wall is holy to Jews. A panelist who is a consultant and author on the subject, law professor Marshall Breger, had explained that to Jews, the Temple Mount is their holiest place, not just the Temple’s western retaining wall. The report was in error.
These days, Palestinian Muslims deny that the Jews had the Temple there. Breger quoted from Waqf literature [which I’ve seen] that acknowledged the Temple’s site there. Bell tried to dismiss criticism of the current Muslim position on this, by saying it is not up to outsiders to determine religions positions, just political ones. But the current Muslim position on whether there was a Jewish Temple [that figures in Christianity] and whether Jerusalem is holy to Islam is political. People showed that the city often was not holy to Islam. One argument not presented is that the Koran does not mention Jerusalem. The notion that it is holy comes up not for religious reasons, but for political ones that abuse the religion to make it an excuse for political positions. [They don’t realize that Islam basically does not separate religion from politics, in the usual sense.]
The present Muslim clerical view is that non-Muslims should be barred from the Mount. Prof. Breger explained that just a few years ago, the Waqf admitted non-Muslims but charged an admission fee.
If in this century it is called holy, and in that century it is not, back and forth, obviously politics is involved (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/ -- Arutz-7, 7/2).
Why would just a Wall be holy to Judaism? When Muslims controlled the Old City, they would not let Jews onto their holy Mount, and the rabbis had not yet figured out which parts of it they may walk on, but Jews were allowed at the Wall.
Imagine, proposing a division of the City to solve a non-existent problem? The division of the City would create problems. How can an administrator run a city in behalf of the Muslims who want to conquer and expel or kill the Jews, and the Jews? The proposal is fatuous. The Center is not a “think” tank but a flippant trouble-maker.
The Center is ignorant of the basics on which it propounds. Or is this proposed division a scheme for taking sovereignty away from the Jewish people?
Are people such as those in the Center, so antisemitic, that they cannot give Israel credit for its tolerance towards Muslim religious opportunity in Jerusalem? Will they not criticize Muslims for frequent riots and threats to riot unless Israel bars Jews from praying on the Mount and lets the Muslims build illegally there and in doing so, wreck ancient Jewish artifacts that the Muslims then deny the existence of? I condemn Israel for not enforcing the law and for acting as the Muslim surrogate in barring Jewish worship on the Mount. That is no behavior for a Jewish state.
Problem is, this think tank now exposed as ignorant and trouble-making, has influenced the Democratic Party and President Obama. Who will tell him that his notions about the Arab-Israel conflict are nonsensical? How much suffering will he inflict on innocent people, in his biased foreign policy? When will enough Americans see through him?
This think tank may be the source of specious notions of Obama that you can see if you click here:
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