In rare rebuke, J Street joins AIPAC in panning Abbas over Jerusalem speech

[aranthus]

7. What historical connection is that?

Seriously. Jerusalem has been the capital of every Jewish state going back over two thousand years. It was the site of the most important Jewish cultural and religious sites. It has been Jewish majority since at least the 1890's. What Palestinian political or cultural institutions have ever been in Jerusalem? None that I know of. Of course, it has the Al-Aqsa Mosque, but the importance of Jerusalem to Islam is the result of the construction of the mosque, not the cause of it. Essentially, the Caliphs built the mosque to compete with Mecca, and claimed that Jerusalem was the place of the ascension of Mohammed, even though there is no mention in the Koran of this. Nevertheless, the Mosque and surrounding area are now holy to Islam. But making Jerusalem the capital of Israel doesn't change that at all. http://www.meforum.org/7099/long-history-of-hypocrisy-about-jerusalem