The Jerusalem Police and Shin Bet arrested Muhammad Tutah and Khaled Abu-Arfa – both Hamas activists from east Jerusalem.

The two hid for a year-and-a-half in a Red Cross building in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah after their Israeli ID was revoked by the Interior Ministry due to their involvement in terror activities.

The Jerusalem Post adds:

On July 1 of last year, fearing that their arrest and expulsion from Jerusalem was imminent, Abu-Arafa, Totah and Attoun showed up at the ICRC office, informing the Red Cross that they wished to hold a sit-in protest on the premises to draw attention to their situation.

The ICRC denied at the time that it had offered the politicians a safe haven.

“We don’t have anything to say about them,” Cecilia Goin, spokeswoman of ICRC for Israel and the Occupied Territories, told The Jerusalem Post last year.

“Our work is only related to humanitarian issues,” she added.

The Red Cross has provided the politicians with a room inside the building where they can sleep and keep their belongings, a bathroom, electricity for their large protest tent, and a water cooler, it is understood.

Family members came daily to bring food and clothes.

“They just came and informed us they were going to stay,” said Goin. “The police can come any time to arrest them, we will not act against this. We do not have diplomatic immunity, and we informed Israeli authorities accordingly, because it was an unexpected situation.”

This is not the first time that Israel has arrested Hamas members staying with the Red Cross. In September 2011, Ahmed Abu Atoun was arrested.

Additionally, in May 2011, Hamas held a conference at the Red Cross headquarters.

In March 2011, CBN met with some of the Hamas members.

The reason the movie took that name is because “Follow Me!” (“Acharai!” in Hebrew) is embedded in the ethos of the IDF officer – to lead his men into battle from the front and not from behind. In particular, it is a hallowed tradition (and part of the slogan) of the Tzanchanim – the Paratroopers.

Today in the Old City of Jerusalem, the Tzanchanim celebrated another part of their unit’s proud history – liberating the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordanian hands, during the 1967 Six Day War – by marching proudly through the Ir Ha’atika.

Jewish pride in Jerusalem: 90 recruits of the paratroopers marched on Thursday evening through Jerusalem’s Old City.

The recruits, who were waving their unit’s flag during the march, sang “Am Yisrael Chai” and Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah”.

The young soldiers made stops in the City of David and the Mount of Olives. Their final stop was the Western Wall.

FYI, I titled this post “Sheleg! Sheleg!”, because it reminded me of when I got caught up in a Jerusalem blizzard almost exactly 20 years ago.

I was nearing the end of my first week of tironut (basic training), and I had been granted a coveted chamshush (acronym for Chamishi, Shishi, Shabbat -  Thursday, Friday, Saturday – the IDF version of a 3-day weekend), since my family had come to visit me from the U.S.

It snowed not only in the mountains of Jerusalem, but also in the Negev Desert, a rarity in Israel. Since the snowstorm closed the Arava road, instead of being surrounded by loved ones, basking in the loving (and laundry-washing, dinner-cooking, shekel-bolstering, etc.) embrace of my family in Jerusalem, I was stuck on my base, surrounded by a bunch of giddy Israelis running around outside shouting, “Sheleg! Sheleg!” And since I had come to Israel from the American snow belt, I was less than thrilled to see snow ruin my beautiful, sweet, elusive chamshush. Yeah, I got your freakin’ sheleg right here.

Anyhoo, more photos here:

(h/t The Retronaut via David Gerstman on Twitter)

Israel has closed the Mughrabi Gate to the Temple Mount, due to significant, ongoing safety concerns related to the rickety, temporary scaffolding propping up the rickety, temporary, prone-to-swaying-under-heavy-traffic wooden bridge. And given that this dangerous, untenable situation has been the status quo since February, 2007, it’s about freaking time.

Officials closed the Mugrabi Bridge on Sunday, three days before the municipality deadline to close the ramp leading from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount.The Jerusalem city engineer, Shlomo Eshkol, has warned over the past year in a series of letters to the prime minister and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation – which oversees the area – that the temporary bridge is unsafe.

