As far as those timid sorts, rabbis and laity, who try to solidify their preferred halachic position by noting that Jews who go up incite Arabs, these frightened nebs need to leave the shtetl. If they oppose ascending the Mount on halachic grounds then they should argue their position solely within that context. Unless of course they follow a Satmar-esque philosophy, in which they should be inellectually honest and refrain from even visiting Israel until the Moshiach arrives riding atop a griffin vulture. In Judaism, we don’t rely on miracles. So if the state per-say is a sin, one who visits Israel relies on the security of the IDF.
Without belaboring the point, there are legitimate halachic positions which permit a person to ascend and visit certain areas. Naturally, since most people are not expert on such matters they require the aid of a learned man. All sides need to respect the halacha. And the oft mentioned argument that we are speaking of matters of karet is a false one. No one would argue that one Rav may render a different p’sak than another on a given question pertaining to the laws of niddah (ritual purity). Also an issue of karet (an act punishable by spiritual excision), and yet two equally respected men of Torah may arrive at two different conclusions. “Elu V’elu…..”
Bibi, The Dhimmi
Jews always lived as dhimmis under Islam. It wasn’t pleasant. The myth of Jews living well in Muslim countries is a liberal fairy tale. Yet these same lovers of fantasy cannot explain why nearly a million Jews from Muslim/Arab countries fled their places of birth, to migrate to Israel. The reason is simple: it sucked to live with these people. Even the “good times” were terrible. Many scholars have exposed the reality of being a dhimmi. At the end of the day, Jews and other dhimmis faced daily debasement. Violence. Theft. Murder. Sexual assault. Over-taxation. Injustice. A life of shame and debasement.
And there was no recourse for justice, since a dhimmi’s word was useless against a Muslim’s.
The dhimmitude continues today in Israel. In the sovereign state of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu placed the yoke of the dhimmi on our necks. All in the name of maintaining the unacceptable statu quo toward the same Islamic Amalekites who defiled our synagogues and graveyards when Jerusalem was under Jordanian occupation.
After this latest disgraceful display of Jewish weakness, how can any Jew with a vertebrae still support Netanyahu? After two thousand years of being grasshoppers, how can the leader of modern state of Israel debase himself time and time again in the manner of the original meraglim?
Today we live as dhimmis in Israel. Not only will the country not protect us adequately, they deny us the right to defend ourselves. Draconian gun laws permit only elitists to arm themselves. The rest of us are entitled to pepper spray; not to use it mind you. We are told that we cannot carry flags in some areas. We cannot drive in other areas, lest Fatah gun us down. We cannot legally vote for a candidate who wants to throw Arabs out. And we cannot pray atop Har Habayit. Self-debasement is the spine of our countries superstructure.
Those who ascend Har Habayit halachically, generally do so with dignity. By merely ascending, they strengthen our ownership. The important thing is not to ascend as a dhimmi. There are opportunities to elevate the kiddush Hashem in some capacity. An added display of Jewish strength. Remember: silence is not golden atop Har Habayit. Any opportunity to recite a Jewish prayer: a blessing over a glass of water, or something else, is an opportunity to contest Bibi’s status quo on the greatest stage. And lest we forget, there will now be video cameras. How ironic that an unacceptable concession to antisemites can now become a magnificent tool to publicize Kiddush Hashem.