Temple Mount / Haram al-Sharif has been a source of religious and political tension between Israelis and Palestinians for years. Today, it is at the center of the current wave of terror.
This is one of Islam’s holiest sites, the holiest one in Judaism and a frequent flash point for violence. Due to recent events and according to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Israel has agreed to install cameras on the site, while PM Netanyahu issued a statement that only Muslims can pray on the site, while “non-Muslims visit”.
We held an in-depth discussion on what all this means in practice on the site and how it may, or may not, affect the current wave of terror in Israel. Speakers addressed in depth the historical, religious and political aspects of what has become, one of the most volatile places in the world.
Prof. Avraham Sela, is a scholar on the Middle East and International Relations and a senior research fellow at the Truman Institute Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is the author of two books concerning the Arab Israeli conflict and the Hamas movement.
Prof. Moshe Amirav, teaches Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an expert on the Jerusalem political conflict. In 2001 he served as an adviser to Prime Minister Barak. during the Camp David negotiations, he headed a committee of experts who prepared blueprints for a political settlement in Jerusalem.
Dr. Shmuel Berkowitz, an expert on Jerusalem and the holy sites of Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Israel and the disputed territories. A researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.
