Even on the Eve of Passover, the World Overlooks Terrorism in Jerusalem

On the eve of Passover, hundreds of Palestinian Arabs attacked police officers with rocks and molotov cocktails at the scene of the world’s holiest Jewish place.

If it were anywhere else in the civilized world, hundreds of those who attacked police would be arrested. But in Israel, the violent terrorists continue to operate with impunity. The site was closed down for many hours,and is now open to “restrictive visitors.” (Codeword for no Jews allowed.)

Last month, a member of the Knesset, along with his guests, was removed “for his own safety” after hundreds of Arabs attacked him. Palestinian Arabs attack Jews at the world’s holiest Jewish site—the Temple Mount—but Israel is the one regularly branded in the media as the oppressor and of operating an apartheid state. When Jews are not attacked physically, Jewish prayer is restricted.

This is frankly a simple issue—freedom of prayer for Jews in the Jewish state must be allowed. Violence cannot be permitted.

On the eve of Passover, remember the words of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, a Zionist leader and founder of the Jewish Self-Defense Organization: “We were not created in order to teach morals and manners to our enemies. Let them learn these things for themselves. We want to hit back at anybody who harms us. Whoever does not repay a blow by a blow is also incapable of repaying a good deed in kind.”

Ronn Torossian is a New York City-based entrepreneur, author and philanthropist. He is a past semifinalist for the annual Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.