(Daniel Siryoti/Israel Hayom/JNS and Arutz Sheva) The Palestinian Authority was outraged by a photo of U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman holding an image of Jerusalem altered to remove the iconic Dome of the Rock and insert an as-yet-nonexistent Third Temple.
According to Israeli media reports, the picture was thrust into Friedman’s hands during a visit to an ultra-Orthodox NGO in Bnei Brak that works with haredi children with learning disabilities. The U.S. Embassy said in a statement that he had not been aware of the image and was “deeply disappointed” that his visit had been taken advantage of in that way.
The picture, which was a photograph of the modern Old City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount with the Holy Temple digitally imposed over the Dome of the Rock, was presented to Ambassador Friedman by the Achiya organization.
Commenting on the photo, Saeb Erekat, a close associate of P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas, said, “This is reckless, brazen behavior. It is aggression over Jerusalem. Anyone who does this is blatantly trying to turn the conflict into a violent one on the basis of religion.”
The publication of the picture on the haredi news site Kikar Hashabbat aroused outrage among left-wing activists on social networks, despite the fact that the picture was thrust on him without his knowledge.
An official at the U.S. Embassy responded to the criticism Tuesday evening, claiming the ambassador was unaware of the content of the photo.
“We demanded an apology from the organization for allowing one of their employees to present the controversial image to the ambassador during his visit, and the American policy is absolutely clear: we support the status quo regarding the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount,” the embassy source said.
The organization apologized for the incident and said: “The management of Achiya wishes to apologize to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, and to the U.S. Embassy in Israel. A member of the Achiya staff presented the picture to the ambassador without the approval of Achiya, the embassy or the ambassador.”