The municipality originally set November 28 as the deadline to destroy the bridge, but Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intervened to stop the demolition, worried about triggering riots across the Arab world. In the most recent letter, sent last week, the municipality insisted the entrance must be closed to the public until a new bridge is built.

The closure, which came earlier than expected, touched off a stormy reaction in the Knesset and among right-wing activists.

“Israel doesn’t know how to express its own independence in its own capital,” said Yehudah Glick, the founder and chairman of the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation, which advocates for Jewish access to the site. He said that in the past, when construction caused the closure of the Mugrabi Gate, non-Muslim tourists and pilgrims were allowed to use the Chain Gate, one of the 12 entrances to the Temple Mount. Similar access was not granted on Sunday.

MK Uri Ariel (National Union) called for the immediate demolition of the bridge so construction of a safer alternative could begin.

“But even with this, it would be inconceivable if during construction Jews are hindered from going to the Temple Mount for even one minute, and the construction work should never be an excuse for this,” he said.

Glick and Ariel both called for the prime minister to work to find alternate routes for Jewish worshipers and tourists while the bridge’s fate is decided.

The bridge has been the subject of contention because it is the only entrance for non-Muslims who want to visit the Dome of the Rock. The original earthen ramp collapsed during a snowstorm in 2004, and the temporary bridge was built in its stead, meant to serve for a few months at most until a permanent bridge was built. Repair work on the bridge in 2007 touched off widespread Muslim rioting in Jordan and Jerusalem and calls for a third intifada.

Most people agree that the bridge is indeed dangerous to use, and that closing it is not a political move.

Tour guide Madeline Lavine told The Jerusalem Post in October that she refused to bring tourists up the bridge ever since heavy traffic had caused it to sway beneath her feet while she was accompanying a large group. The wooden structure is flammable and was not meant to handle years of heavy loads, including patrols of border police who use it as the emergency entrance to the Temple Mount in times of unrest. The municipality has warned that a cigarette tossed on the bridge could create a tragedy along the lines of a “Carmel Fire II.”

The only groups that disagree with the city engineer’s findings is the Council for Muslim Interests in Israel and the Wakf Islamic trust. The council says its engineers deem the bridge structurally sound, and that any work on it should be done in coordination with the Wakf.

The issue of a replacement bridge and coordination with Muslim authorities was set to be discussed by the High Court of Justice in June, but the case was pushed off until December 28. Another case involving the Western Wall plaza and the bridge will be heard by the Jerusalem District Court in January.

As usual, Elder is all over it: Sorely needed facts about the Mughrabi ramp and gate

3 weeks ago today, I was at the Kotel with my kids. Of the many things I discussed with them was the proclivity for the Arab & Muslim worlds in general, and the PalArab world in particular, to lash out at imaginary Israeli demons, whenever Israel tries to do something as historically-significant as Judaizing Jerusalem uncovering priceless archaeological treasures, or as banal as performing sorely-needed maintenance.

As we stood in the middle of the plaza, I pointed to the left, showing them where the Western Wall Tunnels, heading northward from the iconic public plaza, were completed during Prime Minister Netanyahu’s first term in the mid ’90s. Then I pointed aaaaaaaaaaaaall the way over to the right, at the place Israel’s enemies and their gullible enablers claimed Israel was trying to tunnel under and destroy – the Al-Aqsa Mosque – located along the southern wall of the Temple Mount. I also mentioned the occasional crises revolving around the Mughrabi Gate in the past, not realizing this non-issue would become an issue again so soon.

And what do both faux crises have in common? In both cases, whether uncovering the subterranean continuation of the Western Wall (by definition OUTSIDE the Temple Mount), or repairing the bridge to one of the Gates of the Temple Mount (ALSO by definition OUTSIDE the Temple Mount), and doing both transparently, them Evil Zionists can’t possibly be tunneling UNDER the Temple Mount, now can they we? All it takes to see that the oft-repeated claims are as absurd as they are contemptible is a little common sense, sadly lacking when it comes to Israel-hatery.

