Blockchain and Gold Working Together

A look into monetary history shows that people, when given freedom of choice, opted for precious metals as money. This doesn’t come as a surprise. Precious metals have the physical properties a medium must have to serve as legal tender: They are scarce, homogenous, durable, divisible, mintable, and transportable. They are held in high esteem and represent considerable value per unit of weight. Gold fulfills these requirements par excellence, and this is why it has always been peoples’ first choice in terms of money. Gold has proven its merits as money for millennia; it is the ultimate means of payment.

More recently, gold has been replaced by the state’s unredeemable fiat money — for reasons rather more political than economic. The state prefers money whose value can be altered at will — say, to influence overall demand, redistribute income, and to benefit some at the expense of the many. Gold money stands in the way of such machinations. Fiat money doesn’t. On the contrary, fiat money can simply be printed up; can be created out of thin air.

Fiat money has serious economic and ethical drawbacks, though. It is chronically inflationary, widens the gap between poor and rich, triggers boom-and-bust cycles, and compounds the economy’s debt burden. Most important, a fiat money regime allows the state to expand actually without limit, over time potentially transforming even a minimum state into a maximum state at the expense of individual liberty and freedom.

In the wake of the most recent financial and economic crisis of 2007–2008, many people have become concerned that their savings, mostly invested in fiat-denominated bank accounts and bonds, could be devaluated. This has prompted a search for “good” money.

Somewhat new to the mix are the digital currencies, most famous of which is the virtual unit “bitcoin.” It is a digital currency generated by decentralized, internet-based computers rather than a central authority.

Transactions through digital currencies such as bitcoin are confirmed, or validated, by a decentralized consensus system that uses a “blockchain.” The latter is essentially a public digital ledger, an account statement for transactions among computers. The blockchain is saved on many computers so that it is practically impossible to manipulate. In the case of bitcoin specifically, the blockchain ensures that only the bitcoin’s owner can make a transaction with his bitcoin, that the same bitcoin cannot be created manifold.

In this article, I’ll use bitcoin as my main example, although this technology can be applied to any number of similar digital currencies.

However, this technology has now been used to provide a new means of transferring assets among people: the “colored bitcoin.” A colored bitcoin — or something comparable using blockchain technology — represents a certain asset. For instance, physical gold can be made available for day-to-day transactions — for purchases and sales in supermarkets and on the internet — simply by transferring a gold-backed colored bitcoin from the bitcoin wallet of the buyer to the bitcoin wallet of the seller.

How could one obtain such a gold-backed bitcoin? You would buy, say, physical gold at a gold shop. The latter then issues a colored bitcoin, which represents the ownership of physical gold. The colored bitcoin is, economically speaking, a gold substitute (a money substitute, fully backed by physical gold). It can be used for making purchases and, upon the wish of its owner, it can be redeemed into physical gold at the gold shop at any time.

A colored bitcoin represents a physical thing or asset that exists outside the bitcoin network. It therefore carries with it a risk that the issuer will not live up to his promise. However, there are market solutions to this problem. For instance, the gold can be stored with a particularly trustworthy third party. Or, people hold colored bitcoins issued by various issuers. If the latter are seen to be of the same riskiness, they would trade at par to each other (after making allowance for possible storage and handling costs).

That said, the gold-on-the-blockchain technology appears to hold great potential when it comes to making possible a world of digital gold money transactions. So far, governments use regulation and taxation to inhibit and even prevent unencumbered competition among monies. However, the evolution of the blockchain largely circumvents many of the obstacles governments put in the way of a free market in money. Where it will lead is, of course, is impossible to predict with certainty.

In any case, when we’re comparing to government fiat money, digital currencies can offer attractive alternatives. The same goes for gold lovers, who may see blockchain technology as the means of conveying physical gold; and in the end digitized gold money could become a practical option.

Hebrew Words and Expressions ....slang delux with no apparent exact translation

The Hebrew language has many magnificent words that simply don’t hold the same greatness when translated to English. Here are 19 of them.

