Posted on 10/31/2010 6:58:31 AM PDT by JCPA-JerusalemCenter
The Palestinian Authority and the Jewish Holy Sites in the West Bank: Rachel's Tomb as a Test Case
* Rachel's Tomb lies on the northern outskirts of Bethlehem, about 460 meters (about 500 yards) south of the Jerusalem municipal border, and for more than 1,700 years has been identified as the tomb of the matriarch Rachel.
* According to the armistice agreement signed on April 3, 1949, Jordan was to allow Israel "free access to the Holy Places and cultural institutions and use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives." In practice, Jordan did not allow Jews free access to their holy places, and for 19 years, until 1967, Jews could not go to the Western Wall, Rachel's Tomb, the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Joseph's Tomb in Shechem (Nablus), or other sites sacred to Jews which remained in Jordanian hands.
* The Gaza-Jericho Agreement signed in May 1994 stated: "The Palestinian Authority shall ensure free access to all holy sites in the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area." The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, signed on the White House lawn on September 28, 1995, dealt with the status of 23 places holy to Jews. The Palestinians promised to assure freedom of access to those places. However, the Palestinians either made access extremely difficult or prevented it entirely.
* In 2000, after hundreds of years of recognizing the site as Rachel's Tomb, Muslims began calling it the "Bilal ibn Rabah mosque" - a name that has since entered the national Palestinian discourse. Israel's experience since the Oslo agreements has shown that the responsibility for Jewish holy sites or the roads leading to them should remain in Israeli hands.
(Excerpt) Read more at jcpa.org ...
True, but South Bend already has a Golden Dome. As does Des Moines.
MIDI - COME A LITTLE BIT CLOSER
In a PLO town was a girl named Rachel Corrie
She was reading to children anti-American stories
She was brainwashed by mom and dad
By a college professor was had
But one day she would run out of luck and things turned out ba-a-ad
Hello, Mr. Bulldozer, you can't touch this house...I'll stand in your way
Hello, Mr. Bulldozer, Jews must be stopped...this will not be your day
She was burning our flag with the little terrorists cheering
And to the scum of the earth she became someone who's quite endearing
She was brainwashed by her mom and dad
By a college professor was had
But one day she would run out of luck and things turned out ba-a-ad
Hello, Mr. Bulldozer, you can't touch this house...I'll stand in your way
Hello, Mr. Bulldozer, Jews must be stopped...this will not be your day
You must wear a hard hat when you work around big equipment
She became a squished pancake...I hope that isn't too flippant
She was brainwashed by mom and dad
By a college professor was had
But one day she would run out of luck and things turned out ba-a-ad
Hello, Mr. Bulldozer, you can't touch this house...I'll stand in your way
Hello, Mr. Bulldozer, Jews must be stopped...this will not be your day
Nice song but this repulsive behavior by the UN has nothing to do with Rachel Corrie.
It has to do with Genesis 35:24
“So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Jacob set up a marker over her grave; it is the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.”
Note that even where Arabs/Muslims claim to share Abraham with Judaism, they have no connection whatsoever to the Jewish matriarch Rachel whose grave they now claim.
The destruction and rebuilding of Joseph's tomb
Just another irrational slander . Abbas already stated he'd fight for Rachel's tomb to be the rightly deserved mosque. Read link:
Abbas threatend Holy war over rachel's Tomb
The latter link is very long. Here's an excerpt:
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas warns of a “holy war” over Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. Muslims claim it is a 1,000-year-old mosque, although Islam – only 1,300 years old itself – began publicly claiming the site only 44 years ago. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused Abbas of “hypocrisy.”
The Prime Minister announced earlier this week that the ancient tomb, located immediately south of Jerusalem, and the Patriarchs’ Cave (Me’arat HaMachpelah) in Hevron, are Jewish heritage sites that will be refurbished. Genesis Chapter 23 describes the purchase of the Patriarch’s Cave by Abraham in order to bury his wife Sarah, and Genesis 35, 19 describes that Rachel “died and was buried on the road to Efrata which is Bethlehem…the sign of her grave stands until today.”
The entire Muslim world has protested Israel’s initiative, and the United Nations has expressed “concerns.” Hizbullah, Iran, Egypt, Syria and Jordan warned that the move is a provocation, and Hamas outrightly called for violence. Abbas, visiting in Brussels, told the Belgian parliament in Brussels that the move is a “serious provocation which may lead to a religious war.”
The Second Intifada, also known as the Oslo War, broke out in 2000 after then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Leftist and Arab protestors have rioted the past two days in Hevron, where the Patriarch’s Cave is located, throwing rocks at soldiers, one of whom was lightly wounded.
Abbas turned to the European Union, which heavily finances the PA, and said that the EU “understands the real nature of this Israeli provocation.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry accused Israel on Tuesday of “annexing two religious sites of the Palestinians, the Sanctuary of Abraham (Al-Haram Al-Ibrahimi, referring to the Machpelah Cave) and Bilal Ibn Ribah mosque [Rachel's Tomb] in Bethlehem.” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said, “Unfortunately, [the] Zionists’ decision rises from the regime’s strategy for cleaning all the sanctities of the Muslims and Christians in the occupied Palestine to give them a Zionist identity.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office charged Abbas with conducting a “deceitful campaign of lies and hypocrisy” by referring to Jewish sites as Moslem mosques. The Arab world’s claims follow a campaign the past several years to deny the existence of any Jewish history at the Temple Mount site, including the Western Wall (Kotel) in the Old City of Jerusalem.
“The State of Israel is committed to freedom of religion for worshippers of all faiths at the holy places and thus it acts in practice,” said the office of the Prime Minister. “Rachel’s Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the over 3,500-year old resting places of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish People – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel – certainly deserve preservation and rehabilitation.”
.....the rest is on the link. Just another reason in arab rationale to destroy Israel, kill every man woman and child that live there, and turn the place into a living hell in which they have no ability to make the land ( Ha'aretz) habitable. G!D brought Jews BACK into the land and there are NO prophecies Israel will ever be fully destroyed again. Poking the finger in the eyes of G!D and HIS land is a very dangerous thing to do. Let UNESCO make their dopey statements, ain't gonna happen but the war might.
Oh yeah? I don’t recognize UNESCO. They’re a useless NWO wannabe that thinks everything they want becomes world government property.
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