Authentic Jewish Position on Al-Aqsa

Authentic Jewish Position on Al-Aqsa

 

 

Letter by Rabbi Josef Chaim Sonnenfeld, Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem in 1931

Dec. 6, 1931 - Jerusalem...To the honorable Muslim Congress of Jerusalem,

 Orthodox Jewry in Palestine, under the auspices of the worldwide Orthodox organization Agudas Yisroel, is honored to greet the Muslim Congress in the Holy City of Jerusalem. May it be G-d’s will that this gathering of Muslim leaders bring blessing to the city and the land chosen by G-d, and help to bring about peace among all its inhabitants.

 The Congress will deal with the question of the Islamic holy sites in the Holy Land. In regard to this, it is important to us to declare before all those gathered, and before all of the Muslim world, that Jews have no intention to challenge the rights of Muslims to their holy sites, or even to demand any rights to these places, just as we do not want others to challenge our rights to sites holy to us.

 We completely deny any suspicion that we want to demand rights to your holy site that is called “the Al-Aqsa Mosque” and the other holy sites located on the Temple Mount compound.

 As far as the Western Wall, the place from which the Divine Presence never departed, our only wish is that we be allowed the same privilege as was allowed our grandfathers – to pour out our hearts in prayer respectfully, without disturbance, before G-d who dwells in this place.

 We hope that a spirit of peace will envelop the Congress, helping to remove the suspicions harbored in the hearts of each segment of the population against the other. May the Holy One, blessed is He, spread His canopy of peace over all the inhabitants of the land, giving success to its building and flowering for the good of all.

 The Center of Agudas Yisroel in the Holy Land, Jerusalem

Photo, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld (center) welcomed by King Abdullah I of Jordan (second from left)

Courtesy: True Torah Jews