Sunday evening's soccer encounter between Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Netanya ended in a 1-1 draw, but the event was again overshadowed by a blunt show of racism by hundreds of Beitar fans.

Considering Beitar's dire recent form in the Premier League – four losses and a draw in the last five games – one could believe that that the home fans would be overjoyed when their team scored in the 48th minute. After a weak first half from the hosts, Avi Rikan sent a delicious through ball which cut through the Netanya defense, finding Chechen forward Zaur Sadayev, who controlled the ball with his chest and sweetly struck home from inside the box. While most Beitar fans and players celebrated the goal, some 300 fans walked out in disgust.

Haaretz, 3 March 2013

Update:  See also "Beitar Jerusalem fans walk out over signing of two Muslim Chechen players", Independent, 4 March 2013

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Suspected Jewish extremists scrawled anti-Arab graffiti on the headstones in an ancient Muslim cemetery in west Jerusalem, police and witnesses told AFP on Thursday.

"The words 'price tag' and Stars of David were scrawled on around a dozen tombs in the Muslim cemetery in Mamilla in central Jerusalem," a police spokeswoman told AFP, saying an inquiry had been opened.

An AFP correspondent at the scene said the vandals had also written "Mohammed is dead" and "Maale Rehavam" on the tombs some of which date back to the 12th century.

Price tag is a euphemism for hate crimes carried out by Israeli extremists which generally target Palestinians or Arabs and their property.

Such incident often take place in retaliation for Israeli government moves to dismantle unauthorised settler outposts, with Thursday's vandalism apparently linked to the removal of six caravans from the Maale Rehavam outpost in the southern West Bank a day earlier. The move sparked angry protests by settlers and their supporters in and around Jerusalem.

There have been several attacks on Mamilla graveyard, known in Arabic as Ma'man Allah cemetery, which dates from the 12th century and is the resting place of several Sufi saints.

Descendants of those interred in the west Jerusalem cemetery say it also houses the remains of soldiers and officials of legendary Muslim ruler Saladin.

AFP, 14 February 2013

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Prosecutors on Thursday filed indictments against four Beitar Jerusalem fans for racism, including the harassing of the soccer team's two new Muslim players from Chechnya.

All four fans are between 22 and 24 years old. Three of them were indicted for making racist statements during Beitar's game against Bnei Yehuda last month. A fourth fan, 23, was charged with harassing the two Muslim players during their first practice with the team last week.

Racism has worsened at Teddy Stadium after Beitar late last month signed the two Muslim players, Gabriel Kadiev and Zaur Sadaev.

According to the charge sheet, the fourth fan arrived at the Beitar facility dressed in a T-shirt with the slogan "Mohammed is 100 percent dead." He also waved a sign with a picture of Nadallah, a former Muslim player for Beitar. It quoted him from an interview: "I don't recommend a Muslim to join Beitar; the extremists won't change."

Haaretz, 7 February 2013

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For the second time in two weeks, Israeli settlers stormed the historical Mosque of the Prophet Daud in Jerusalem, and they broke the ceramic and marble tiles covering three walls. The tiles date back to the 17th century.

The incident sparked widespread anger and condemnation amongst those concerned with holy places in Jerusalem, especially that it is not the first time the mosque is attacked. The occupation authorities have already seized the mosque and turned its first floor into a Jewish synagogue.

For its part, a delegation of Al-Aqsa Foundation for endowment and heritage came to the scene to preview the damage, where eyewitnesses told them that the assault took place at night, causing extensive damage and a clear violation to the sanctity of the mosque and Islamic architecture.

The Foundation's head, Zaki Mohamed Aghbarieh, denounced the attack that came "in light of repeated Israeli attacks on Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem in general, and those surrounding the Al-Aqsa Mosque in particular."

Aghbarieh considered it as an attack on Islamic architecture especially that the marble that has been broken down dates back to the Ottoman era.

The Foundation called on Arab, Islamic and Palestinian nation to take urgent actions in order to preserve Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem in particular, calling on all concerned parties to save the Islamic heritage and architecture from the Israeli threats.

