Watchman Newsletter

Hopes for Iran talks hit by violence: Obama

Google (Link) - AFP (June 27, 2009)

US President Barack Obama admitted Friday Iran's "outrageous" crackdown on demonstrators would hit his hopes for direct talks, and escalated a heated public row with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Obama, who came to power vowing to engage US enemies, including Iran, sharply rejected Ahmadinejad's demands for an apology for his previous comments on the post-election turmoil, in a further stiffening of US rhetoric.

"There is no doubt that any direct dialogue or diplomacy with Iran is going to be affected by the events of the last several weeks," Obama said after talks at the White House with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"I think we're going to have to see how that plays itself out in the days and weeks ahead," said Obama.

Obama said however that the talks compered by the international P5-plus-1 group over Iran's nuclear program would likely continue.

He argued that despite speaking out with a "unified voice" on the violence in Tehran, the world needed to recognize that the prospect of Iran with nuclear weapons was a "big problem."

"My expectation would be... that you're going to continue to see some multilateral discussions with Iran."

European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has been authorized by UN Security Council permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany -- to discuss the issue with Tehran.

Revealing book by Uri Savir gives clues to possible Middle East outcomes

Cumbey Blogspot (Link) - Constance Cumbey (June 27, 2009)

You were wondering how things might come about. A new widely touted book by former Israeli Knesset member Uri Savir might give us some important clues. It is highly praised by most, if not all of those involved in the Middle East Peace Plan process. Those endorsing include Javier Solana, , Dennis Ross and others.

The book, PEACE FIRST: A NEW MODEL TO END WAR proposes making Jerusalem "the international peace capital" of the world and dividing the city three ways: between Jewish interests, between Palestinian neighorhoods and Islamic interests, and the third part to the international community.

"Interreligious dialogue" of the highest syncretistic nature is also strongly recommended. The "peace plan" itself calls for "global" action using networked cities and mayors as both conciliatory and redistributive centers more in touch with their local populations.

House narrowly passes major energy-climate bill

Yahoo! News (Link) - AP - H. Josef Herbert & Dina Cappie (June 26, 2009) Video

In a triumph for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed sweeping legislation Friday that calls for the nation's first limits on pollution linked to global warming and aims to usher in a new era of cleaner, yet more costly energy.

The vote was 219-212, capping months of negotiations and days of intense bargaining among Democrats. Republicans were overwhelmingly against the measure, arguing it would destroy jobs in the midst of a recession while burdening consumers with a new tax in the form of higher energy costs.

The House's action fulfilled Speaker Nancy Pelosi's vow to clear major energy legislation before July 4, and sent the measure to a highly uncertain fate in the Senate.

Obama lobbied recalcitrant Democrats by phone from the White House as the debate unfolded across several hours, and Al Gore posted a statement on his Web site saying the measure represents "an essential first step towards solving the climate crisis." The former vice president won a Nobel Peace Prize for his work drawing attention to the destructive potential of global warming.

Conyers backs off probe of ACORN

The Washington Times (Link) (June 26, 2009)

House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. has backed off his plan to investigate purported wrongdoing by the liberal activist group ACORN, saying 'powers that be' put the kibosh on the idea.

Mr. Conyers, Michigan Democrat, earlier bucked his party leaders by calling for hearings on accusations the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) has committed crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style "protection" racket.

"The powers that be decided against it," Mr. Conyers told The Washington Times as he left the House chambers Wednesday.

The chairman declined to elaborate, shrugging off questions about who told him how to run his committee and give the Democrat-allied group a pass.

Conyers spokesman Jonathan Godfrey said late Thursday, several hours after the first request for comment, that the chairman had been referring to himself as "the powers that be."

Pittsburgh lawyer Heather Heidelbaugh, whose testimony about ACORN at a March 19 hearing on voting issues prompted Mr. Conyers to call for a probe, said she was perplexed by Mr. Conyers' explanation for his change of heart.

"If the chair of the Judiciary Committee cannot hold a hearing if he wants to, [then] who are the powers that he is beholden to?" she said. "Is it the leadership, is it the White House, is it contributors? Who is 'the power'?"

Signs of the Times Part 7: First the Bad News, Then the Good

News With Views (Link) - Debra Rae (June 25, 2009)

Where’s the Hope in 2009?

Jesus told His disciples that the close of the age would be distinguished by signs, one of which is “abounding iniquity.” Arguably, childlike innocence is more a relic of the past than it is the norm. For good reason folks seldom leave keys in unattended cars, or bedroom windows wide open while sleeping.

Sadly, it would take eight Vietnams to fill as many graves as have been packed by Americans killed by fellow citizens. Crime originates from every rung of society. Daily, misdeeds of powerful politicians and self-serving corporate executives demonstrate our “losing the sense of shame that once accompanied the act of theft, private or public” (Lawrence W. Reed, “Ideas on Liberty,” THE FREEMAN 2008).

Although cynicism abounds, understandably so, those who hope in the Lord remain “of good courage” and “strengthened in heart” (Psalms 31:24).

