ACT NOW FOR ISRAEL!!!
A major effort is ongoing to retain Jewish control over the Tomb of King David, the thousand-year-old building that houses the coffin of the revered David, King of Israel, on Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
The biblical King David is revered by Jews to this day. A popular song, in fact the first song that many Jewish children learn, contains only the words: “David Melech Israel Hai Vekayam ” – Hebrew for “David King of Israel lives forever” – referring to his legacy that will never be forgotten by Jews of faith.
The goal of King David, who 3,000 years ago united the Kingdom of Israel, was to transform Jerusalem from a physical capital to the spiritual capital of the Jewish People for all times.
Jews have streamed to this site for centuries to recite the Psalms written by David. The tomb is covered with a velvet cloth embroidered with the words of the famous song, which evokes the sense that David’s spirit remains with us.
Despite the legacy of King David to the Jewish People, there are unconfirmed rumors that the Israeli government is on the verge of making a deal to relinquish control over the Tomb of King David to the Vatican, allegedly due to international pressure.
The rumors appear to have “enough substance to have prompted Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely to write a query to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” the Jewish Press reports.
“Hotovely reminded the prime minister of the importance of the tomb of the Biblical monarch, noting its sanctity to the Jewish nation. She warned Netanyahu not to make the same mistake with King David’s Tomb that previous administrations made with the Temple Mount – that is, handing sovereignty over the sacred site to a foreign power.”
The Jordanian Waqf (Muslim Trust) Authority controls the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site in Judaism and where the two Holy Temples stood. The discrimination against non-Muslims at the Temple Mount, including abusive treatment and restrictions against praying there, should be a warning against creating a similar scenario at the Tomb of King David by relinquishing Israeli control, Hotovely pointed out.
Jewish men praying at the site of the Tomb of King David on Monday, demonstrating against a rumored deal to cede Israeli control of the site. (Photo: Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)
Prior to the Six Day War, when the Jewish State – in a war of defense – liberated the Old City of Jerusalem, Jewish access to the Wailing Wall and other holy sites was strictly forbidden. Since the Israeli victory in 1967, there has been complete access to worship and equality for followers of all religions at the holy sites.
“Although an Israeli government source has denied any intention of transferring control over the site to the Vatican, other sources have said otherwise – including journalist Gulio Meotti, an editorial contributor to Arutz Sheva (Israel National News), who maintains there is truth to the rumors [that] a deal is still in the works, the Jewish Press adds.
According to Virtual Jerusalem, “an investigative report in [Israeli newspaper] Makor Rishon cites La Stampa Vatican Insider journalist Andrea Tornielli as saying that the deal has been nearly completed and that Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin is in charge of the negotiations with the Vatican, but Israel denies any such deal.”
The Pope is due to arrive in Israel on May 25.
Rabbi Yaakov Sevilia, an activist for King David’s Tomb, stresses that the tomb is, without a doubt, the burial place of King David; he mentioned a recently published book, The Secret of David’s Tomb, as containing proof of this claim.
Religious Jews have been demonstrating in recent weeks against any deal to cede Jewish control over the site.
Tomb of King David is ‘evidence of Jewish sovereignty in ancient Israel’
“It is inconceivable that this place will be transferred to foreign hands,” Hotovely stated in the letter to Netanyahu.
Member of Parliament Tzipi Hotovely, a leading defender of Jewish sovereignty over the Tomb of King David. (Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
“David’s Tomb is also evidence of Jewish sovereignty in ancient Israel,” she declared. “Handing over the grave of the great leaders of the ancient Jewish state, is in fact an agreement with the Palestinians – who rewrite history and challenge the legitimacy of the State of Israel.”
Rabbi Simcha HaCohen Kook, member of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, has warned that relinquishing David’s Tomb to the Vatican would be a “national disgrace.”
He noted that, unlike some Jewish religious sites, all the Rabbis in Israel have declared that the Tomb of King David is unquestionably on Mount Zion.
Act Now for Israel!
Contact Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Office and demand that he not bow to pressure! Let the Israeli leader know that millions around the world support Jewish sovereignty over the Tomb of King David.
• Phone: From overseas: 011-972-2-670-5555 – From Israel: 02-670-5555
• Fax: From overseas: 011-972-2-566-4838 – From Israel: 02-566-4838
• Write:
Office of the Prime Minister
3 Kaplan St., Qiryat Ben-Gurion
P.O. Box 187, 91919 Jerusalem
Israel
• Email: pm_eng@pmo.gov.il