Fury over repairing the ramp

To: yourviews@CNN.com

Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 5:23 PM

Subject: Fury over repairing the ramp

How you view the events depends on the relative importance you attach to calm analysis.

A centuries-old stairway, leading from the Jewish Western Wall Plaza  to the Mughrabi Gate, collapsed during storms in 2004. It was replaced with a temporary wooden bridge which Israel claims now needs to be replaced in the interests of safety for the tourists (97% Christians) who use it.

The current furor is over two bulldozers digging foundations for pylons to support the renovated bridge for pedestrians. Although the work is not being carried out on, but near it, Islamists claim that the work will undermine the foundations of the Al-Aksa Mosque or Temple Mount and is part of a conspiracy to destroy it. 

 The Israeli construction is 300 m apart from the Al-Aksa Mosque and there is a huge ancient retaining wall between them.  So can the danger be real? 

QUESTION: Or is the volcano of rage which has erupted in the same category as the reaction, a while ago, to the Danish cartoons? (See picture below).

Surely sane opinion would treat seriously the offer by Israel authorities to place 24 hour TV surveillance of the work being carried out so that it can be viewed around the world on the internet, as reported by CNN's Ben Wiederman.

 Maurice Ostroff

Herzliya,

Israel