Laying Claim to Jerusalem

JERUSALEM - For thousands of years, empires, countries and kings have fought over the fate of Jerusalem. Today, the fight for Jerusalem continues, and the final claim on its destiny will have worldwide consequences. Since the 1967 Six-Day War, the city of Jerusalem has been under the sovereignty of the state of Israel. And just four months from now, Israel will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its capture of the city of Jerusalem. But one generation later, Jerusalem is still the epicenter of conflict: Israel's enemies are trying to advance their jihadist plan to take back Jerusalem and Israel for Islam. Whether it's Hamas within Palestinian territories, Hezbollah on Israel's northern border or Iran's mullahs and their genocidal plans, many Islamic groups are striving to take back the city of Jerusalem and make it the capital of a worldwide Islamic empire. In his new book, The Fight for Jerusalem, former Israeli United Nations Ambassador Dore Gold warns about the plans of radical Islam to claim Jerusalem. Gold has written numerous books and articles on the Middle East, including Hatred's Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism and Tower of Babble: How the United Nations Has Fueled Global Chaos. One front in this fight for Jerusalem is the undermining of Jewish historical claims to the city. For example, during the Camp David negotiations in the summer of 2000, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat told President Clinton there never was a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount. But archaeologists sifting through Temple Mount rubble are finding more and more evidence of Jewish history there. Veteran archaeologist Gabriel Barkay believes that along with the military nature of the six year-old Palestinian Intifada, there is an attempt to erase Jewish history and culture. "We have parallel to this also, a cultural Intifada, and from there is a new tendency which started in the two-thousands of denials of the existence of the Jewish temple and upon the Temple Mount," said Barkay. In his book, Gold sites this archeological evidence as proof of Israel's claim to the city. He also warns that the West must resist negotiating Jerusalem away. He says such a withdrawal would embolden the forces of radical Islam with disastrous and worldwide consequences. Gold sees Jerusalem as the fault line between East and West, and explains that the city has become the centerpiece in the radical psalmists' apocalyptic vision of global jihad. Despite this apocalyptic vision, he notes that some in western diplomatic circles are pushing for a Middle East settlement, with the re-division of Jerusalem at its core. While some diplomats might believe this will lower the flames of radical Islamic rage, Gold argues that the exact opposite is true. Recent history, like the 2000 Israeli withdrawal from South Lebanon and the 2005 Israeli withdrawal from Gaza only fueled Islamic fervor, not diminished it. Gold states that a re-division of Jerusalem would not only endanger its holy sites, but also unleash new jihadist momentum on a scale that most political leaders have not begun to consider. The stakes in this fight are enormous because he believes that no city is more important to the peace of the world than Jerusalem. Psalm 122:6 is so appropriate at this time in history: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: may those who love you be secure."