Second Jewish News Today

Over the past week, Australian Jews have celebrated Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights - here's what it's all about.

I wrote this originally in June of this year...it seems more appropriate now than ever When the Second Jewish Commonwealth was declared in 1948,

From the blog of Zvi Grumet at The Times of Israel

As a scholar of global Islam, I teach an introduction to Islam course and include a discussion about Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem as part of the syllabus. That’s because Al-Aqsa has deep religious significance for Muslims around the world. But it is also important to highlight its remarkable political relevance for Palestinians. These two facts make

By Ken Chitwood, University of Southern California | - As a scholar of global Islam, I teach an introduction to …

There is no, and never has been a nation called Palestine or a people called Palestinians.

The Al-Aqsa mosque is situated on a hill known to Jews as Har ha-Bayit, or Temple Mount, and to Muslims internationally as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary.

A view of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and its Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem's Old City. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty ImagesAs a scholar of global Islam, I teach an introduction to Islam course and include a discussion about Al-Aqsa as part of the syllabus. That’s because Al-Aqsa has deep religious significance for Muslims around the world. But it is also important to highlight its remarkable political relevance for Palestinians. These two facts make it a focal point for conflict. The...

The Al-Aqsa mosque, a flashpoint in Hama’ recent assault against Israel, hosts daily prayers and Friday gatherings. It lies adjacent to important Jewish and Christian religious locales.

The Masjid al-Aqsa, or simply Al-Aqsa, means “the farthest mosque” or “the farthest sanctuary,” and refers to the lead-domed mosque within the sacred precinct of Haram al-Sharif – “the Noble Enclosure.” The precinct includes the Dome of the Rock, the four minarets, the compounds historic gates and the mosque itself.