UPDATE: I created a crude yet handy-dandy map, to illustrate my point:

Furthermore, the charge that Israel is “Judaizing Jerusalem” is not only a hackneyed, pathetic refrain; it is also an impossibility. Given that the city is and has been the epicenter of Jewish spiritual and physical life; the uninterrupted focus of our prayers, hopes and dreams for millenia, given that we are constantly unearthing archaeological witness after witness to ancient Jewish life here, Jerusalem already comes PRE-Judaized. As such, Jerusalem can only be DE-Judaized, the attempts at which, as it turns out, are well underway. At the same time the world is wringing hands and gnashing teeth about Israel fixing an old and busted ramp, the Muslim Waqf has been brazenly trying to erase and bulldoze Jewish history, not by mere lies alone, but with actual bulldozers. And the world (including, sadly, the Israeli government) is silent.

When one side in a conflict can lie so effortlessly, so regularly, so remorselessly, and (thanks to the default Western credulity), so blamelessly… when the framework of understanding used by the vast majority of the world is built on a foundation of falsehood as flimsy as the temporary ramp, then how can anything be achieved, aside from another sad act of ‘peace theater’ on the White House lawn? Until such a day as truth is valued above ignorance, above fear, above political correctness, there is simply no hope of achieving any kind of true peace. EVER. And any attempt to force feed it is but a suicidal (or homicidal, as the case may be) fantasy, as it comes to the damn table PRE-failed.

Back to 3 weeks ago, I didn’t specifically take any photos with the Mughrabi Gate/Bridge/Ramp as the main subject, but as I looked more closely, there it was, in all its precariously rickety glory.

See how the flimsy bridge and scaffolding towers over the women’s section at the Kotel? In addition to the people who may be on the ramp at any given time, the potential to injure or kill those below only increases the danger.

ABOUT.

FREAKING.

TIME.

For those of you who didn’t get the reference in the title of this post:

That’s the trailer. Here’s the story behind the film:

One hundred million people worldwide is the target audience of the makers of a 3D Imax documentary on Jerusalem, a not-for-profit venture that they hope will transform the views of people of all backgrounds and contribute to peace in the region.

The Montreal-born, multi-Academy Award-winner Jake Eberts is executive producer of Jerusalem, which is scheduled to open in 2013. The Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (CFHU) is a partner in the project, and will be one of the beneficiaries of the box office and royalties.

—-

Eberts, who is not Jewish, has been fascinated by the city of Jerusalem ever since he and his wife of 43 years, Fiona, spent their honeymoon there.

The media may focus on the city’s conflicts, but Eberts believes Jerusalem, with its diverse peoples and sacredness to the monotheistic faiths, can teach the world much about intercultural harmony. “It remains the beating heart of our world today,” he said, “stirring the imagination of billions.”

“We want to shift the discussion of Jerusalem beyond the politics to why this relatively small city captivates us so much,” Ferguson added.

This message of pluralism and co-existence is one the CFHU is eager to spread globally, said national executive director Rami Kleinmann. “This film has the potential to be the largest educational project on Jerusalem ever.”

Eberts is raising money internationally for Jerusalem, reaching out in particular to the Christian, Muslim and Jewish communities. The 400 guests at the $250-a-ticket Science Centre event were a diverse group.

Jerusalem’s earnings will go to various causes in Jerusalem, on a non-sectarian basis. At Hebrew University, the Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada will benefit.

Jerusalem’s history, spiritual significance and earthly beauty will be the focus, but politics cannot and should not be ignored, said Ferguson. Everyday life in the city today will be explored from the perspective of three teens, Jewish, Christian and Muslim, who are still being cast.

“The story of Jerusalem will be told through the people who call it home,” he said. “The competing narratives give the place its dynamism and energy.”

