Hearing "Allahu Akbar" on The Temple Mount, #3 of My Har HaBayit Reflections

One of the things I was warned about, prepared for before my עליה להר הבית Aliyah liHar Habayit, Ascent to the Temple Mount was that there are usually women shouting "Allahu Akbar" as if they're spitting out venom to shoot at the Jews who go up.

It's a known fact that they do this as a paid job, sitting on the benches shouting at the Jews. I don't know why, but last Tuesday the women weren't on duty. Maybe they were having a staff trip or fun day or workshop in "voice." The men did the shouting instead, but apparently they didn't have the same enthusiasm.

Rachel Sela, who led our group, told us to think of them as saying "G-d, HaKodesh Baruch Hu" is great and then try to ignore it. That technique worked for me, especially when long-time, veteran Temple Mount Yosef Elbaum left us.

The route he took to leave had him pass many groups of shouters. Elbaum is very well known and easily recognize by everyone, Jews, Arabs, polices, soldiers and civilians.

I took Rachel's suggestion to heart, and actually enjoyed hearing group after group of Arabs calling out to Elbaum that G-d is Great, our G-d that is. The sounds kept echoing and repeating gradually getting further and further away.

It was very important to me to walk around with the body language of one who belongs and is fully sovereign, even though unfortunately, Israel has given The Temple Mount to Jordan and Islam.  It will definitively take a long time to correct that damage.