Temple Institute to Obama: MYOB!

The head of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem has a simple message for President Obama: Mind your own business, and quit interfering with our self-defense.

Richman’s rebuke

Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of the Temple Institute, told off President Barack H. Obama on YouTube on May 30. On May 31, he said much the same things on Arutz-7 Radio.

We are faced with many [Osama] Bin Ladens every day, not just one. What gives you the right to decide we should negotiate with our Bin Ladens while you take yours out?

Rabbi Richman challenged Obama to negotiate with any “entity” that not only refused to recognize America’s right to exist but swore to destroy it. This is telling. Hamas stands by its charter, that refuses to recognize Israel. Hamas also refuses to talk to Israel.

Richman delivered his sharpest rebuke in reply to Obama’s statement that:

The dream of a Jewish and democratic state cannot be fulfilled with permanent occupation.

Richman answered:

Thanks for defining for us what you think that the dream of the Jewish state should be….The dream of the Jewish State is the Land of Israel.

Or, in plain English: Mind your own business, Mr. President!

Richman didn’t say anything about the common canard that the United States has some “occupied lands” of its own. He could have. The parallels between the Mexican War and the Six-Day War are striking. Furthermore, La Raza (The Race) has often said that they want to “reconquer” the American Southwest. But the United Nations does not take them seriously.

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Temple Institute history

The Menorah. Solid gold, with seven lamps and three knobs shaped like almonds. Photo: CNAV

The Temple Institute, since 1987, has sought to rebuild the Jewish Temple for a third time. To make this happen, they have run various programs to let the public know about the Temple and how important it is. But they have another project in their offices in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City. Quite simply, they are restoring and reconstructing all the Temple furniture and vessels from Solomon’s day.

Your editor visited the Temple Institute on April 5, 2011. The Institute by now has reconstructed every piece of furniture that the original Tabernacle had—with one exception. They did not rebuild the Ark of the Covenant, because they hope to rediscover the real one. But they have rebuilt the golden, gold overlain, and copper (not antique bronze!) furnishings and vessels. (If they have rebuilt the 5-meter-wide copper “sea,” they did not tell your editor.) They have even made their best guess at reconstructing the Breastplate of Judgment that the High Priest wore. (Whether they have properly translated the names of the gemstones that represented the twelve Tribes of Israel is impossible to guess correctly. The Temple Institute freely confesses that it made its best guesses after reading scholarly papers representing 30 different points of view.)

Richman protested strongly against the leading rabbis of Jerusalem who had ruled that Jews may not pray on the Temple Mount. He did not update the Temple Institute site after the rabbis did allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount yesterday (and right in front of the SWAT-like Waqf Police!).

Richman will be in America from June 23 through July 11 on a speaking and teaching tour.

Featured image: Temple Institute entrance, Jewish Quarter, Old City, Jerusalem. Photo: CNAV