1. CHAVAL AL HAZMAN (חבל אל הזמן)

This phrase translates to “shame on the time.” It is used when referring to an amazing experience. It is like saying you could only wish for more time.
2. ANI META ALECHA (אני מתה עליך)

“I’m dead about you,” similar to saying “I’m crazy about you”.
3. TITCHADESH (תתחדשי)

This word translates to “be new.” It is used when someone purchases new clothing or has a new item. It is like saying “Enjoy your new thing.”
4. FIRGUN (פירגון)

It is to have a generous, unselfish spirit and a joy in the accomplishment of someone else. It is having an empathic joy for something good that has happened. It means to make someone feel good without having an alternative motive.
5. CHUTZPAH (חצפה)

A characteristic trait to describe someone with audacity, be it for good or bad. Now more commonly used to describe someone when they have crossed the line of acceptable behavior.
6. KOEV LI HALEV (כואב לי הלב)

The translation is “my heart hurts” and it is used as a form of showing empathy for something or someone. It is used to say you identify with the suffering of someone else so much that it causes your own heart to ache.

7. STAM (סתם)

The word can be used in several ways. It can be used like “just because,” “no reason,” or “just kidding.” It is for when something isn’t important.
8. DAVKA (דווקא)

It’s like saying despite expectations or when something is ironic or contrary to belief. The opposite of what is expected.
9. NESHAMA (נשמה)

A word used similarly to “sweetie” but it literally meaning “soul.” People say “neshama sheli” which means “my soul.” It is used often to both men and women. It is like saying you are so important to me that you are part of my soul.
10. L’ECOLE SRATIM (לאכול סרטים)

It means “to eat movies.” It’s like saying someone loves drama. Used for someone overdramatic or someone who likes making a scene out of something small.
11. CHAI B’SERET (חי בסרט)

Similar to the last one….”Living in a movie.” When someone is being over the top and unrealistic about a situation.
11. LACHFOR (לחפור)

Means “to dig” but it is used to describe someone who talks too much and loves to gossip.

12. NAIM MEOD (נעים מאוד)

This is used upon meeting someone for the first time. It is in replace of “nice to meet you” but it literally means “feels very comfortable.”
13. GO’AL NEFESH (גועל נפש)

The first word means “revulsion” or “disgust” and the second word means “soul.” A disgust that reaches the soul.
14. LA’ASOT CHAIM (לעשות חיים)

This is something you say to someone that is about to embark on a journey or travel or do basically anything exciting. It means “to do or make life.” That is it. Plain and simple, just do life.
15. AL HA’PANIM (על הפנים)

Translates to “on the face.” Used to describe when something was really awful. “The food tonight was on my face,” meaning very bad.
16. SOF HA’OLAM SMOLA (סוף העולם שמאלה)

Slang used to describe a place that is in the middle of nowhere. Translation, “at the end of the world, turn left.”
17. SOF HADERECH (סוף הדרך)

Literally means “end of the road” but used to describe something awesome. Like, “that party was end of the road.”
18. KAPARA ALECHA (כפרה עליך)

The exact translation is “Atonement over you” but used as “darling” or “sweetie.” The word Kapara is actually the word used for an old ritual orthodox Jews did on Yom Kippur (the day of atonement).
19. YALLA (יאללה)

Although this is an Arabic word, it has become a common word in Hebrew slang. It means “let’s go” and it can be used in so many ways. It can be used for “let’s go,” “hurry up,” etc. The best thing is when you’re nearing the end of a phone call and the moment someone says “yalla,” both parties know it’s time to go and there is not awkward, “Well, I guess I’ll let you go….” This word is like the equivalent of verbal punctuation!

