For those of us who love the Land of Israel, there is no argument between us concerning our obligation and right to settle anywhere in the Land, build on it settlements and outposts, plant trees and flowers in its holy earth, partake of its fruits, swim in its rivers, walk in its green forests and behold its enchanting views.
However, we must ask ourselves the following questions: Is there not an order of priorities? Is there no order for what must be dealt with first and what must be dealt with later? Do we leave the order of priorities to our own discretions and whims, or are we obligated by a higher order?
It is apparent that the Zionist Movement from its inception had no master plan. From the outset, it has suffered from a faulty and confused order of priorities, based almost always on security contingencies instead of essential
national interests and values. Why beat around the bush? The most important part of the Land of Israel to the Jewish People as a culture, nation, and religion, is without a doubt the Temple Mount. But instead of this holiest site located receiving top priority, it has become the symbol of the demise and decay of Zionism.
Instead of the Temple Mount receiving the attention and treatment needed to remove the disgrace of 2,000 years of foreign rule, the Zionist Movement and its creation – the State of Israel – chose to eternalize the foreign rule by handing the management and control of the Temple Mount, de facto, over to the Islamic Trust (Wakf).
To display how low on the totem pole of prioritoes the Temple Mount is, one need only look at the Six Day War. After a miraculous victory of the Israeli Army in six days, whereby expansive parts of the Land of Israel were liberated including the Temple Mount, we handed the keys to the Mount back to the Arabs!
The same irreligious Zionists who condemned the haredi rabbis for preaching that "it is forbidden to return to the Land enforce", followed the lead of that same exilic mindset when it came to the Temple Mount. And so, by turning over the Temple Mount to the hands of our enemies, we have created a situation where instead of the Arabs living in fear of the threat of their mosques being destroyed, they draw hope from the building of a new
world center of Islam in lieu of Mecca.
It has been 39 years since we heard the emotional cry: "the Temple Mount is in our hands, the Temple Mount is in our hands". These words have become more and more faint and insignificant. As the People of the Book, we should know that periods of 40 years are significant, whether for positive reasons (the Land was quiet for 40 years) or negative ones (40 years of wandering in the desert). As we approach the 40th year of the liberation of the Mount, it should be clear to us that our time is running out.
We must internalize, remember and reinforce the concept that if we do not rule over the Temple Mount, there is no National Home for the Jewish People. In our struggle against the governments' plans of expulsion and destruction, we must remember that as long as the Temple Mount is not at the center of the campaign, nothing will help. As long as the Islamic Authorities control the Mount, there is no hope, for God will not let us succeed when such a huge Hillul Hashem permeates the land.
Those who believe in the Bible can find support for what I have written above in the words of the prophet Chagai. Those who don't believe can find evidence from the most unlikely source – the Israeli Secret Service (G.S.S. – Shabak) who constantly warn through its agents in the press about imaginary plans on part of Jews to conduct a violent attack on the Mount in order to stop the evil intentions of the government.
While there is no such plan, the G.S.S. has enlightened us to the importance of the Temple Mount. But thereis no need for violence - all that is necessary is a massive public campaign to close the Mount to non-Jews. Only thus can we can turn it into what it is supposed to be – the national center of the Jewish People. If we prioritize properly and focus on the Mount, everything else will fall into place.
