Wall Street Journal Wrong on the Wall

By Published On: July 18, 2017

WSJ-Logo.jpg

The Wall Street Journal is the latest media outlet to err on the Western Wall, misidentifying it as Judaism’s holiest site. The July 14 article by Nancy Shekter-Porat (“Israeli Police Officers Shot Dead in Jerusalem Temple Mount Attack“) erred:

Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City, was the location of an ancient Jewish temple. It is bordered on one side by the Western Wall, considered the holiest site in Judaism. Al Aqsa mosque, which sits on the esplanade, is the third holiest site in Islam, after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. (Emphasis added.)

The Western Wall is not Judaism’s holiest site; the Temple Mount, the site of the first and second temples which housed the Holy of Holies (the inner sanctuary where the Ark of the Covenant was located), holds that distinction. The Western Wall, a retaining wall of the Temple Mount compound, obtained its holy status due to its proximity to the Holy of Holies. It is the holiest site where Jewish prayer is permitted, as Jews are prohibited from praying at the Temple Mount, their holiest site.

Multiple media outlets including The New York Times and The Washington Post, The Telegraph, BBC and many more, have corrected this identical error.

CAMERA has contacted The Journal to request a correction. Stay tuned for an update.

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