Jerusalem Facts and Myths

FACTS AND MYTHS ABOUT JERUSALEM

• - Jerusalem is an Arab city
• “The Temple Mount has always been a Muslim holy place and Judaism has no connection to the site.”
• - “Jerusalem need not be the capital of Israel.”
• - “Unlike the Jews, the Arabs were willing to accept the internationalization of Jerusalem.”
• - “Internationalization is the best solution to resolve the conflicting claims over Jerusalem.”
• - “While in control of Jersualem, Jordan ensured freedom of worship for all religions.”
• - “Jordan safeguarded Jewish holy places.”
• - “Under Israeli rule, religious freedom has been curbed in Jerusalem.”
• - “Israel denies Muslims and Christians free access to their holy sites.”
• - “Israel has refused to discuss a compromise on the future of Jerusalem.”
• - “Israel has restricted the political rights of Palestinian Arabs in Jerusalem.”
• - “Under UN Resolution 242, East Jerusalem is considered ‘occupied territory.’”
• - “East Jerusalem should be part of a Palestinian state because because all its residents are Palestinian Arabs and no Jews have ever lived there.”
• - “The United States does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”
• - “Palestinians have been careful to preserve the archaeological relics of the Temple Mount.”
• “Jerusalem is an Arab City.”

FACT

Jews have been living in Jerusalem continuously for three millennia. They have constituted the largest single group of inhabitants there since the 1840’s. Jerusalem contains the Western Wall of the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism.

Jerusalem was never the capital of any Arab entity. In fact, it was a backwater for most of Arab history, and never served as a provincial capital under Muslim rule. While the entirety of Jerusalem is holy to Jews, Muslims only revere one site - the Al Aksa Mosque. “To a Muslim,” observed British writer Christopher Sykes, “there is a profound difference between Jerusalem and Mecca or Medina. The latter are holy places containing holy sites.” ¹

Jerusalem’s Population ²

Year	Jews	Muslims	Christians	Total
1844	7,120	5,000	3,390	15,510
1876	12,000	7,560	5,470	25,030
1896	28,112	8,560	8,748	45,420
1922	33,971	13,411	4,699	52,081
1931	51,222	19,894	19,335	90,451
1948	100,000	40,000	25,000	165,000
1967	195,700	54,963	12,646	263,309
1987	340,000	121,000	14,000	475,000
1990	378,200	131,800	14,400	524,400
2009	476,000	247,800	15,200	760,800
2011	648,900	302,600	16,400	967,900
2012	660,200	310,700	16,500	987,400

MYTH

“The Temple Mount has always been a Muslim holy place and Judaism has no connection to the site.”

FACT

During the 2000 Camp David Summit, Yasser Arafat said that no Jewish Temple ever existed on the Temple Mount. ³ A year later, the Palestinian Authority-appointed Mufti of Jerusalem, Ikrima Sabri, told the German publication Die Welt, “There is not [even] the smallest indication of the existence of a Jewish temple on this place in the past. In the whole city, there is not even a single stone indicating Jewish history.”⁴

These views are contradicted by a book entitled A Brief Guide to al-Haram al-Sharif, published by the Supreme Moslem Council in 1930. The Council, the principal Muslim authority in Jerusalem during theBritish Mandate, wrote in the guide that the Temple Mount site “is one of the oldest in the world. Its sanctity dates from the earliest times. Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.”

“The Zionist movement has invented that this was the site of Solomon’s Temple. But this is all a lie.” — Sheik Raed Salah, a leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel 5

In a description of the area of Solomon’s Stables, which Islamic Waqf officials converted into a new mosque in 1996, the guide states: “ . . . ​little is known for certain about the early history of the chamber itself. It dates probably as far back as the construction of Solomon’s Temple . . . ​According to Josephus, it was in existence and was used as a place of refuge by the Jews at the time of the conquest of Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70 A.D.” ⁶

More authoritatively, the Koran—the holy book of Islam—describes Solomon’s construction of the First Temple (34:13) and recounts the destruction of the First and Second Temples (17:7).

The Jewish connection to the Temple Mount dates back more than 3,000 years and is rooted in tradition and history. When Abraham bound his son Isaac upon an altar as a sacrifice to God, he is believed to have done so atop Mount Moriah, today’s Temple Mount. The First Temple’s Holy of Holies contained the originalArk of the Covenant, and both the First and Second Temples were the centers of Jewish religious and social life until the Second Temple’s destruction by the Romans. After the destruction of the Second Temple, control of the Temple Mount passed through several conquering powers. It was during the early period of Muslim control, in the Seventh Century, that the Dome of the Rock was built on the site of the ancient temples.

