Take the Mount into account

Following Israel’s liberation of eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria (areas dubbed “The West Bank”) from 19 years of illegal Jordanian occupation, Israel graciously allowed the Jordanian Waqf to administer the mosques on Judaism’s holiest site. At least part of the reason for that unusual move was the fact that many Orthodox rabbis felt that modern Jews (who are no longer able to conduct Para Adumah purifications) are in a state of ritual impurity and should not ascend the Temple Mount. Clearly, members of the dati leumi communities disagree with this conclusion and have been visiting. Yet “Discreet Jewish prayer continues on Temple Mount” (July 19) is the first time I have ever seen an article indicating that Jews can go to the Temple Mount to pray.

Of course, it is the Palestinians who have defiled the mosques on the Temple Mount, using them as places to store materials with which they harass Jews praying at the Western Wall and to attack Israeli police trying to protect people at prayer. The Waqf’s failure to preserve the sanctity of the mosques under their administration is a disgrace.

The main impediment to ending the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is Palestinian leaders’ seeking to replace the nation-state of the Jews with a Muslim-majority state. A first step toward signifying a change in that rejectionist stance would be the Waqf and Palestinian leaders working with Israel to make fair arrangements to accommodate both Muslim and Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, as Israel has done at the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs.

TOBY F. BLOCK

Atlanta, GA