Israel Bans Academic Program Promoting Demolition of ‘Dome of the Rock’ Mosque

A general view shows part of Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A general view shows part of Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Israel Bans Academic Program Promoting Demolition of ‘Dome of the Rock’ Mosque

A general view shows part of Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
A general view shows part of Jerusalem's Old City and the Dome of the Rock December 5, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The Israeli Education Ministry decided to remove the “Student for the Temple Mount” group from the academic program in Jewish schools.

The group include activists who support the establishment of the "Third Temple" (the Jewish Temple) on the ruins of Omar Mosque (Dome of the Rock in Al Aqsa Mosque)

The decision followed leaked information that the group is setting up a topic called "Knowing the Importance of the Temple Mount," which speaks of the Aqsa as the Temple Mount

The topic points out that the Dome of the Rock Mosque replaced the Jewish temple and must be rebuilt in its original place, which means an explicit call to demolish the mosque.

According to Israel’s Channel 10 TV report, the program is made by the far right-wing movement "Im Tirtzu.”

The report said that this movement is broadcasting to school students the controversial agenda of the Temple Mount and its activists.

The group is linked to the banned Kahane gang, which calls for the expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from their homeland and the cleansing of Israel of non-Jews.

Many organizations were established from this group, and they have carried out practical activities to spread despair among Palestinians to leave and carried out terror operations, during which Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem were burnt.

They also published maps of the Temple Mount, removing the Dome of the Rock’s picture from them and replacing it with the Jewish Temple.

In addition to that, a cannon was also seized on the roof of a house in Jerusalem, and its nozzle was pointed towards the Aqsa Mosque.

This group was banned from the Israeli law because of the seriousness of its racist rhetoric, but its activists knew how to continue their activity and promote their ideas in other contexts.



Trump Administration Faces Pressure to Ease Sanctions on Syria

Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)
Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)
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Trump Administration Faces Pressure to Ease Sanctions on Syria

Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)
Members of the “Syrian-American Coalition for Peace and Prosperity” meet at the Republican Party headquarters in Washington with Senate Majority Leader Senator John Thune to discuss the urgent need to lift sanctions on Syria (X)

US lawmakers have renewed pressure on Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Pruitt to provide answers on their plans to ease the crippling economic sanctions on Syria.
The move comes as the United States seeks to influence the transitional process following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Two weeks after their initial letter, US Senators Elizabeth Warren, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Representative Joe Wilson, Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, sent a bipartisan follow-up letter to Rubio, urging the State Department to provide details and a clear timeline on the Trump Administration’s plans to revise US sanctions on Syria following the collapse of the Assad regime.
In their letter, they acknowledged the historic opportunity Syria faces for rebuilding in the absence of Assad’s repressive regime.
“We are writing to request a follow-up briefing to discuss the specifics of the State Department’s plans to update US sanctions on Syria. As noted by your response, we mutually recognize Syria’s historic opportunity to rebuild in the absence of Assad’s repressive rule,” wrote the lawmakers.
The request follows a letter Warren and Wilson sent to the Department of State last month, pressing the administration to reevaluate outdated, broad-based sanctions that now risk undermining regional stability and reconstruction.
“Our current sanctions not only threaten Syria’s economic and social stability but also risk spurring migration, worsening dependency on illicit drug exports, and once again providing inroads for Iran or Russia,” they also noted.