MYTH

“Jerusalem need not be the capital of Israel.”

FACT

Ever since King David made Jerusalem the capital of Israel more than 3,000 years ago, the city has played a central role in Jewish existence. The Temple Mount in the Old City is the object of Jewish veneration and the focus of Jewish prayer. Three times a day, for thousands of years, Jews have prayed “To Jerusalem, thy city, shall we return with joy,” and have repeated the Psalmist’s oath: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.”

“For three thousand years, Jerusalem has been the center of Jewish hope and longing. No other city has played such a dominant role in the history, culture, religion and consciousness of a people as has Jerusalem in the life of Jewry and Judaism. Throughout centuries of exile, Jerusalem remained alive in the hearts of Jews everywhere as the focal point of Jewish history, the symbol of ancient glory, spiritual fulfillment and modern renewal. This heart and soul of the Jewish people engenders the thought that if you want one simple word to symbolize all of Jewish history, that word would be ‘Jerusalem.’ ” — Teddy Kollek 7

MYTH

“Unlike the Jews, the Arabs were willing to accept the internationalization of Jerusalem.”

FACT

When the United Nations took up the Palestine question in 1947, it recommended that all of Jerusalem be internationalized. The Vatican and many predominantly Catholic delegations pushed for this status, but a key reason for the UN decision was the Soviet Bloc’s desire to embarrass Transjordan’s King Abdullah and his British patrons by denying Abdullah control of the city.

The Jewish Agency, after much soul-searching, agreed to accept internationalization in the hope that in the short-run it would protect the city from bloodshed and the new state from conflict. Since the partition resolution called for a referendum on the city’s status after 10 years, and Jews comprised a substantial majority, the expectation was that the city would later be incorporated into Israel. The Arab states were as bitterly opposed to the internationalization of Jerusalem as they were to the rest of the partition plan.

In May 1948, Jordan invaded and occupied East Jerusalem, dividing the city for the first time in its history, and driving thousands of Jews—whose families had lived in the city for centuries—into exile. The UN partition plan, including its proposal that Jerusalem be internationalized, was overtaken by events.

“You ought to let the Jews have Jerusalem; it was they who made it famous.” — Winston Churchill 8

MYTH

“Internationalization is the best solution to resolve the conflicting claims over Jerusalem.”

FACT

The seeming intractability of resolving the conflicting claims to Jerusalem has led some people to resurrect the idea of internationalizing the city. Curiously, the idea had little support during the 19 years Jordan controlled the Old City and barred Jews and Israeli Muslims from their holy sites.

The fact that Jerusalem is disputed, or that it is of importance to people other than Israeli Jews, does not mean the city belongs to others or should be ruled by some international regime. There is no precedent for such a setup. The closest thing to an international city was post-war Berlin when the four powers shared control of the city, and that experiment proved to be a disaster.

Even if Israel were amenable to such an idea, what conceivable international group could be entrusted to protect the freedoms Israel already guarantees? Surely not the United Nations, which has shown no understanding of Israeli concerns since partition. Israel can count only on the support of the United States, and it is only in the UN Security Council that an American veto can protect Israel from political mischief by other nations.

MYTH

While in control of Jerusalem, Jordan ensured freedom of worship for all religions.”

FACT

From 1948–67, Jerusalem was divided between Israel and Jordan. Israel made western Jerusalem its capital;Jordan occupied the eastern section. Because Jordan maintained a state of war with Israel, the city became, in essence, two armed camps, replete with concrete walls and bunkers, barbed-wire fences, minefields and other military fortifications.

