Much Ado About Jerusalem!

Or Pardon Me Can I Steal Your Capital?

The Dry Bones Blog

Israel decides to build 1600 new and Joe Biden goes ballistic, Hillary Clinton has a cow, and David Axelrod starts foaming at the mouth.

The White House is raising the stakes with Israel, calling it an "insult" and an "affront" that the Jewish nation would continue plans to build 1,600 new apartments during a construction freeze aimed at re-igniting peace talks with Palestinians.

Palestinians have not sought as part of their capital the area of northeast Jerusalem where the Jewish settlement of Ramat Shlomo resides, but the decision to announce construction plans just as Vice President Joe Biden was visiting the region led to strained meetings that continues past his return.

Biden expressed his displeasure by showing up late to a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in order to issue a statement of condemnation.

On Sunday, President Obama's chief political adviser David Axelrod told ABC's "This Week" that the move undermines the fragile effort to bring peace to the troubled region and called the timing of the announcement "very destructive."

Axelrod would not say what has been discussed in diplomatic talks but suggested the decision by Israel was "calculated to undermine" peace talks with the Palestinians. He added that because Israel is a special ally to the United States "for just that very reason that was not the right way to behave."

But White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Netanyahu's apology on Sunday was a "good start" to rebuild trust, but more needs to be done.

"I think what would be an even better start is coming to the table with constructive ideas for constructive and trustful dialogue about moving the peace process forward," Gibbs said.

"There's no doubt that events like last week weaken the trust that's needed for both sides to come together and have honest discussions about peace in the Middle East. So there's no doubt that that was not a bright spot for the Israeli government."

The State Department on Friday outlined what was described as a stern 45-minute call by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to the prime minister. The unusually tough dressing down reportedly took Netanyahu by surprise. On Sunday he announced plans to set up a committee to review processes to ensure an embarrassment like the one with Biden doesn't happen again.

Though Netanyahu had not included East Jerusalem in an earlier decision to halt construction for 10 months, the Jerusalem District Planning and Building committee canceled two meetings scheduled for this week after Clinton's call, Haaretz newspaper reported Sunday.

Now can somebody, anybody tell me when Israel conceded any part, any neighborhood, any square millimeter of Jerusalem?  Do you know who conceded the city of Jerusalem to the Arabs?
Barack Hussein Obama!  In his speech in Cairo!  That is correct.  No Israeli leader will ever surrender the City of David, the Capital of Ancient and Modern Israel willingly and without a fight.

Not after the last time.

For the last year President Obama has been trying to force Israel to put Jerusalem under the control of the UN.  On one hand Obama cries he is a friend of Israel, while on the other hand he sends his lackeys to do his dirty work.  Just like the corrupt Chicago Politician he is.

Only G-d know what is going to happen when both Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meet at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC) annual policy conference next week.

Yet the people of Jerusalem, in fact of Israel have voiced their desire to keep Jerusalem now and forever!

The Hurva Synagogue, also known as Hurvat Rabbi Yehudah he-Hasid ("Ruin of Rabbi Judah the Pious"), is a historic synagogue located in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Traditions for a synagogue in the area date from the 2nd century. In the early 1700s, followers of Judah he-Hasid founded a synagogue at the site, but it was destroyed a few years later, in 1721. The plot lay in ruins for over 140 years and became known as the Ruin, or Hurva. In 1864, the Perushim built a new synagogue on the site. Although officially named the Beis Yaakov Synagogue, it retained its name as the Hurva and became Jerusalem's main Ashkenazi synagogue until it too was reduced to rubble during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

After the site came under Israeli control in 1967, a number of plans were submitted for the design of a new building. After years of deliberation and indecision, a commemorative arch was erected instead at the site in 1977, itself becoming a prominent landmark of the Jewish Quarter. The plan to rebuild the synagogue in its 19th century style received approval by the Israeli Government in 2000 and the newly rebuilt synagogue is due to be dedicated on March 15, 2010. The company involved with its reconstruction believe that restoring the synagogue to its former glory will once again make it serve as a center for World Jewry.

Source: Wikipedia

The Jordanians destroyed it fully in 1948, tonight will be the dedication of the rebuilt synagogue 62 years after its destruction.

Hundreds of people took part in a ceremony bringing a new Torah scroll into the restored Hurva Synagogue in the Old City's Jewish Quarter on Sunday. The ceremony in east Jerusalem was held under heavy security after the Palestinian Authority joined the Islamic Movement in its calls for Muslims to flock to the al-Aqsa Mosque in response to extremist Jews' plans to lay a cornerstone at the Temple Mount.

Among the celebrators was Knesset Member Michael Ben-Ari (National Union), who criticized the prime minister, saying, "(Benjamin) Netanyahu, who crushed his own national backbone and is leading to the division of Jerusalem, should have come here to draw strength from Hurva's restoration and display power instead of compromising Jerusalem's unity."

Torah scroll brought to Hurva Synagogue (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

Extreme rightists Itamar Ben-Gvir and Baruch Marzel were also on hand for the ceremony, during which a Torah scroll was placed in the restored synagogue.

The synagogue's dedication took place amid harsh criticism leveled at Israel, mainly by the US, over its decision to approve the construction of 1,600 housing units in east Jerusalem prior to the launching of indirect talks with the Palestinians.

One of the Jewish celebrators told Ynet, "We are here to say to the world that all of Jerusalem will remain ours for eternity. If the dedication of a synagogue in the Jewish Quarter angers the Obama Administration, then Netanyahu should choose another partner."

Yes we will not willingly surrender Jerusalem.  Not this year,not ever.  To quote Eliezer ben Yisrael (Stanley Goldfoot) A Letter to the World from Jerusalem:

For the first time since the year 70 there is now complete religious freedom for all in Jerusalem. For the first time since the Romans put the torch to the Temple everyone has equal rights. (You preferred to have some more equal than others.) We loathe the sword – but it was you who forced us to take it up. We crave peace – but we are not going back to the peace of 1948 as you would like us to.

We are home. It has a lovely sound for a nation you have willed to wander over the face of the globe. We are not leaving. We have redeemed the pledge made to our forefathers: Jerusalem is being rebuilt. “Next year” – and the year after, and after, until the end of time – “in Jerusalem!”

Now and forever this promise, this vow will NOT be forgotten or ignored!

One City Forever!