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US Envoy David Friedman Poses with Photo Image Showing Jewish Temple Replacing Al-Aqsa

Written by Subject: Israel - Palestine

US Envoy David Friedman Poses with Photo Image Showing Jewish Temple Replacing Al-Aqsa

by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org - Home - Stephen Lendman)

Notorious Zionist ideologue David Friedman is Trump's ambassador to Israel, a disturbing choice when announced.

He one-sidedly supports Israeli apartheid rule, its lawless settlement expansions on stolen Palestinian land.

He's dismissive about Palestinian self-determination, earlier saying "(n)obody really knows how many Palestinians live there."  

Including refugees and diaspora ones, their numbers about equal Israel's Jewish population, heading toward becoming a majority.

Earlier asked about Palestinian statehood, he said "not without the approval of the Israelis. This is an issue that Israel has to deal with on its own because it will have to deal with the consequences."

He's an Islamophobe right-wing extremist, a despicable character, opposed to a just peace, favoring Israeli control over Palestinian lives and welfare, dismissive of their rights.

Earlier he served as president of American Friends of Bet El Institutions, an organization involved in raising millions of dollars annually for the orthodox settlement by that name near Jerusalem - on stolen Palestinian land.

Shamefully calling Israel a robust democracy, he earlier said its officials "have to make the decision on whether or not to give up land to create a Palestinian state," adding:

It's not an "American imperative for it to be an independent Palestinian state."

Trump "feel(s) no pressure to make self-defeating concessions" to Palestinians. "America and Israel will enjoy unprecedented military and strategic cooperation, and there will be no daylight between the two countries."

Commenting on Trump's Jerusalem declaration, he called moving Washington' embassy to the international city a "beautiful and uplifting event" - showing utter contempt for world community public opinion and Palestinian rights he doesn't give a damn about.

He mocked the deaths of massacred Gazans, disgracefully calling long-suffering/defenseless human beings demonstrating peaceful for their rights "known Hamas terrorists" - a despicable, insensitive Big Lie.

On Tuesday, Friedman posed next to a computer-generated image given him, showing a third Jewish temple instead of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Dome of the Rock in East Jerusalem's Old City.

He was given the photo during his visit to Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv - hosted by the ultra-Orthodox Achiya organization.

The Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) tweeted: "What's missing in this photo of Jerusalem that US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman is looking at?" 

"The Dome of the Rock & Al-Aqsa Mosque. Removing the Islamic holy sites is a long-term goal of far-right Israeli Jewish extremists who want to erase Palestinians from Jerusalem."

A US Jerusalem embassy explanation of the incident rang hollow, saying Friedman "was not aware of the image thrust in front of him when the photo was taken." 

"He was deeply disappointed that anyone would take advantage of his visit to Bnei Brak to create controversy." 

He has two eyes apparently working well. He certainly viewed the image shown him before posing with it all smiles.

Hardline Israeli extremists long sought replacing Al-Aqsa with a third Jewish temple. MK Oren Hazan earlier pledged to destroy Al-Aqsa, saying:

"It would not be responsible at this point in time to tell you how we would do it, but I will say it clear and loud, when I have the opportunity to do it, I will."

His extremism is shared by a good many other Israeli hardliners - perhaps Friedman as well without publicly admitting it.

VISIT MY NEW WEB SITE: stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman). Contact at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

My newest book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III."

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

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