Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) commended the Obama Administration for its robust condemnation of the recent report prepared by the Palestinian Authority (PA) denying that Jerusalem�s Western Wall (Kotel) is a Jewish holy site.� Nadler asserted that such falsehoods are both outrageous and offensive, and are extremely harmful to the peace process on which both Israelis and Palestinians are depending.� He issued the following statement:

�I commend the Obama Administration for taking responsible action and condemning, through the State Department, the recent report from the Palestinian Authority (PA) which asserts that the Western Wall is not a Jewish holy site and has no historical connection to the Jewish people.� This is nothing more than a transparent attempt to delegitimize Israel.

�This outrageous report, which flies in the face of all historical facts, is a direct threat to the Middle East peace process and is part of ongoing efforts to threaten Israel�s very existence.� Written by Al-Mutawakil Tata, the PA Deputy Minister of Information, the report contends that the Western Wall is actually part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and that it was only due to Islamic tolerance that Jews were able to worship there, with such worship beginning early in the 20th century.

�Deputy Minister Tata�s report could not be more wrong and malicious.� The Western Wall, built in part during the time of King Herrod, surrounds the Temple Mount on which the First and Second Temples stood before they were destroyed.� Jews have worshipped at the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for thousands of years and, beyond its historical significance, the Wall is the holiest site in Judaism.� As Jews and their friends and allies know well, the Kotel is at the very core of Jewish history and religion.

�This report is a direct assault on the Middle East peace process.� It shows the PA to be willing to deny historical truths to suit its own political ends and it discredits the PA as a good faith negotiating partner.� Instead of antagonizing Israel, the PA should focus on becoming a genuine partner in the peace process.

�Additionally, by denying the historic ties between the Western Wall and the Jewish people, and by suggesting that the site is properly considered a mosque, the PA is seeking to undermine the very foundation of Israel as the home of the Jewish people.� Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev put it well:� �If you deny the Jewish connection to the Western Wall you are in fact denying the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and the land of Israel itself.�� Attempts by the PA to delegitimize Israel must be identified for what they are and denounced.�

(YWN Desk – NYC)