A synagogue on the Temple Mount? Activists call for construction to begin

A large group of Israeli activists are calling on the government to establish a synagogue on the Temple Mount and open it for Jewish prayer, according to media reports.

A large group of Israeli activists are calling on the government to establish a synagogue on the Temple Mount and open it for Jewish prayer, according to media reports.

On Sunday, Religious Zionists leaders gathered to discuss the situation on the Temple Mount, known as Har Habayit in Hebrew. The reports did not indicate specifically which leaders took part in the talks.

Jews believe the site - venerated as holy in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike - is where the Beit Hamikdash used to sit.

Late last month, riots erupted on the Temple Mount as thousands of Palestinians stormed the Golden Gate, which had been closed by a court order since 2003. Then, Jerusalem police arrested two senior Waqf officials – east Jerusalem Waqf chairman Sheikh Abdel Azim Salhab and deputy director of the Waqf Sheikh Najeh Bkeirat – banning them from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for 40 days.

The Israeli activists said that based on the violation of the status quo on the Temple Mount, they wanted to establish a synagogue in the Golden Gate area, which Jews refer to as “Sha’ar HaRachamim.” The Muslims recently established another mosque there.

The Israeli activists also said that Jewish prayer on the mount should be a precondition for any future coalition agreement, according to reports.

Currently, the Jerusalem Waqf Islamic religious trust controls and manages the Islamic edifices on and around the Temple Mount. The east Jerusalem Waqf is controlled by Jordan. No Jewish or Christian prayer is allowed on the mountain and such prayer is subject to arrest.

Since last month, the Golden Gate area remains open despite Israeli attempts to close it and in violation of a court order. The Muslims have threatened violence if Israel attempt to re-shut the area.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/A-synagogue-on-the-Temple-Mount-Activists-call-for-construction-to-begin-582477

The Working Families Party Helped Democrats Regain Power in New York. Now Democrats Are Trying to Kill It.

Democrats and progressive groups across the state of New York are pushing back hard against an effort to ban fusion voting, a system that allows multiple parties to nominate the same candidate. The assault, according to those on the receiving end, is being driven by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s ongoing hostility toward the Working Families Party, which has been a primary beneficiary of fusion voting in the state.

A majority of Democrats in the state Senate, the entire New York congressional delegation, and a large swath of grassroots groups have all weighed in against the move, which would gut the Working Families Party and handicap the Democratic Party along the way.

“Banning fusion is both substantively misguided and costly for Democrats,” wrote the state’s congressional delegation in an open letter in February, signed by everyone from Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “It could threaten to put marginal members, who won by just thousands of votes, in jeopardy, and also make it harder to gain more seats in 2020. Without fusion, it leaves the WFP ballot line open to be hijacked by opportunistic spoilers and damages Democratic prospects.”

The dynamics of the fight have implications for the future direction of the national Democratic Party, as well. At its core, the debate is about whether centrist Democrats are willing to be partners in a coalition with progressives if and when the progressives are the ones driving the agenda — as is increasingly the case in New York. Should an Elizabeth Warren or a Bernie Sanders become the party’s presidential nominee, Democrats like Cuomo would be forced into a difficult decision: Support the Democratic Party and back the left, which means upsetting the status quo; or support the status quo, which means keeping Republicans in power.

Cuomo’s approach to the rising progressive energy in New York suggests that, at least for him, the decision is an easy one: Attack the left. The New York State Democratic Committee, which is effectively controlled by Cuomo, voted to ban fusion voting at its convention on Monday. Backers of the ban have said they will push to include it in the state’s must-pass budget, an attempt to force the hand of Democrats who oppose it.

The governor has not personally endorsed this particular effort at a ban, but opponents say his fingerprints are all over it. The loudest advocate of the ban is state party chair Jay Jacobs, who Cuomo appointed to the position in January. Cuomo’s office did not respond to a request for comment, but his spokesperson Rich Azzopardi has responded to the outcry with a tweet that appeared to distance Cuomo from the move.

More

https://theintercept.com/2019/03/04/working-families-party-ny-cuomo/

>>5510821

Forgot about this Q

Jews and Freemasons — a not-so-secret brotherhood

Not long ago, Marvin Greenwald, 75, said a tearful goodbye to his best friend Vic Trommer.

It was a good funeral.

Mourners shared favorite memories. The rabbi led them in Kaddish. And Trommer was laid to rest in the proper Jewish manner.

But this was not Greenwald's last goodbye to his friend. A few weeks later, he attended another memorial for Trommer, held at the San Francisco Scottish Rite Masonic Center at 19th Avenue and Sloat.

There, Greenwald and dozens of others, Jews and non-Jews, gathered to memorialize Trommer, this time in the manner of another ancient tradition.

A sprig of evergreen — representing the eternal soul of the departed, used in all such memorials — was held aloft before the mourners. Then, Trommer's widow accepted the Legion of Merit medal, presented on behalf of the Sovereign Grand Inspector General the Illustrious H. Douglas Lemons, 33rd degree.

Illustrious? Thirty-third degree?

Greenwald and Trommer were more than friends and fellow Jews. They also were fellow Freemasons, members of that little understood secret society, exalted by some, viciously excoriated by others.

As it turns out, Greenwald and Trommer are not unique. Many Jews over the years have joined Freemasonry, an ecumenical organization open to men of all faiths. Scottish Rite is one of several international Masonic orders.

Greenwald, a Millbrae resident, knows many Masons who are Jewish. And Christian. And Muslim. The ranks of Freemasonry have included statesmen from Ben Franklin to Jesse Helms, musicians from composer Jean Sibelius to cowboy Gene Autry. Presidents Fillmore, Jackson, Taylor, Hoover and both Roosevelts were Masons.

Famous Jewish Masons include Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, David Sarnoff, Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Cantor and Harry Houdini.

For some, the word "Mason" brings to mind images of Shriners, grown men sporting tasseled fezzes and driving around Las Vegas in little cars. There's

that famously known handshake by which Masons identify each other (only Masons know how it's done) and the ritual aprons they don during certain ceremonies.

For others, Freemasonry elicits images of mysterious rites, of a vast worldwide satanic conspiracy. Hitler so mistrusted Masons he threw untold thousands of them into the camps and, later, the ovens.

But to Greenwald, Freemasonry presents a "rich history of goodness." He cites the 22 Shriners children's hospitals around the country, including one formerly in San Francisco and now located in Sacramento. All are funded 100 percent by Masons. "There are no billing departments," notes Greenwald.

He cites the $424 million Masonic charities have spent in burn, orthopedic and spinal chord injury research.

Moreover, he says, membership has helped make him "a better man all around. The friendships are wonderful. These are men of integrity who believe in compassion, honesty and love."

https://www.jweekly.com/2003/09/10/jews-and-freemasons-a-not-so-secret-brotherhood/

• The Independent Order of Odd Fellows

• Lions Clubs International

• Rotary Club

• Optimist International

• Rotary International