Building bridges, normally a positive act, is cause for protest and violence in Jerusalem.

Building bridges, normally a positive act, is cause for protest and violence in Jerusalem. In early February, the Israel Antiquities Authority set about building a bridge to the Temple Mount to replace a walkway that had been damaged by snow in 2004. The Temple Mount is a contentious place, home to the ruins of the second Jewish Temple, the holiest site in Judaism, as well as the al-Aqsa mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. Palestinian Muslim leaders quickly spread the rumor that the Jews were trying to destroy the mosque, which stands some 300 feet from the bridge and has gone untouched. The Israeli government has offered to stream round-the-clock video of the project in order to assuage Muslim fears and quell daily riots. But reason and truth are feeble weapons against this libel, only the latest of many lies used as pretense to sow violence toward the Jews.