Under paragraph eight of the1949 Armistice Agreement, Jordan and Israel were to establish committees to arrange the resumption of the normal functioning of cultural and humanitarian institutions on Mt. Scopus, use of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives, and free access to holy places and cultural institutions. Jordanviolated the agreement, however, and denied Israelis access to the Western Wall and to the cemetery on theMount of Olives, where Jews have buried their dead for more than 2,500 years.

Under Jordanian rule, “Israeli Christians were subjected to various restrictions during their seasonal pilgrimages to their holy places” in Jerusalem, noted Teddy Kollek. “Only limited numbers were grudgingly permitted to briefly visit the Old City and Bethlehem at Christmas and Easter.” ⁹

In 1955 and 1964, Jordan passed laws imposing strict government control on Christian schools, including restrictions on the opening of new schools, state control over school finances and appointment of teachers and the requirements that the Koran be taught. In 1953 and 1965, Jordan adopted laws abrogating the right of Christian religious and charitable institutions to acquire real estate in Jerusalem.

In 1958, police seized the Armenian Patriarch-elect and deported him from Jordan, paving the way for the election of a patriarch supported by King Hussein’s government. Because of these repressive policies, many Christians emigrated from Jerusalem. Their numbers declined from 25,000 in 1949 to fewer than 13,000 in June 1967. ¹⁰

These discriminatory laws were abolished by Israel after the city was reunited in 1967.

MYTH

“Jordan safeguarded Jewish holy places.”

FACT

Jordan desecrated Jewish holy places during its occupation in 1948–67. King Hussein permitted the construction of a road to the Intercontinental Hotel across the Mount of Olives cemetery. Hundreds of Jewish graves were destroyed by a highway that could have easily been built elsewhere. The gravestones, honoring the memory of rabbis and sages, were used by the engineer corps of the Jordanian Arab Legion as pavement and latrines in army camps (inscriptions on the stones were still visible when Israel liberated the city).

The ancient Jewish Quarter of the Old City was ravaged, 58 Jerusalem synagogues—some centuries old—were destroyed or ruined, others were turned into stables and chicken coops. Slum dwellings were built abutting the Western Wall. ¹¹

MYTH

“Under Israeli rule, religious freedom has been curbed in Jerusalem.”

FACT

After the 1967 war, Israel abolished all the discriminatory laws promulgated by Jordan and adopted its own tough standard for safeguarding access to religious shrines. “Whoever does anything that is likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the various religions to the places sacred to them,” Israeli law stipulates, is “liable to imprisonment for a term of five years.” Israel also entrusted administration of the holy places to their respective religious authorities. Thus, for example, the Muslim Waqf has responsibility for the mosques on the Temple Mount.

The State Department notes that Israeli law provides for freedom of worship, and the Government respects this right. ¹²

“I also respect the fact that Israel allows for a multifaith climate in which every Friday a thousand Muslims pray openly on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. When I saw that, I had to ask myself, where in the Islamic world can 1,000 Jews get together and pray in full public view?” — Muslim author Irshad Manji 13

MYTH

“Israel denies Muslims and Christians free access to their holy sites.”

FACT

Since 1967, hundreds of thousands of Muslims and Christians—many from Arab countries that remain in a state of war with Israel—have come to Jerusalem to see their holy places.

According to Islam, the prophet Muhammad was miraculously transported from Mecca to Jerusalem, and it was from there that he made his ascent to heaven. The Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque, both built in the seventh century, made definitive the identification of Jerusalem as the “Remote Place” that is mentioned in the Koran, and thus a holy place after Mecca and Medina. Muslim rights on the Temple Mount, the site of the two shrines, have not been infringed.

“There is only one Jerusalem. From our perspective, Jerusalem is not a subject for compromise. Jerusalem was ours, will be ours, is ours and will remain as such forever.” — Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin 14

After reuniting Jerusalem during the Six-Day War, Defense Minister Moshe Dayan permitted the Islamic authority, the Waqf, to continue its civil authority on the Temple Mount even though it is part of the holiest site in Judaism. The Waqf oversees all day-to-day activity there. An Israeli presence is in place at the entrance to the Temple Mount to ensure access for people of all religions.

