Disarm the Temple Mount “Bomb”

The Temple Mount is almost universally regarded as a powder keg although it is certainly not. If religious extremists were able to ignite a religious war they would already have done so. The canard according to which Israel plans to build a Third Temple on the Temple Mount has become part of the Arab consensus. It is not doubted, almost everyone in the Arab world believes that it is only a matter of time and even so are most Arab governments eager to align with Israel, initially at least secretly so. This proves that archaeological works and the building of synagogues on the Mount is not contrary to normalization with the Arab world. The opposite is true, Israel refraining from realizing Jewish rights on the Mount remains a thorn in the side of Arab-Israeli relations. Rather, Israel’s maintenance of the status quo creates profound suspicions and fears of hidden agendas. Were Israel to realize Jewish rights on the Mount through archaeological excavations and the building of synagogues without building a temple would that in the long term clear the air and significantly improve Arab-Israeli relations. The new status quo should be anchored in a new basic law stating that the temple should only be rebuilt with the coming of the messiah.