The role played by the Jews in the history and destiny of Jerusalem is unparalleled. It is their city and always has been. The Christians, Muslims, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, Iranians, British, Mongols, Egyptians, have merely borrowed it. That's not Zionism. That's not political fantasy. It's flesh and blood history.
Some invaders looted and trashed the place in their conquests, others preserved its sacred architecture and rebuild its temples. They were all uninvited guests.
Actually, maybe not all.
I recently heard on a podcast, I forgot which one, that Jewish leaders mobilized the Arabs in the 6th century to wage war on the Byzantines, reconquer Jerusalem and rebuild their temple, birthing Islam in the process.
It could be possible. Both the Arabs and Jews hated the Roman empire so teaming up to wage war against it makes political and military sense.
The Muhammad myth has to be explained because the historical proof for his existence is still lacking. The history Muslims provide isn't hard scientific proof but religious fables.
Christian scholar Jay Smith says that the Arabs conquered in the sign of the Cross, prayed facing Jerusalem, and only later developed Islam in the 8th, 9th, and 10th centuries.
Whether the figure of Muhammad was a Jewish messiah conjured up to rouse the tribal Arabs in a religious war for Jerusalem, or a new religious symbol invented post hoc of the Arab conquests, who knows. Neither can be dismissed out of hand. All avenues must be looked into. All paths should be investigated.
But, on a geopolitical and human level, none of that ancient history matters now.
What matters today are the facts, injustices, and dangers before us.
Innocent children are being massacred by a nuclear-armed rogue state that bombs sovereign nations and repeatedly threatens to blow up American and Western cities.
Israel under its current leadership has gone insane. I don't know if it's being deliberately set up to be politically sacrificed on the altar of world government or if its leaders are really that crazy.
What I know for certain is that Trump, Khamenei, and Netanyahu are not leaders. They are dangerous fanatics and habitual liars.
What I also know is that Israel is geopolitically and strategically insignificant. Why Washington and Tehran are pouring their national resources and political energies into this conflict is puzzling. They have bigger fish to fry.
And what's the endgame?
Giving the Palestinians a state won't solve the conflict. Hamas can't govern a damn thing. And returning the hostages won't end Israel's endless bloodlust.
The Trump peace plan is a ruse, meant to keep the nations of the region off-balanced. We must remember the guy is a trickster.
And it's not just a Jewish-Muslim war. The whole world is in a bind because a superpower, a regional power, and nukes are involved in this drama.
I think a three state solution, one for the Jews, one for the Christians, and one for the Muslims, would create lasting conditions for peace. But which party speaks for the Christians and which for the Muslims? Currently one is voiceless, and the other utters extremist nonsense. And the Jewish voice, the loudest of them all, is drowning out every other voice.