Where’s the Coverage? PA Accuses Israel of Trying to Destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque to Rebuild “Alleged Temple”
On Oct. 2, 2012, Palestinian Media Watch issued a report detailing repeated accusations in official Palestinian Authority media that Israel is attempting to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque. This occured on at least five occasions in September alone. One example appeared in Al-Hayat Al-Jadida on Sept. 20, 2012:
The Islamic-Christian Council for Jerusalem and the Holy Places … declared that Jerusalem today is very different from the Islamic and Christian Jerusalem, since acts of Judaization, including demolition, destruction, and banishment, have made the occupied city into something different, [something] adapted to the Jews’ extremist goals, and it (the Council) warned that the these programs’ crowning achievement will be the destruction of Al-Aqsa and the building of the alleged Temple on its ruins.
Jerusalem was founded as the Jewish capital by King David approximately three thousand years ago. It was holy to Jews before it ever was holy to Christians or Muslims and therefore impossible to “Judaize.”
Note the reference by the PA media to “the alleged Temple”. PMW writes:
The use of the term “alleged Temple” to deny Jewish history has been PA policy under Chairman Mahmoud Abbas for many years. In August, after Abbas himself used the expression, Palestinian Media Watch reported that the term “alleged Temple” had been used nearly 100 times in 2011-2012. As this report documents, the PA continues to use the term.
Both Jews and Muslims lay claim to the Temple Mount and it is one of the thorny issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Yet, anyone with the most basic understanding of religious history knows that Christianity acknowledges the existence of the Temple. After all, in Matthew 21:12, Jesus throws the money changers out of the Temple, not the “alleged” Temple. No one with any credibility can deny the historical fact of the Jewish Temple as thousands of archeological finds support the existence of not one but two Temples on the site.
Absurd accusations that Israel is attempting to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque have been covered by some Jewish media but they have not made it into any of the popular press. Perhaps, you’re thinking to yourself, if a world leader made this accusation at, say, the United Nations General Assembly, then major media outlets would cover it. Think again. On Sept. 25, 2012, King Abdullah of Jordan stood before the world and declared:
We are extremely concerned by threats to Jerusalem and the sanctity of its Muslim and Christian holy sites… [A]ny attempt to erase the Arab, Muslim, or Christian identity of Jerusalem will not be tolerated.
So then… Where’s the coverage?
More from SNAPSHOTS
Double Standards: Boycotts and Discrimination in MassLive
May 16, 2025
Anti-Israel activists, including Harvard University’s Lara Jirmanus, a clinical instructor, seem to struggle with the concept of “discrimination.” Quoted in a May 14 MassLive article, “Harvard ‘failed to respond’ to 450 discrimination complaints. Staff hand-delivered [...]
Swarthmore Students Are Learning: It Was Never About Palestinian Rights
May 14, 2025
Students at Swarthmore College are so close to understanding the conflict. An article in the Swarthmore Phoenix details the frustrations of student activists with the college’s Students for Justice in Palestine. The gist of their criticism is [...]
AFP Arabic Stops Mislabeling Northern Israeli Communities ‘Settlements”
August 10, 2021
A view of Metulla, northern Israel (Photo by Hadar Sela)After failing to set the record straight last May when Agence France Presse's Arabic service repeatedly referred to Jewish communities in northern Israel as "settlements," the [...]
NY Times Praises Ilhan Omar’s Book While Glossing Over Her Antisemitism
August 19, 2020
A recent New York Times book review boosts Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) autobiography while glossing over her antisemitism. In the paper’s Aug. 16, 2020 edition, NYT reporter Christina Cauterucci writes: The memoir offers breathing room [...]
When TV Interviews of Ilhan Omar Constitute Journalistic Malpractice
August 11, 2020
Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) documented animosity toward Jews and Israel was ignored in recent interviews by MSNBC and C-SPAN. MSNBC’s The Beat for July 23, 2020 included host Ari Melber’s 10-minute conversation at 6:16 [...]
Boston TV Station WCVB Teamed Up With Terrorist Supporter CAIR
July 7, 2020
WCVB-TV (channel 5) (Boston’s ABC network affiliate) recently misled area viewers about a matter involving antisemitic propaganda. This occurred on its local Sunday show Cityline hosted by Karen Holmes Ward who is described by the [...]
Harper’s Magazine Echoed Palestinian Propaganda Condemning Israel And America
June 2, 2020
Writing in Harper's, Kevin Baker condemns the U.S. Middle East peace plan [“The Striking Gesture,” Easy Chair, May 2020], mischaracterizing it as, “Give up all your [Palestinian] hopes and your holiest places, embark on a [...]