Dr.
Sharif Abu Shammalah
Chief Executive Officer of
Al-Quds Foundation Malaysia
The
term “Judaization” refers to the set of measures and policies that the Zionist
occupation and the ‘Temple’ movements have adopted towards the city of
Jerusalem in general, to change the religious, cultural, Islamic and Arab
character of the city - and at its heart, Masjid al-Aqsa - so that it can
transform the identity of the city into a completely Jewish one.
The
Judaization endeavour of the Occupation is primarily directed towards three
spheres:
1.
The human being: By distancing the people of al-Quds from the area and public
life at Masjid al-Aqsa, both physically and morally.
2.
The land: What is upon, and beneath it, encompassing the ongoing phenomena of: demolishing
homes, or exercising control over them and preventing their restoration; the
confiscation of lands and cemeteries; the changing of names of streets and
landmarks; and the excavations and tunnelling at Al-Aqsa and its surroundings.
3.
The holy places: At the heart of this lies Masjid al-Aqsa, which is the locus of
the storm of Judaization.
Judaization
of Jerusalem and Masjid al-Aqsa is a long-standing feature of the literature of
the modern Zionist movement, as can be evidenced by this saying of its founder,
Theodor Herzl: “If one day we get Jerusalem, and I am still alive and able to
do anything, I will remove everything that is not sacred to the Jews, and I
will burn relics of centuries gone by.”
In
shedding light on the Judaization of Masjid al-Aqsa, a wide range of measures
and policies of Judaization practiced by the occupation are observed. It,
however, should always be remembered that the ultimate goal of the occupation
is to destroy Masjid al-Aqsa in order to build a Temple in its place, and that even
though the measures of Judaization became much more apparent after the
occupation of Jerusalem in 1967, several attempts had long preceded it,
especially during the British ‘Mandate’, which was a period for the empowering of
the Zionist project on the land of Palestine.
Examples
of Judaization include:
1.
Control of part of Masjid al-Aqsa
The
Zionists tried to take control of the Al-Buraq Wall (the Western Wall of Masjid
al-Aqsa) in 1929. This sparked the Palestinian Al-Buraq Revolution which
thwarted that attempt. The Zionists nonetheless attained control of the Wall in
1967, and demolished the Al-Maghribi Quarter adjacent to it, and have held on
to it ever since. (Read more about Al-Buraq Wall and its Judaization here).
Since
the occupation of the city of Jerusalem, the Israeli Occupation has imposed full
control over parts of the mosque. They have confiscated the keys to the
Mughrabi Gate (located in the Western Wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque), and have
used it ever since to facilitate extremist break-ins and Israeli police raids of
the mosque.
Another
site that the occupation took full control of, was the Jumblatt retreat
situated at the Dome of the Rock courtyard, which was converted into a police
station for the Occupation inside Al-Aqsa, and which has been used to launch
many hostilities against the Murabiteen at the mosque.
The
Occupation is also in full control of the gates of Masjid al-Aqsa, and bars
entrance to young men and women, and murabiteen as it feels fit. In 2017, the Occupation
tried to impose electronic gates at the entrances to Al-Aqsa. Palestinians
confronted the attempt decisively until they were removed after two weeks of
sit-in and protest, which came to be known as the Bab al-Asbat uprising.
The
Occupation at present seeks to confiscate Bab ar-Rahmah and the entire eastern
region of Al-Aqsa, which constitutes a fifth of the area of the mosque, in
order to establish a synagogue.
For details, see topics:
a. The
Temporal and spatial division plan (2013) (Read more).
b. The
battle to protect Al-Aqsa from temporal and spatial division (Read more).
2. Tunnels
and excavations
Since
1967, the Occupation has initiated a steadily increasing number of excavations
and tunnels at, and in the vicinity of, Masjid al-Aqsa, which according to the
latest statistics have reached more than 64 active excavations.
The
Zionists claim that these excavations are for the sake of finding traces of the
alleged temple. These excavations affect the foundations of Masjid al-Aqsa, and
have caused cracks in its walls and foundations, and collapses in the neighbouring
homes and structures. They have also resulted in the removal of Islamic
archaeological layers that bear witness to the history of Masjid al-Aqsa in the
Islamic era.
The
dangers of these excavations is amplified by the fact that they are undertaken
through a biblical, rather than scientific paradigm, with its proponents
seeking to confirm preconceived notions of the existence of a Jewish temple at
the site of Masjid al-Aqsa. This approach has prompted some Jewish
archaeologists who respect the scientific method to assert that - despite their
long involvement with the excavations - they did not find evidence of the
existence of Jewish traces in, or below Masjid al-Aqsa. Rather, what they have
discovered have only been monuments dating back to the early Islamic or
Byzantine eras bearing no connection with the Jews.
