America Could Use Abraham Accords To Return Peace to the Temple Mount

In the face of ongoing Palestinian Arab terrorism, Prime Minister Bennett has rejected foreign interference on decisions involving the Temple Mount. This puts the government at an impasse with its fair-weathered coalition partner, the Islamist Ra’am party, which has been agitating for Israeli-Jordanian-international discussions and could bolt the governing coalition.The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, claims that it has sovereignty over the holy sites in Jerusalem. The Arab League, in turn, issued a statement that Jews should not be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount, revered in Judaism as the faith’s most sacred site and the location of the Temple of Solomon. Jordan’s foreign minister echoed this sentiment, demanding that the Temple Mount be a “sole place of worship for Muslims.” Given all these views, could the Arab signatories of the Abraham Accords and their allies hold the key to peace on the Temple Mount? So far, these countries haven’t been particularly helpful. The UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco condemned Israel’s police response, not the Palestinian terrorism itself. The UAE also summoned its ambassador in Israel, and canceled a joint flyover with Israel for Israel’s independence day.Several Muslim states, to their credit, are now more tolerant to Jews and Judaism in a tectonic shift brought by the Abraham Accords. The UAE and its senior rabbi are working together to establish a dedicated Jewish neighborhood in the UAE, complete with schools, homes, a community center, and a synagogue. The UAE helped rescue Jews from Houthi persecution in Yemen, and aided Israel in their resettlement.The Trump administration signed a memorandum of understanding with the Moroccan organization Mimouna to combat antisemitism and delegitimization of Israel. Bahrain also signed a similar memo with the Trump administration. Saudia Arabia has made strides in removing antisemitism from its textbooks. While Saudi Arabia is not a signatory of the Abraham Accords, its crown prince helped broker the UAE and Bahrain’s entry into the accords. In any event, the Abraham signatories and their allies can do much more in their détente to all things Jewish. The UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia could unequivocally condemn Palestinian desecrations of Jewish holy sites, like recent events in the Temple Mount, Joseph’s Tomb, and Benjamin’s Tomb. This would serve to counter a long tradition of Palestinian desecration of Jewish heritage sites in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. These aligned Muslim states could also publicly recognize Jewish rights in those places. Just as Israel allows Emiratis, Bahrainis, and Saudis to pray on the Temple Mount, the UAE, Morocco, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and others could proclaim that Jews can also pray on the Temple Mount.This would be consistent with past Muslim recognition of the Temple Mount’s Jewish origin, a perspective since weakened by Palestinian narratives. The endorsement of Jewish prayer could be initiated by the UAE but ultimately spearheaded by Saudi Arabia. The Biden administration could do its utmost to bring Saudi Arabia and Indonesia into the Abraham Accords, efforts the Trump administration began. The Biden administration could also help to broker a greater Saudi role in the administration of the Temple Mount, which Israel has attempted to do to counter Turkey’s Islamist influence.Such an increased Saudi role could be accompanied with Saudi welcoming of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. In exchange for greater U.S. investment, Indonesia could join the Abraham Accords as well and also welcome Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. Having both Saudi Arabia and Indonesia accept Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount would go a long way in normalizing the idea in the Muslim world. A growing Muslim acceptance of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, coupled with the expansion of the Abraham Accords to at least Saudi Arabia and Indonesia could finally bring back peace to the Temple Mount. While Israel and its regional allies can make strides in this direction, sound American diplomacy could significantly improve the chances of success. If the Biden administration is truly “not overly optimistic” about the Iran nuclear deal, and eager to “strongly support” the Abraham Accords, America could help peace return to the Temple Mount.

America Could Use Abraham Accords To Return Peace to the Temple Mount

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