Militant Coalition of Christian Fundamentalist and Jewish Orthodox
Cults Plots Destruction of Al Aqsa Mosque
By Grace Halsell
For three decades, Gershon Solomon, a militant Israeli who heads an
organization dedicated to the destruction of Jerusalem�s most holy
Islamic shrine, has led Zionist zealots in armed assaults on the Muslim
grounds of Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, that encloses both the
Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa mosque.
No Israeli political leader has spoken out against the assaults on the
mosque, holy to a billion Muslims around the world. Moreover, no
Israeli rabbi has condemned them. Indeed, beginning in 1967, many of
the assaults were led by Jewish rabbis.
I first heard about the Israeli militants� intent to destroy the mosque
in 1979 when I went to Jerusalem. I talked at length with Bobby Brown,
a third-generation American from Brooklyn who, flying to the Jewish
state and instantly becoming a new citizen, confiscated land from
Palestinians to help build an illegal Jewish settlement. "The mosque,"
he told me, "has to go. It is a blot on our land."
Militant Jews such as Brown and Solomon want a Jerusalem that is "pure"
Jewish - without evidence of inhabitants of the other monotheistic faiths
and their shrines. Surprisingly, millions of U.S. evangelical
Christians endorse and financially support this Jewish plan.
Although united in their immediate goal of destroying the mosque, the
Israeli militants and Christian zealots have different long-range
agendas.
Secular Jews such as Stanley Goldfoot, one of the perpetrators of the
dynamiting in 1946 of the King David Hotel which killed some 100
Christian, Muslim and Jewish civilians, want the mosque destroyed for
political reasons. Other Jews believe that the building of a temple on
the Muslim grounds will usher in the Jewish Messiah.
A growing number of Christians embrace the idea that in all history,
Israel is on center stage. They say God has planned epochs of time
("dispensations") such as an "in-gathering" of Jews in the ancient land
of Canaan. One epoch, they say, includes the p�esent time when Jews are
obligated to build a Jewish temple and re-institute animal sacrifice.
Such epochs or "dispensations" are necessary, they say, before Christ
can return. Ironically, while Christian dispensationalists place Israel
as the most important nation in all the world, they do not respect or
even like Jews - as Jews. Yet, because they believe Christ can only land
in a "safe" area near Jerusalem, they make a cult of the land. They
thus give total, unquestioned support to Israel.
Goldfoot and Solomon are welcome in countless U.S. pulpits, where
Christian Zionists give generous donations of money, as well as their
gold wedding rings and gold earrings to finance the mosque�s
destruction. They know its destruction might well trigger wars
culminating in Armageddon, but they welcome this. They push Armageddon
along, saying they, as "Born-Again Christians," will be spared any
suffering, because they will be "Raptured," wafted up to heaven to view
the slaughter below. "I�m not worried," Lynchburg, Virginia
televangelist Jerry Falwell shouts. "You know why? I ain�t gonna be
here!"
This dispensationalist doctrine, less than 200 years old, pervades
Assemblies of God, Pentecostal and other charismatic churches, as well
as the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention and countless so-
called Bible churches and mega-churches. It�s estimated that at least
one out of every 10 Americans is a devotee of this cult.
In both Israel and the U.S., a conspiracy of silence reigns as
militants lay siege to the Jerusalem mosque. No political leader - or
religious leader - in Israel or the U.S. has addressed the issue. In the
case of Israeli rabbis, if they themselves have not aided and abetted
planned assaults on the mosque, they have kept silent. In the case of
all major U.S. Christian church leaders - the voices that are heard
throughout the land - if they themselves are not raising money to destroy
the mosque, they keep silent about the conspiracy.
"I don�t favor it," one Christian told me. "But if it happens" - the
destruction of the mosque -" it doesn�t mean I won�t support it."
Grace Halsell, a Washington, DC-based author, is the author of 15
books, including Journey to Jerusalem and Prophecy and Politics. They,
along with her latest book, Forcing God�s Hand, are available through
the AET Book Club.
Assaults on the Mosque
Two groups in particular are dedicated to the destruction of
Jerusalem�s most sacred Islamic shrine: the militant Bloc of the
Faithful or Gush Emunim, led by rabbis such as Moshe Levinger; and
Ateret Cohanim, a Jewish yeshiva composed of militant Jewish students
and their rabbis. Fundamentalist, militant Christians, who also want
the mosque destroyed, give support and financial aid to both of these
Israeli organizations, as do wealthy American Jews.
