Muslims fume at discovery of 1st Temple remains

A Burdensome Stone JERUSALEM NEWSWIRE - By Stan Goodenough - October 23, 2007 "Palestinian" spokesmen have denounced as lies and deception Israeli claims that remains had been uncovered on Jerusalem's Temple Mount dating back to the period of Solomon's Temple. According to the Associated Press, the Israel Antiquities Authority Sunday announced it had discovered fragments of ceramic table wares and animal bones dating back to the first Jewish temple - from the 6th to the 10th centuries BC. The finds also included fragments of bowl rims, bases and body sherds, the base and handle of a small jug and the rim of a storage jar. But the Islamic Trust denied that any discovery was made, AP said. AP got it right when it stated that "the site [Temple Mount] represents the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." For Muslims everywhere, and especially for the Arab nationalists out to appropriate part of the 3000-year-old City of David and turn it into the capital of a Palestinian state, denying any Jewish link to the most coveted sites has long been a central component of their strategy. Now-deceased arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat and his Palestine Liberation Organization have spent a fortune in financial and political capital trying to "sever" the Jews' claim to the Temple Mount. Down the decades since 1967, Palestinian Arab academics, archeological "experts" and popular television and radio talk-show hosts have all collaborated to "prove" that there is no physical evidence to support the Jews' claim to having had a homeland in "Palestine" two millennia ago. At Camp David in 2001, while participating in negotiations with Prime Minister Ehud Barak under the auspices of US President Bill Clinton, Arafat shamelessly stated as "fact" that the Jews had never had a temple in Jerusalem, and that King Solomon had built his house of worship not far from Jericho. Arafat in fact sought to be buried on the Temple Mount - a site the Islamic world calls its "third holiest" - and to which Muslims turn their backs when praying towards Mecca and Medina five times a day. The mass-murderer of Jews and others believed that interring his corpse at the site would help strengthen the Arab claim to sovereignty over it. Bible-believing Christians and Jews understand why the Temple Mount is so sought after by the PLO and in fact by the entire Muslim world. According to both the Hebrew Scriptures ("Old" Testament) and the New Testament, Israel's Messiah will establish His kingdom in Jerusalem, taking His place on the Throne of David that will be erected on the Temple Mount, and from there ruling over the nations of the world. God's mortal enemy has long sought to wrest the hilltop from Jewish control, hoping thereby to prevent this foretold messianic event from coming to pass. The outburst of anger in response to the Israeli archeologists' find should be seen in this context. http://www.jnewswire.com/article/2206 FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of religious, environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.