So far so good as the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has held. New issues though are arising in wake of this agreement and one hits the very heart of Judaism. Before I go into that though it is important to highlight all of the good that has come out of this ceasefire so far. Both sides currently do not have to worry about attacks while Gaza is able to get much-needed aid to its population.

While peace is huge and very very important recent events in the United States have shown the negative implications that are starting to rear their ugly head. Across the US there has been a huge spike in anti-semitism attacks some of which have occurred in broad daylight in very public places. This is rather discouraging to see as just when the violence stops in one part of the world it seems to be kicking up in another.

There has been one bit of news that has come out today about the ongoing peace efforts being made in the Holy Land that is extremely troubling. While Hamas might be in control of the Gaza Strip light I expected negotiations are being run by the Palestinian Authority. The troubling news came out from the President of the PA Mahmoud Abbas who stated that any ceasefire must include the banning of Jewish visitors to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. This could lead to the collapse of the ceasefire if this indeed the case.

This is because the al-Aqsa Mosque compound is located on the ruins of Judaism's holiest place which is known as Temple Mount. Temple Mount is where the Holy of Holies manifested on Earth. While over the years the area has been transformed by all three religions including Christianity for over a thousand years now it has been largely controlled by Islamic leaders and a mosque was built upon it. The Christian period of rule led to the area being called the Dome of the Rock which was believed by some groups of where Soloman's Temple was built. However, once the area was recaptured for the last time by Islamic leaders what was on it was transformed into the al-Aqsa Mosque complex and is where Sunni Muslims believe the Prophet ascended into heaven. 

Thus all three major religions find this site extremely important to their belief system and the idea of one of these groups being forbidden from entering is honestly hard for me to comprehend. This has also not been standard for the last few hundred years for the compound. While Christianity does not value it as highly as it used to be both Judaism and Islam continue to hold it in extremely high regard. Israel agreeing to Jews no longer entering this place is honestly just not going to happen. If the PA is serious about this being a part of the ceasefire it could be doomed as already Jewish individuals have begun to visit again. Hopefully some agreement can be reached soon to solidify and continue toward a permanent peace agreement.