U.S. ambassador ‘deeply disappointed’ over Temple Mount photoshop

JTA
Published May 23, 2018

WASHINGTON (JTA) — U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said he was “deeply disappointed” to have a photo of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, photoshopped with the mosques replaced by the Temple, thrust in front of him during a tour of a religious town.

“Ambassador Friedman was not aware of the image thrust in front of him when the photo was taken,” the U.S. embassy said Tuesday on Twitter.

“He was deeply disappointed that anyone would take advantage of his visit to Bnei Brak to create controversy,” it said. “The U.S. policy is absolutely clear: we support the status quo on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount.” Haram al-Sharif is the Muslim term for the site.

Friedman had toured Bnei Brak, a mostly haredi Orthodox suburb of Tel Aviv. It’s not clear who thrust the massive photo in front of him, but he is smiling in the picture and it quickly went viral.

Chesed Shel Emeth 2025

The Temple Mount is holy to Jews and Muslims and has been the scene of tensions in recent years. It houses two mosques and overlooks the Western Wall, an outer wall of the ancient Jewish Temple. Entry onto the Temple Mount is controlled in some aspects by Israeli authorities and in others by a Muslim religious authority — the “status quo” the U.S. embassy statement referred to. An extremist stream in Israeli society advocates for actively preparing to replace the mosques with the Third Temple.

Friedman was a central figure influencing President Donald Trump to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem earlier this month. Trump, Freidman and others have emphasized that the move, which has prompted outrage among Palestinians and others in the Muslim world, should have no bearing on the status quo of the holy sites.