Beginning in 1967, when Israel militarily seized Arab East Jerusalem,
Jewish terrorists on more than 100 occasions have laid siege to the
Muslim mosque. Here are a few of the assaults:
� August 1967. Chief Chaplain of the Armed Forces Shlomo Goren�later
Israel�s chief rabbi�leads 50 armed extremists onto Haram al-
Sharif. �It is a holy commandment,� Goren said, for Jews to go to the
Muslim grounds, which Jews call the Temple Mount. Writing in an Israeli
publication, Eti Ronel reports: �Many rabbis, including members of the
Council of the Chief Rabbinate, support�Jewish sovereignty� over Haram
al-Sharif.
� August 21, 1969. Jewish extremists set fire to Al Aqsa, destroying a
priceless wood and ivory pulpit sent from Aleppo by the Muslim ruler
Saladin. The arson prompts the United Nations Security Council to
condemn Israel�s failure to curb terrorist attacks on Islam�s shrine.
Four months later (12/19/69) a group of militant Jews storm their way
to Haram al-Sharif, in order, they claim, �to conduct Hanukkah
prayers.�
� March 3, 1971. Gershon Solomon leads Temple Mount Faithful followers
onto Haram al-Sharif. After struggling with Palestinian guards, they
are expelled. Three years later (3/3/74) Solomon again, with followers,
storms the mosque. Again (7/14/78) Solomon leads militant Jews onto the
Islamic holy grounds. Palestinians stage protests. Israeli troops hurl
tear gas to quell the rioting.
� August 10, 1980. Three hundred Gush Emunim fanatics, heavily armed,
overcome Palestinian police and storm the grounds, but are later
dispersed. A month later (9/15/80) armed Gush Emunim settlers
associated with Stanley Goldfoot and the Temple Mount Faithful again
force their way onto the mosque grounds. After scuffling with police
they are evicted.
� April 11, 1982. Alan Goodman, an Israeli citizen with a U.S.
passport, marches into Al Aqsa with an M-16 rifle and opens fire on
worshippers, killing two Palestinians and wounding others. In November
1997, the Israeli government releases Goodman. Unrepentant, Goodman
boasts, �I fulfilled my mission.�
� July 25, 1982. Yoel Lerner, a member of the militant Meir Kahane Kach
movement, storms the mosque grounds with plans to dynamite and destroy
the Dome of the Rock.
� March 10, 1983. Armed Gush Emunim fanatics climb walls onto Haram al-
Sharif, attempting to overcome security guards and take the mosque by
storm. They have in their possession large quantities of explosives,
automatic rifles and pistols. Twenty-nine are charged and held for
trial.
� September 21, 1983. An Israeli court acquits the 29 Jewish terrorists
who six months earlier had laid siege on the mosque.
� January 27, 1984. In the most ambitious plot to dynamite and destroy
the mosque, Jewish terrorists, armed with 250 pounds of explosives,
including dozens of grenades, boxes of dynamite and 12 rounds of
mortar, attempt to dynamite and destroy the mosque. They are led by
Rabbi Moshe Levinger, one of the most militant of Jewish extremists.
� 1994. The Israelis appoint Meir Davidson, a senior official of Ateret
Cohanim, as a municipal adviser on Palestinian properties. This signals
the Israeli government will work closely with an organization whose aim
is the destruction of the mosque.
� September 1996. Ateret Cohanim, funded largely through tax-exempt
dollars donated by rich American Jews, including Miami millionaire
Irving Moskowitz, opened a tunnel�excavated in secret night-time
operations�that runs the length of the Al Aqsa complex. The
controversial tunnel sparked intense fighting which claimed the lives
of 60 Palestinians and 15 Israeli soldiers. Israeli Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu proudly visited the tunnel, as have fundamentalist
Christian leaders.
� October 18, 1998. Gershon Solomon, with followers waving Israeli
flags and blowing rams� horns, mounts a ramp to the mosque
grounds. �The time has come to rebuild the Jewish Temple,� said
Solomon. To underscore his point, Solomon parked near an Old City gate
a flatbed truck carrying a 41�G.H.