Most Maligned Mandates

Perhaps more than ever “the wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men” (Ps. 12:8, NIV). Ask Swedish Pastor Ake Green, sentenced to a month in prison for “disrespecting” homosexuals. While preaching the Bible landed the good pastor in the slammer, Milk landed an Oscar for screenwriter Dustin Lance Black.

Evidently, progressive Americans embrace what God most hates—namely, wicked imaginations, pride and hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:16ff). Hence, all the while African-Americans are fighting the high toll of abortion on their own communities (aptly labeled Black Genocide) President Obama emerges as “the most extreme pro-abortion legislator ever to serve in either house of the United States Congress.”

Especially with respect to issues of life and traditional marriage, there is “a growing paranoia about evangelical influence in American politics. The academic and journalistic left used to dismiss followers of Jesus as boobs. Now some see [them] as diabolical; … and what once was laughed at may soon be legislated against” (Marvin Olasky, World, Sept 2008).

For these, hope is found in the surety that where sin abounds, God’s grace super abounds (Romans 5:20).

India to launch 'ID card' scheme

BBC News (Link) (June 25, 2009)

The Indian government has begun moves to provide a Unique Identification (UID) number to its citizens, the central government has announced.

It has appointed Infosys Technologies co-chairman Nandan Nilekani as head of a new body to determine how the scheme will be implemented.

The project will mean that all Indian adults will have to carry what is in effect an identity card. It was a key commitment in the election manifesto of the Congress party.

In its manifesto, Congress said it may be possible to provide every Indian adult with a card after the publication of the national population register in 2011.

Venezuela, U.S. agree to restore diplomatic ties

China View (Link) (June 25, 2009)

The governments of Venezuela and the United States agreed on Wednesday to restore their diplomatic ties, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said.

Maduro said that in coming days Venezuelan ambassador to the United States Bernardo Alvarez and U.S. ambassador to Venezuela Patrick Duddy will restart their diplomatic works in each other's countries.

The diplomatic ties between the two countries were affected when Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sept. 11, 2008 expelled Duddy from the country.

Chavez ordered Duddy's expulsion to support Bolivian President Evo Morales' decision of expelling U.S. ambassador to Bolivia Philip Goldberg.

Chavez said that the expulsion was because the government of former U.S. president George W. Bush was behind all the complots against Venezuela.

Chavez began efforts to restore the diplomatic ties after the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama who attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad in April.

Maduro said that the ambassadors from both countries will take their charges again and he added that he had a phone conversation with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon.

Maduro said that Shannon expressed the U.S. government's wish to move ahead on a process of more communication between the two countries.

Drought in Tibet now worst in 30 years

The Hindu (Link) (June 25, 2009)

Authorities in Tibet Saturday said the drought is worsening as parts of the southwest China's autonomous region see the worst drought in 30 years.

The prolonged drought has hit 33 counties in five of the six prefectures in Tibet, the regional drought relief and flood control headquarters said Saturday. The acreage is 15.3 percent of Tibet's total. Among them, 26,500 hectares were damaged and 793 hectares destroyed. The drought has also killed 13,601 head of cattle.

Nine meteorological centers in Tibet have not seen substantial rain for 226 consecutive days, Zhao Yiping, head of the Tibet Regional Meteorological Bureau, said Saturday.

The drought has also been worsened by higher than normal temperatures. Tibet has experienced temperatures 0.4 to 2.3 celsius degrees higher than normal years, Zhao said.

He forecast that there would be rain in Lhasa and Xigaze from June 22 to 25. The bureau is prepared to add artificial rain for drought relief, he added.

Some farmers will get compensation from insurance companies as they are covered by pilot policy insurance, said Sun Guoxin, general manager of the People's Insurance Company (Group) of China's Tibet branch.

Sun added that the insurer will offer more than 30 million yuan (4.4 million U.S. dollars) in compensation for the policyholders.

Many die in acute Indian heatwave

BBC News (Link) (June 25, 2009)

A severe heatwave has claimed the lives of nearly 100 people across India, reports say.

The eastern Indian state of Orissa appears to be the worst affected with 58 people dying from heat stroke, according to local officials.

Unofficial figures in the Orissa media put the number of dead closer to 200.

Many parts of India have recorded temperatures of over 40C (104F) as weather officials say the monsoon, expected at this time of the year, has been patchy.

Orissa disaster management minister Surjya Narayan Patro has said that the federal government should declare the heat wave as a "national calamity" so that the relatives of the dead are compensated better.

Most of those affected in the state are the poor, rickshaw pullers, daily wage workers and farmers.

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. contacted Iran's ayatollah before election

The Washington Times (Link) - Barbara Slavin (June 24, 2009)

Prior to this month's disputed presidential election in Iran, the Obama administration sent a letter to the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for an improvement in relations, according to interviews and the leader himself.

Ayatollah Khamenei confirmed the letter toward the end of a lengthy sermon last week, in which he accused the United States of fomenting protests in his country in the aftermath of the disputed June 12 presidential election.