Arab leaders are free to visit Jerusalem to pray, just as Egyptian President Anwar Sadat did at the al-Aqsamosque in 1977. For security reasons, restrictions are sometimes temporarily imposed on the Temple Mount, but the right to worship has never been abridged, and other mosques remain accessible even in times of high tension.

For Christians, Jerusalem is the place where Jesus lived, preached, died and was resurrected. While it is the heavenly rather than the earthly Jerusalem that is emphasized by the Church, places mentioned in the New Testament as the sites of Jesus’ ministry have drawn pilgrims and devoted worshipers for centuries. Among these sites are the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Garden of Gethsemane, the site of the Last Supper, and the Via Dolorosa with the fourteen Stations of the Cross.

The rights of the various Christian churches to custody of the Christian holy places in Jerusalem were defined in the course of the nineteenth century, when Jerusalem was part of the Ottoman Empire. Known as the “status quo arrangement for the Christian holy places in Jerusalem,” these rights remained in force during the period of the British Mandate and are still upheld today in Israel.

MYTH

“Israel has refused to discuss a compromise on the future of Jerusalem.”

FACT

Jerusalem was never the capital of any Arab entity. Palestinians have no special claim to the city; they simply demand it as their capital. Nevertheless, Israel has recognized that the city has a large Palestinian population, that the city is important to Muslims, and that making concessions on the sovereignty of the city might help minimize the conflict with the Palestinians. The Palestinians, however, have shown no reciprocal appreciation for the Jewish majority in the city, the significance of Jerusalem to the Jewish people or the fact that it is already the nation’s capital.

The Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles (DoP) signed in 1993 left open the status of Jerusalem. Article V said only that Jerusalem is one of the issues to be discussed in the permanent status negotiations.

“Anyone who relinquishes a single inch of Jerusalem is neither an Arab nor a Muslim.” — Yasser Arafat 15

Most Israelis oppose dividing Jerusalem, still, efforts have been made to find some compromise that could satisfy Palestinian interests. For example, while the Labor Party was in power, Knesset Member Yossi Beilin reportedly reached a tentative agreement that would allow the Palestinians to claim the city as their capital without Israel sacrificing sovereignty over its capital. Beilin’s idea was to allow the Palestinians to set up their capital in a West Bank suburb of Jerusalem — Abu Dis. The PA subsequently constructed a building for its parliament in the city.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered dramatic concessions that would have allowed the Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem to become the capital of a Palestinian state, and given the Palestinians control over the Muslim holy places on the Temple Mount. These ideas were discussed at the White House Summit in December 2000, but rejected by Yasser Arafat.

In 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered a peace plan that included the partitioning of Jerusalem on a demographic basis. Abbas rejected the offer.

MYTH

“Israel has restricted the political rights of Palestinian Arabs in Jerusalem.”

FACT

Along with religious freedom, Palestinian Arabs in Jerusalem have unprecedented political rights. Arab residents were given the choice of whether to become Israeli citizens. Most chose to retain their Jordanian citizenship. Moreover, regardless of whether they are citizens, Jerusalem Arabs are permitted to vote in municipal elections and play a role in the administration of the city.

“I’ll urge the Muslims to launch jihad and to use all their capabilities to restore Muslim Palestine and the holy al-Aqsa mosque from the Zionist usurpers and aggressors. The Muslims must be united in the confrontation of the Jews and those who support them.” — Saudi King Fahd 16

MYTH

“Under UN Resolution 242, East Jerusalem is considered ‘occupied territory.’ ”

FACT
One drafter of the UN Resolution was then-U.S. Ambassador to the UN Arthur Goldberg. According to Goldberg, “Resolution 242 in no way refers to Jerusalem, and this omission was deliberate. . . . Jerusalem was a discrete matter, not linked to the West Bank.” In several speeches at the UN in 1967, Goldberg said: “I repeatedly stated that the armistice lines of 1948 were intended to be temporary. This, of course, was particularly true of Jerusalem. At no time in these many speeches did I refer to East Jerusalem as occupied territory.” ¹⁷

Because Israel was defending itself from aggression in the 1948 and 1967 wars, former President of the International Court of Justice Steven Schwebel wrote, it has a better claim to sovereignty over Jerusalem than its Arab neighbors. ¹⁸

MYTH

“East Jerusalem should be part of a Palestinian state because all its residents are Palestinian Arabs and no Jews have ever lived there.”

