choggie

Firstly - I agree with almost everything said by Jewish Voice for Peace (http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org) - see the first comment of my previous post: http://www.videosift.com/video/Jews-Who-Oppose-Israeli-Violations-of-Human-Rights

Of critical importance is that Jerusalem should "be shared in a manner that reflects its spiritual, economic, and political importance to both Israelis and Palestinians, as well as to all Jews, Muslims and Christians." I don't feel that any one faith has a better claim on Jerusalem than any other. This is because all the faiths stem from the same Abrahamic tradition, and Jerusalem is one of the two great cities of Abraham. The other is Mecca.

I also feel the same way about Mecca - I don't believe that it should only be for Muslims. In the West people are more acquainted with the story of Abraham's younger son Isaac, and the origins of the city of Jerusalem. The story of Abraham's oldest son Ishmael, and the origins of Mecca are less well known. From Genesis we learn that when Isaac was born, his mother Sarah insisted that Abraham's oldest son Ishmael and his mother Hagar should no longer live with them. Abraham was reluctant to do this, but the book of Genesis tells us that God told Abraham to follow Sarah's wishes and He would look after Ishmael. We are then told that Hagar took her son into the wilderness of Paran (to the south). Later, Ishmael and Hagar were passing through the valley of Baca. They were dying of thirst - but this did not reduce their trust and faith in God. Seeing this, God rewarded them by causing a spring to gush forth from the barren land. In Genesis we read that 'God heard the voice of the lad' crying out for water as he lay in the sand. But then God opened Hagar's eyes and she saw a well of water. We also read about this in Psalm 84, verses 5-6, where it says: "Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee, in whose heart are the ways of them who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well." So we know where the miracle happened: the valley of Baca - Bakkah in Arabic. Bakkah is the old Arabic name for Mecca - Makkah in Arabic. The spring came to be known as Zamzam and it became a place of pilgrimage because of the miracle that occured there. A sanctuary was established there by Ishmael and Abraham - known as the Ka'ba.

The Ka'ba was the first sanctuary of the Abrahamic tradition, and it predates the Temple of Jerusalem by about a thousand years. Jews went on pilgrimage to the tabernacle in Mecca for over a thousand years. It was only after the sanctuary became polluted with pagan idols that they stopped coming. Christians also went on pilgrimage to Mecca. When Muhammad entered the Ka'ba sanctuary to destroy the pagan idols - the only idol he did not destroy was a statue of the virgin Mary and baby Jesus which had been left by Christian pilgrims.

Since Jews, Christians and Muslims all trace their faith back to Abraham (and ultimately God) then they should all have equal access to the cities of Abraham.

But this is just my opinion - and one that some people are bound to disagree with!

Osaka-based Alarm Service: http://www.ktv.co.jp/baca/prize-bb/03_alarm/syouhin-ichiran.htm