The AP learns about Judaism, but not enough

They changed their explanation about the Temple Mount. But they didn’t get it quite right.

Perhaps they read my blog.

The compound a catalyst for earlier rounds of Israel-Palestinian fighting is home to the golden-capped Dome of the Rock shrine and Al Aqsa mosque and is believed to be the site where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is the third-holiest site in Islam.

Jews venerate the compound as the site of their biblical temples, and one of its outer walls known as the Western Wall is the holiest site in Judaism.

The Wall is not the holiest site in Judaism. The site of the Holy of Holies would be the holiest site in Jerusalem, except we’re not quite sure where it is. It’s somewhere in the Temple Mount, ergo, the holiest site in Judaism. Apparently, this is a common mistake made in the mainstream media. You know, the ones with the layers of editors and fact-checkers to prevent errors like this one. From CAMERA’s article spanking the New York Times for making the same mistake:

The Western Wall is not an actual part of the temple. It is the remnant of the outer retaining wall built by Herod to level the ground and expand the area of the compound housing the Second Jewish Temple. Its holiness derives from its proximity to the Temple site. For the last several hundred years, Jews have prayed at the Western Wall because it was the closest accessible place to the holiest site.