TISHA B'AV, THE SADDEST DAY IN THE JEWISH CALENDAR, IS HELD TODAY to commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.
The national day of Jewish mourning has become associated with remembrance of other major calamities which have befallen the Jewish people in more recent history also, including the Holocaust.
As the Book of Lamentations is read in synagogues and prayers are offered, it is with great sadness that we see the Palestinian Authority issuing provoking statements about the mere presence of Jewish people in the Temple Mount.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "This evening we commemorate the fast of Tisha B'Av, in which the Jewish people remembers the tragedy that befell us when the Temple was destroyed, Jerusalem was destroyed, and the land of Israel was destroyed. What was destroyed due to baseless hatred, will be built from pure love - from unity and cohesion in the face of the great challenges that stand before our people".
"On this evening of remembrance we welcome our return to Jerusalem, our capital, after two thousand years of longing. We will continue to build it, defend it, and ensure its prosperity. United Jerusalem will remain under the authority of Israel forever", Prime Minister Netanyahu added.
President, ministers condemn Arab rioting on Temple Mount during Tisha B’Av
Politie inval op het Jeruzalemse Tempelplein
Watch: Temple Mount Mosque, a very 'holy' place for muslims (they destroy the interior themselves).
We call on Israel to remove all of Islam from the Temple Mount, for world-'peace' sake, so Jews and Christians can peacefully and freely pray and worship there!