The filmmakers are working with an advisory board of more than 30, including Hebrew University of Jerusalem faculty. “On the theological, political and community levels, we are determined to get it right, and it is complex. Every word is looked at carefully,” Ferguson said.

The excerpt shown introduces Jerusalem’s successive conquerors and occupants over the centuries, diverse surrounding geography, and mystical architecture through breathtaking aerial views of the city approached from the four directions.

That trailer has received 1.2 million hits online in five months.

—-

Eberts, who has produced more than 50 films, including Chariots of Fire, Dances with Wolves and Gandhi, which have won 37 Oscars, including four for best picture, maintains strong ties to Quebec. Although his principal residences are in London and Paris, he has homes in Montreal and North Hatley.

—-

Actor Kevin Costner, honorary chair of the evening, sent a videotaped tribute to Eberts, whom he regards as a mentor and friend, from Romania where he is shooting a movie.

Read the while thing here.

Isn’t that nice!

If you step back a few thousand years more you arrive at Jerusalem. Its true that the newer bits have been added relatively recently but as it is built across a sprawling and confusing array of hills it’s an extreme navigational challenge. Without GPS I’m pretty much lost from the moment I enter.

For driving in Israel I use the free iPhone app, Waze, which was developed here in Israel just up the road from me. Maybe because of this the Israeli version of Waze has an important feature for a GPS system in Israel: an option to “Keep within areas under Israeli authority”.

I never really paid attention to this option in the past but a couple of weeks ago I took a drive out to the Shomron and in order to do that I had to turn off this particular option. Well, of course, I forgot to turn it back on again.

On leaving Israpundit’s home, I turned on my sat nav, dialed my wife and started driving simultaneously. By the time I started paying attention to the route, I had a gut feel I wasn’t driving on routes I recognised but, just like Luke, I listened to the little voice and just followed the force (OK I blindly obeyed the GPS lady).

Jerusalem to Tel Aviv - yellow is the "normal" route

In the map above, blue is the route I took on this drive, yellow is the way I would normally go. The dashed line is the old border and you can see that the highway 1 route I’d normally take even cuts that border (at a place called Latrun).

I only really knew I was on a new road (for me anyway) when I drove by a “check point” on the other side of the road. My side, leaving Jerusalem, was completely unhindered. Entering Jerusalem there is what looks just like a toll booth and cars were passing mostly unhindered through it. A few miles later I passed through the checkpoint on my side of the road that is the pair of the one I saw earlier. This forced me to slow down but not even stop, as I drove through and back into fully controlled parts of Israel. Once again I was hardly inconvenienced by this checkpoint. And, unlike a toll plaza in the US, they didn’t even take money from me.

I’m sure I’ll be using this route again!

Problem is, this is not Al Aqsa Mosque, but rather The Dome of The Rock.

Sure, they are both on Judaism’s Temple Mount (Har Habayit), but it is inconceivable that people who claim this is their holiest site – and lay a claim to the whole city of Jerusalem on such basis – could make such an error.

Press TV have since realized the error, replacing the above picture with this one:

Tells you much about how dear this site truly is to Muslims.

If that wasn’t already clear (Hat tip: HarelDan).

Just kidding.

Police forces burst onto the Temple Mount plaza on Friday afternoon following the end of Friday prayers at the Al-Aksa Mosque, after dozens of young worshippers started throwing rocks from the entrance of the Mugrahbi Gate towards the Kotel plaza below. Three demonstrators were arrested in connection with rock throwing, and police are expecting more arrests during the course of Shabbat. There were no injuries.

Demonstrators began throwing the rocks next to the Mugrahbi gate around 1:35. Border police entered the plaza around 1:40 and immediately broke up the demonstrations using force. The rest of the worshippers left the premises by 2:30 without incident, the police reported.

Here is video from the Kotel showing Jewish worshipers fleeing from the avalanche of rocks (at around 10 seconds into the video).

(Hat tip: Lenny)

Update: Maybe I am being unkind. Perhaps the Muslims were playing soccer up there, and kept accidentally kicking balls down below.