The Supreme Islamic Council and the Department of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and Al-Dajani family in Jerusalem confirmed more than once that the mosque and all its surrounding places are all pure Islamic endowments.

It is worth mentioning that the mosque was subjected several times to frequent attacks in order to obliterate its Islamic features, and to turn it into a Talmudic and biblical shrine.

Friends of Al Aqsa, 7 January 2013

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The Al Aqsa mosque including the famous Islamic building, and has a crucial role for Muslims known as houses of worship second only to Al Haram mosque in Mecca.

God’s presence not confined to the Muslim holy places, but present in the middle of the faithful able to implement any rules and teachings of Islam with complete confidence. Various Islamic buildings in the whole world become a place of Muslims prostrate for the creator, ask for forgiveness and ask for blessings in lives. Building renovations that many Islamic leaders have done without removing the element of Muslim history, and Islamic characteristics reflected in the wall or roof of mosque, to make the related mosques including the famous Islamic building.

The mosque, a place to cultivate the development of Islamic religion and beliefs of Muslims to get closer to God are spiritual. In today’s modern era, Islamic building serves not only Muslims to prostrate, but it has other functions such as, teaching Islamic education to the youth. Among the many famous Islamic building that spread across the world, one of the mosques that currently getting a lot of contradiction is the Al Aqsa mosque, because it located in Jerusalem and it located became a bone of contention between Jews and Muslims.

In accordance with the principles and teachings of Islam, that Islam is the true God does not want his followers to violence in any case and always do the deeds of peace, respect for others and others. Therefore, it can say that the seizure of this famous Islamic building became a character of the people who are not believers, regardless of whether it is Muslim or non-Muslim.

The Al Aqsa mosque is the mosque with a square shape, which can accommodates more than 5000 Muslims who will pray. This famous Islamic building has undergone several renovations and done after an earthquake. This famous Islamic building has four towers intended to give warning to the people around the time of prayer. The interior of the mosque is thick with Islamic nuance with curved poles.

Most of the buildings are whitewashed only use white chalk, while at the bottom of the dome filled with mosaics and marble. Al Aqsa The mosque showing the simplicity and elements of Islamic accordance with the teachings of Islam that is an ornamental luxury and wealth only while the people living in the world, and not brought when Muslims turn to God.

In the north there famous building Islamic fountain that serves as a place of ritual ablution, which is washing the face, hands, hair, ears and feet that do all members of the Muslim prayer time will do. In the history of Islam, the Al Aqsa mosque is a mosque built after the most prestigious mosque in Mecca and Al haram is a place of prayer before the construction of the Kaaba. In Islam, it said that the whole earth is places for the faithful kneel so that Muslims required to pray on time. Islam teaches that the closer to God spiritually not based on a luxurious and magnificent place, but with faith and belief would be a blessing to his people.

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Marine Le Pen, the National Front candidate for the French presidential election, accused rival President Nicolas Sarkozy of having sent "a simple message" when some Islamists were arrested on French territory, after French forces assaulted Mohamed Merah's house last month. Le Pen was speaking at a press conference with foreign journalists in her campaign headquarters at Nanterre, west of Paris.

Responding to a question from The Jerusalem Post, following the surprising absence of mentions in electoral debates of the shootings in the southern French town of Toulouse, Le Pen criticized Sarkozy, calling his crackdown on Islamists "merely electoral agitation after the Merah affair."

"A few arrested Islamists and that is all... [Sarkozy] is not dealing with the real problem of fundamentalism, although he has been in charge of national security for the past 10 years." For Le Pen, Sarkozy, like his predecessors, "deliberately downplayed the threat from Islamists who want to see France as we know it disappear in favor of Shari'a."

Going further, she accused her main rival for the voice of the right wing to have even "opened the door to the UOIF (militant Muslim organization in France) who called for the murder of Jews". "He provided the first steps to the ladder for the fundamentalists in France and internationally," she said.

Jerusalem Post, 12 April 2012

Marine Le Pen leaflet exploits Merah's killings to accuse Sarkozy and his party
of being soft on 'Islamic fundamentalism'

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