3.
Break-ins
These
are ongoing incursions by groups of settlers, Jewish extremists and foreign
tourists into Masjid al-Aqsa under the protection of the occupation army, during
which Jewish extremists perform Talmudic rituals. In recent years, these
incursions have increased in quantity and have taken on new dimensions, with
the active participation of Zionist government and parliamentary figures. These
break-ins aim to entrench a Jewish presence at al-Aqsa as to affirm it as the
‘Temple’. (Click here for more on break-ins).
4.
Impeding a Muslim physical presence at al-Aqsa
In
its attempt to thwart an Islamic presence at Masjid al-Aqsa, the Occupation continues
to impose age restrictions on the groups of Muslim worshippers permitted to
access and pray in the mosque, such that in most cases those under 50 years of
age are denied entry. This denial of entry is directed at men especially,
forcing thousands of them to pray in the streets outside the mosque, where
Israeli occupation checkpoints are erected to prevent them from reaching the site.
This
anguish of being denied access to Masjid al-Aqsa extends to all Palestinians, whether
they live in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, or are in the diaspora, with
minor and rare exceptions for the elderly.
Circles
of learning, performing ribaat at Masjid al-Aqsa, and organised road trips to
visit it have also been criminalised. The Israeli Minister of Defense had
pronounced the Murabiteen and Murabitaat defenders of Masjid al-Aqsa as
terrorists. The Israeli state also wages an organized campaign on shaddul
rihaal activities (these are bus trips that transport worshipers from the
Palestinian interior to Masjid al-Aqsa). Buses are often stopped and prevented
from reaching Masjid al-Aqsa.
Also
among the dangerous schemes implemented by the Occupation is the imposition of
temporal and spatial division, to facilitate times and spaces wherein Masjid
al-Aqsa would be vacant of Muslims, so that settlers could conduct Talmudic
Judaic rituals therein, as previously mentioned.
5.
Altering the names and features of Al-Aqsa
Almost
7000 names of locations in the city of Jerusalem have been changed by the
Occuaption. Masjid al-Aqsa too has not been exempt, as the Occupation has
always insisted on imposing biblical names on the mosque and its landmarks,
with the aim of creating misplaced connections between them al-Aqsa. The most
prominent of these is referring to Masjid al-Aqsa as the “Temple Mount”. Doors
of the mosque have been slapped with biblical names, an example of which is the
Triple Gate being called Huldah. These designations have been affirmed by
tourist guides, official proclamations and maps, and placing of signs bearing
such nomenclature at the entrances to Masjid al-Aqsa.
6.
Attempts to burn and bomb Masjid al-Aqsa
The
like of what occurred in 1969, when an arson attack destroyed the minbar of
Salah al-Din and the walls and furniture of the mosque. The Israeli authorities
hindered the firefighting process, and later released the suspect under the
pretext of being “mentally unstable” and being incapable of bearing
responsibility for his actions. Since then, there have been many other attempts
to bomb al-Aqsa, including one in 2015 by an American Jew directed by extremist
Zionist organizations. The plot was discovered hours before operation was due
to be executed. (For more details click here)
7. Preventing
maintenance and restoration work inside Masjid al-Aqsa
This
policy hinders the essential efforts to preserve, maintain and utilise
facilities and spaces at Masjid al-Aqsa. When the mosque’s administrators attempt
to carry out even some minor maintenance work, they remain vulnerable to arrest
and criminalization. The administration also reports that there are 42 restoration
projects at al-Aqsa that are stalled due to the prevention and restrictions of
the Occupation.
8. Encircling
Masjid al-Aqsa
This
is achieved by building synagogues at its walls, such as the synagogue in the
Madrasa al-Tankaziyya adjacent to al-Aqsa, or below it, such as the Wilson’s
Arch synagogue. Jewish associations are active in bringing Jews from all parts
of the world to visit these synagogues and to link them to the Holy City. In
addition, the Israeli government is building what it calls "biblical
gardens" at Islamic monuments surrounding al-Aqsa.
The
number of synagogues inside the Old City and Masjid al-Aqsa (an area of less
than one square kilometre) has reached 102.
Jewish
societies and the Zionist government are competing in planning to demolish Masjid
al-Aqsa in preparation for establishing a synagogue in its place, and many
models have been built for the temple which they intend to take the place of the
mosque.
The
aforementioned means of Judaizing Masjid al-Aqsa and its landmarks are brief
but prominent examples of some of the challenges that the mosque faces.
However, the harsh reality is that the entire Judaization process is yet more ominous
and full of painful and disturbing details.