FACT

Before 1865, the entire population of Jerusalem lived behind the Old City walls (what today would be considered part of the eastern part of the city). Later, the city began to expand beyond the walls because of population growth, and both Jews and Arabs began to build in new areas of the city.

By the time of partition, a thriving Jewish community was living in the eastern part of Jerusalem, an area that included the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. This area of the city also contains many sites of importance to the Jewish religion, including the City of David, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. In addition, major institutions such as Hebrew University and the original Hadassah Hospital are on Mount Scopus—in eastern Jerusalem.

The only time that the eastern part of Jerusalem was exclusively Arab was between 1949 and 1967, and that was because Jordan occupied the area and forcibly expelled all the Jews.

“The basis of our position remains that Jerusalem must never again be a divided city. We did not approve of the status quo before 1967; in no way do we advocate a return to it now.” — President George Bush 19

MYTH

“The United States does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”

FACT

Of the 190 nations with which America has diplomatic relations, Israel is the only one whose capital is not recognized by the U.S. government. The U.S. embassy, like most others, is in Tel Aviv, 40 miles fromJerusalem. The United States does maintain a consulate in East Jerusalem, however, that deals with Palestinians in the territories and works independently of the embassy, reporting directly to Washington. Today, then, we have the anomaly that American diplomats refuse to meet with Israelis in their capital because Jerusalem’s status is negotiable, but make their contacts with Palestinians in the city.

In 1990, Congress passed a resolution declaring that “Jerusalem is and should remain the capital of the State of Israel” and “must remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected.” During the 1992 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton said: “I recognize Jerusalem as an undivided city, the eternal capital of Israel, and I believe in the principle of moving our embassy to Jerusalem.” He never reiterated this view as president; consequently, official U.S. policy remained that the status ofJerusalem is a matter for negotiations.

In an effort to change this policy, Congress overwhelmingly passed The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.This landmark bill declared that, as a statement of official U.S. policy, Jerusalem should be recognized as the undivided, eternal capital of Israel and required that the U.S. embassy in Israel be established inJerusalem no later than May 1999. The law also included a waiver that allowed the president to essentially ignore the legislation if he deemed doing so to be in the best interest of the United States. President Clintonexercised that option.

“I would be blind to disclaim the Jewish connection to Jerusalem.” — Sari Nusseibeh, President of Al Quds University 20

During the 2000 presidential campaign George W. Bush promised that as President he would immediately “begin the process of moving the United States ambassador to the city Israel has chosen as its capital.” ²¹ As President, however, Bush followed Clinton’s precedent and repeatedly used the presidential waiver to prevent the embassy from being moved. Since coming to office in 2008, President Obama has continued the policy of his predecessors.

While critics of congressional efforts to force the administration to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital insist that such a move would harm the peace process, supporters of the legislation argue the opposite is true. By making clear the United States position that Jerusalem should remain unified under Israeli sovereignty, unrealistic Palestinian expectations regarding the city can be moderated and thereby enhance the prospects for a final agreement.

MYTH

“Palestinians have been careful to preserve the archaeological relics of the Temple Mount.”

FACT

Though it has refused to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount, the Waqf cooperated with Israeli inspectors when conducting work on the holy site. After the 1993 Oslo accords, however, the Jordanian-controlled Waqf was replaced with representatives beholden to the Palestinian Authority. Following the riots that accompanied Israel’s decision to open an exit from the Western Wall tunnel, the Waqf ceased cooperating with Israel.

