5. Rabbi Algaze: Jerusalem is Not the City of 3 Religions

Hillel Fendel
A7 News

Rabbi David Algaze, founder and spiritual leader of the Havurat Yisrael synagogue in Queens, New York, says the disappearance of Israel would not horrify the U.S. government unduly. Rabbi Algaze (pronounced Al-gahzi), Chairman of the World Committee for the Land of Israel, spoke with Israel National Radio’s Yishai Fleisher this week, as part of an official visit to Israel.

Rabbi Algaze says it is a mistake to call Jerusalem the “City of Three Religions” and to glorify the Moslem claim to Jerusalem, that Obama’s objective is to change the relationship between the U.S. and Israel, and that the Arabs apparently do not want peace with either Israel or the world. He says the two-state solution should be banned.

Excerpts from the interview:

On anti-Semitism:

“The Jewish People is always going to be hated around the world in one way or another. We had a small lull in anti-Semitic activity following the discovery of the atrocities of the Holocaust, but it is now reawakening. Today’s version is of a new kind, masked as anti-Israel. The world doesn't condone hating Jews, but feels free to hate Israelis and Israel, which is really the same thing.”

On what can be done about rising anti-Israel sentiment:

“We have to appeal to the millions of good people around the world, those who want what is right – but the problem is that we are not presenting our case well, and certainly not as effectively as the Arab side.” He explained that when Israel first heroically liberated Jerusalem in the Six Day War, the world largely applauded – “and the anti-Semites were silent. But when we started to give it away – in negotiations, or in innuendoes - then people began to believe that maybe it’s not ours. We have to make it clear that there is nothing wrong with the Jewish People’s return to its homeland. The government has made its message mostly one of security – somewhat to our detriment.”

On Jerusalem:

“Jerusalem is known romantically as the City of Three Religions – but this is a serious mistake. Yes, there are many religions here, and Israel has been very tolerant towards them and protects the rights of all – but this doesn’t make this a city of three religions, any more than New York is a city of ten religions! The only religion that has always claimed Jerusalem as its central city throughout history is Judaism. For Islam to claim this city in any sense is totally absurd; they came to Jerusalem as invaders, just as they invaded other parts of the world – this is a ridiculous claim and yet we glorify it. We must emphasize that this is our city; we welcome others, but we will never divide it. This foolish claim of a universal city is the planting of the seeds of the division of Jerusalem.

On the Obama Administration and Israel:

“Most American Jews have coasted along, never seeing American commitments to Israel diminish; they have taken this for granted - and now might be an important time for American Jewry to recognize that there might be people like Obama and those in his Administration who will take advantage of any mistake made by Israel. Their agenda is to change the relationship with Israel and the Arabs. If Israel would, Heaven forbid, disappear or be seriously harmed, they would certainly not be horrified; the State Department, after all, considered the creation of Israel a major sin.”



On Israel advocacy:

“It is quite unusual in history for a nation to arise from the dust after 2,000 years and return to its original homeland. So we must explain this to the world: Just like the Scottish would not be relocated to Poland, the Jews belong in Israel and we do not have to share our land. By offering to share it, we weaken our claim, and this weakens us altogether.”

On the World Committee for the Land of Israel:

“We express our nation’s historical, legal, and Biblical claims to this land, without equivocation. We’re not here because we built kibbutzim 100 years ago or because of the Holocaust. We’re here because our forefathers have never forgotten this place ever since they were forcibly thrown out 2,000 years ago, and because we mourn it every year and every day, and because it is fundamental to Jewish Law and practice.



“The issue is not peace, because it doesn’t even look like the Arabs want peace, based on the way they’re talking and acting. They apparently want to conquer the entire world. So it could be that there won’t be peace. We have to talk instead about ‘rights.’ If a non-Jew wants to live in this Land, he will have rights, but not sovereignty… The two-state solution should be banned from our vocabulary.”