Let’s take a look at this article about Israeli opinion on turning over Jerusalem to non-Israeli rule. The headline:
Poll: 37% of Israelis willing to cede sovereignty in Jerusalem’s holy sites
My first thought at that headline was utter shock that so many Israelis were so willing to give up the Temple Mount to the governorship of people who have proven in the past that they have no intention of letting Jews worship at their own holy sites. But then I read the article.
Let’s look at the relevant data.
When asked who should remain sovereign of the Western Wall and Temple Mount, 61% believed Israel should be named sovereign, 16% voted for joint Israeli-Palestinian sovereignty, 21% said the holy places should be under international rule and 1% said Jordan should be named the holy places’ sovereign.
So, let’s rerun those numbers with a different spin. That 16% of joint rule should not be lumped in with those willing to “cede” sovereignty, as the Islamic Waqf already runs far too much of the Temple Mount complex. That’s not really ceding sovereignty, although under the current terms, Jews are not allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. Now the numbers run like this:
78% of Israelis want sole or partnered Israeli rule of Jerusalem’s holy sites.
But then, let’s take a look at the spin on handing the Hashemites the keys to the Jewish holy places, which was revealed in a news article yesterday (that Ehud Olmert immediately denied):
99% of Israelis not willing to cede sovereignty of Jerusalem’s holy sites to Jordan
So many different ways to spin this. Of course, the one that Omri is going to use is:
38% of Israelis out of their minds
As for my opinion: You have got to be kidding me. That many Israelis don’t care about the Temple Mount? That many Israelis have forgotten that under Muslim rules, Jews were forbidden to set foot on their holiest of holy places? That many Israelis don’t know that the Waqf is doing its damnedest to destroy all evidence of Jewish rule of Jerusalem in the Temple Mount?
What is wrong with those people?
It’s times like this that I worry the most for Israel.
Remember that a good percentage of Israeli are militantly secular and anti-religious. They probably see the Temple Mount as something that just boosts the haredim.
There’s something screwy going on with these numbers. A poll this morning puts support for Abbas’s talks at 51% – which is exactly the opposite of everything that everyone has been saying. I can’t find the actual polls on this – have they been testing for strength of belief?