The Waqf has subsequently prevented Israeli inspectors from overseeing work done on the Mount that has caused irreparable damage to archaeological remains from the First and Second Temple periods. Israeli archaeologists found that during extensive construction work, thousands of tons of gravel––which contained important relics––was removed from the Mount and discarded in the trash. Experts say that even the artifacts that were not destroyed were rendered archaeologically useless because the Palestinian construction workers mixed finds from diverse periods when they scooped up earth with bulldozers. ²²

“They should be using a toothbrush, not a bulldozer.” — Dr. Gabriel Barkan on Palestinian excavations on the Temple Mount 23

In August 2007, Israeli archaeologists discovered the Muslim authorities had begun fresh excavations on theTemple Mount to create a 500-foot trench for water pipes and electricity cables. By indiscriminately piling up earth and stones, Israeli officials say the Palestinians are once again harming a sensitive area. Archaeologists from the nonpartisan Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount say the digging has damaged a wall that dates back to Second-Temple times and was likely part of the Temple courts. ²⁴

While an international protest was mounted when Israel began to renovate a bridge to the Temple Mountthat caused no harm, the same people who expressed such great concern about the integrity of the site have remained silent while the Palestinians destroy priceless relics.

Given the sensitivity of the Temple Mount, and the tensions already existing between Israelis and Palestinians over Jerusalem, the Israeli government has not interfered in the Waqf’s activities. Meanwhile, the destruction of the past continues.

“There was never a Jewish temple on Al-Aqsa [the mosque compound] and there is no proof that there was ever a temple.” — Former mufti of Jerusalem, Ikrema Sabri 25

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Sources:
¹ Encounter, (February 1968).
² John Oesterreicher and Anne Sinai, eds., Jerusalem, (NY: John Day, 1974), p. 1; Israel Central Bureau of Statistics; Jerusalem Foundation; Municipality of Jerusalem; JTA, (May 20, 2009). Totals include those classified as “other.”
³ Interview with Dennis Ross, Fox News Sunday, (April 21, 2002).
⁴ Sheik ‘Ikrima Sabri, PA-appointed Mufti of Jerusalem, Interviewed by German magazine Die Welt, (January 17, 2001), [Trans. MEMRI].
⁵ Leon and Jill Uris, Jerusalem, (New York: Doubleday and Company, 1981), p. 13.
⁶ “A Brief Guide to the Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem,” Supreme Muslim Council, (1925).
⁷ Teddy Kollek, Jerusalem, (DC: Washington Institute For Near East Policy, 1990), pp. 19–20.
⁸ Sir Eveyln Shuckburgh, Descent to Suez; Diaries 1951–56, (London, 1986).
⁹ Kollek, p. 15.
¹⁰ Kollek, p. 16.
¹¹ Kollek, p. 15.
¹² “2010 Report on International Religious Freedom,” Released by the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, (Washington, D.C., November 17, 2010).
¹³ Pearl Sheffy Gefen, “Irshad Manji, Muslim Refusenik,” Lifestyles Magazine, (Summer 2004), p. 29.
¹⁴ Jerusalem Day Address to Knesset, (May 29, 1995).
¹⁵ Voice of Palestine, Algiers, (September 2, 1993).
¹⁶ Saudi Press Agency, (July 15, 1986).
¹⁷ New York Times, (March 12, 1980).
¹⁸ American Journal of International Law, (April 1970), pp. 346–47.
¹⁹ Letter from President George Bush to Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek, (March 13, 1990).
²⁰ Jerusalem Post, (November 12, 2001).
²¹ Speech to AIPAC Policy Conference, (May 22, 2000).
²² Jewish Telegraphic Agency, (February 13, 2001).
²³ Martin Asser, “Israeli anger over holy site work,” BBC News, (August 28, 2007).
²⁴ Martin Asser, “Israeli anger over holy site work,” BBC News, (August 28, 2007); Etgar Lefkovits, “Archaeologists: Muslim dig damaged Temple wall,” Jerusalem Post, (August 31, 2007).
²⁵ Mike Seid, “Western Wall was never part of temple,” Jerusalem Post, (October 25, 2007).