My friend Lois Blumenfeld was kind enough to share with me her e-mail correspondence with Jean Sasson on behalf of Princess Sultana who wrote "Princess, A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudia Arabia".
Lois objected to page 98 which notes that Jerusalem is the third holiest city to the Muslims and is a city now occupied"and no longer free and open to our people."
In response to her objections,the Sasson web site answers that citizens of Saudia Arabia cannot get Israeli visas and therefore cannot visit the Dome of the Rock.Thus from her point of view Jerusalem is an occupied city etc.
Nothing would make Israel happier,were Saudia Arabia allow its citizens to visit and recognize Israel.In fact no Jew can enter Saudia Arabia, nor can a New or Old Testament be brought in to that country .Christian services are limited to out of the way American bases.
As far as "Holy Cities " nowhere in the Koran is Jerusalem mentioned ,while it is mentioned hundreds of time in our Torah.
Muslims who kneel to pray to Mecca,do so with their back to Jerusalem-Jews pray to Jerusalem.
The King of Morroco who is the Muslim protector of the "holy sites in JERUSALEM' ,never once visited the Temple Mount when it was under Jordanian control .
It was the Jordanians who used Jewish gravestones near the old city for urinals, and prevented Jewish access to the "wailing Wall" (kotel).In contrast to today, where Muslims are free to pray throughout Israel (as well as every other religion) and have access to all holy sites-provided they do not incite mayhem.Israel strictly protects all religious sites.The Dome of the Rock is under Muslim Administration.
Sadly Jewish access to the Temple Mount is restricted, and even silent prayer prevented (if your lips move).
The goal of the PA and the Muslim world is to de-judaize the holy places in Israel, in order to claim that Jews have no connection to the history or the land.Thus they destroy Joseph's tomb, deny our relationship to the Temple (they claim it never existed-I wonder where Jesus really was during his Temple visits if no temple existed?) and our ownership of Mearot Hamachpelah in Hebron,burial place of our forefathers.
Sadly a huge percentage of Israelis, primarily secular and especially youth, have never visited Jerusalem and often don't appreciate its holiness and centrality to our peoplehood.
