It is not true that the recent Palestine riots were started by the Jews because they wanted to take possession of the Mosque of Omar, writes Dr. Alexander Mombelli, Jerusalem correspondent of the National Catholic Welfare Council News. “Indeed it must be remembered that no religious Jew, who has any regard for the Holy Places will ever enter the area of the Mosque of Omar, that is the site of the Temple. The reason is that every religious Jew considers himself unclean and he cannot enter the Holy Site until the coming of the Messiah is proclaimed by the Jews. To this day Jews have considered it a sin to walk upon any part of the Temple area on the ground that they might be stepping upon the most sacred spots which even in ancient times, when the Temple stood, they were prohibited from entering. A religious Jew will therefore not enter the area of the Mosque of Omar until the advent of the Messiah is proclaimed by the Jews.” Dr. Mombelli recalled that when Sir Moses Montefiore, ignorant of the law, entered the area of the Temple, he was immediately excommunicated by the Palestine rabbis.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
