Israel needs only to tell the truth about Temple Mount, about who has been doing the inciting, and the rioting, and the attacks on worshippers, and who, on the other hand, has merely been trying to stop the rioting, and end the attacks.
Which side has tried to protect its own worshippers, praying inoffensively at the Western Wall, and at the same time, to protect from disruption the prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque of peaceful Muslims, people who have been disturbed by rioters, who have stockpiled weapons in the mosque and chosen to launch their barrages of rocks and Molotov cocktails from inside the mosque at Israeli police outside?
But in the real world’s cacophony of nonsense and ethical confusion, it is clear that Israel needs to forcefully, clearly, and, most importantly, publicly articulate its position to the world.
Failure to do so allows bigots and those seeking to harness bigotry to demonize Israel, arouse violence, inflame antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment, and work to derail Israel’s budding diplomacy with its Arab neighbors.
To prevail, Israel’s message must be clear: the Jewish people’s ties to the Temple Mount are an undeniable historical fact. Israel wants peace, tolerance, and religious freedom, while those who stash rocks, pipes, bottles, and weapons and engage in violent rioting are the ones who are truly desecrating the site.