The reactions have been predictable. The Arabs call it a provocation and state that Sharon is not interested in peace. The Jewish right is being very quiet, knowing that they have once again missed the ball. And members of the Likud sound like real nationalists again as they tell everyone who will listen that Arabs are allowed to enter the Temple Mount whenever they want, so why not Israel, since it is, after all, within Israeli sovereignty.
What gets me is why this took so long. Israel has held sovereignty over the Mount for 33 years, and this is the first time any Jewish Member of Knesset has ever set foot on its summit.
Likud faction chairman Ruby Rivlin is correct in stating that it is necessary to make such gestures "and that it will remain necessary" in the future. But Rivlin has been around for a while. Where were such gestures in the past?
The field trip today was certainly a fine gesture. It goes a long way in showing that the Israeli right wing can still flex its muscles. It also goes a long way toward showing why the Likud is still very much the leading party of this sorry bunch.
What I can't understand, however, is why such a move must be considered a "gesture". Why does it seem, whether we support or oppose Sharon's efforts today, that the move is a political one meant to boost votes for the Likud, or within the Likud for Sharon?
The Temple Mount is more than a simple political issue, and it should not be treated as a tool for the politically ambitious or the ego-challenged among our elder statesmen. The Temple Mount is the site where the greatest joys in Jewish history took place, even as it is a reminder of the greatest tragedies. The Temple Mount has been the rallying cry for the entire Jewish nation through millenia of history, and today it stands as a symbol too of many Jews who simply don't care any longer if we are to judge by the reactions to today's events by the Israeli left.
The reduction of the Temple Mount to a political tool is a huge travesty of our history and our traditions. On the other hand, however, it's about time that those who claim national leadership in Israel realize and pay tribute to its centrality in Jewish life.
Copyright 2000. Yehuda Poch is a writer living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