U.S. officials declined to discuss the letter on Tuesday, a day in which President Obama gave his strongest condemnation yet of the Iranian crackdown against protesters.

An Iranian with knowledge of the overture, however, told The Washington Times that the letter was sent between May 4 and May 10 and laid out the prospect of "cooperation in regional and bilateral relations" and a resolution of the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

The Iranian, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the topic, said the letter was given to the Iranian Foreign Ministry by a representative of the Swiss Embassy, which represents U.S. interests in Iran in the absence of U.S.-Iran diplomatic relations. The letter was then delivered to the office of Ayatollah Khamenei, he said.

The letter was sent before the election, whose outcome - delivering a supposed landslide to incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - has touched off the biggest anti-government protests in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The Obama administration, while criticizing a violent crackdown on demonstrators by Iranian security forces, has said that it will continue efforts to engage the Iranian government about its nuclear program and other issues touching on U.S. national security.

Will Solana Retire in October? — What Holly Thinks

Fulfilled Prophecy (Link) - Holly Pivec (June 24, 2009)

Javier Solana’s term as EU foreign policy chief is set to end in October. Most people don’t even know who this powerful man is, let alone care if his term comes to an end.

But for those of us who have been following the theory that the 70th Week of Daniel began on Jan. 1, 2007 – when Solana’s new European Neighbourhood Policy went into force – his looming retirement is of utmost interest. If he, indeed, retires in October, then that could mean we’ve been barking up the wrong tree.

But will he retire?

Many in the media have assumed that he will, throwing around several names as his possible successor. See them here. Not only is Solana’s term set to end in October, but, at age 66, he’s getting up there in years.

Yet, the media thought the same thing back in 2004, when his first term was set to expire. But in July 2004, Solana was appointed for a second five-year term as secretary general of the Council of the EU and EU high representative for the common foreign and security policy. Since then, rumors that he would retire even before his term ended in 2009 never materialized. Read about them here.

Besides the possibility that Solana’s term could be extended again in October, there’s also the possibility that – should the Treaty of Lisbon be ratified – he will be appointed the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. He was originally slated for a similar position under the EU Constitution, which failed to be ratified. Now it’s unclear whether he will seek this new office. Solana has not publicly stated one way or another.

So, for now, all we can do is wait and see if Solana quietly fades from the scene in October, or if he somehow manages to stick around — again.

Stay tuned.

Fear of swine flu mutating as city's death toll rises to 32 total

Daily News (Link) - Oren Yaniv (June 24, 2009)

The number of swine flu deaths in the city climbed to 32, it was reported yesterday, as German scientists warned that the virus may be mutating into a more aggressive form.

The city's Health Department announced two more fatalities from the H1N1 virus, identifying the latest victims only as persons between the ages 25 and 65.

But the spread of the disease is declining, the department said, with fewer people coming to emergency rooms with flu-like symptoms.

Germany's federal agency for infectious diseases yesterday expressed concern about how the H1N1 virus was developing in Australia and South Africa.

"It's possible the virus has mutated," Joerg Hacker, head of the Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases, said in Berlin. "In autumn, the mutated form could spread to the northern hemisphere."

The director general of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan, said recently the virus is currently "pretty stable," but can still take a more dangerous form.

Assad: No Israeli partner for peace

The Jerusalem Post (Link) (June 24, 2009)

The US State Department on Wednesday praised Syria for its "constructive role to promote peace and stability" as it announced plans to return an ambassador to Damascus after a four-year absence.

The move represents a considerable warming in relations between the two countries, as the US has rejected the policy of isolation employed by the Bush administration in favor of one of engagement.

The move follows four visits to Damascus by top American officials, and State Department spokesman Ian Kelly cited the "good discussions" held on those occasions as well as Syria's "addressing some of our very real concerns about foreign fighters crossing from Syria" into Iraq in discussing Damascus's improved behavior.

"This decision reflects the administration's recognition of the important role Syria plays in the region and, of course, we hope that they will continue to play such a constructive role to promote peace and stability in the region," he said of the decision to appoint an ambassador, who has still not be named.

He also said, though, that "we continue to have concerns about Syria's role in this region, and we think one way to address those concerns is to have an ambassador in Damascus."

No 'Big Bang' for EU foreign service, says Solana

EU Observer (Link) - Valentina Pop (June 23, 2009)

The EU's planned foreign service should be established gradually and not in a 'Big Bang', if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified after a second Irish referendum, the bloc's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, said on Monday.

With only a few months left to go on the job, Mr Solana held a speech outlining his foreign policy vision for the European Union, including the perspective of creating a common foreign service should the Lisbon Treaty come into force after Ireland holds a second referendum and Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic complete the ratification process.

"The foreign service is contemplated in the treaty as an effort of the member states to create a global common diplomacy. I like to think that in time we will be one of the most important diplomacies in the world, along with US, China and other big players in the world," he said.

Mr Solana, who has been the Union's first high representative for foreign and security policy for the past ten years, said the bloc's foreign service would consist of national and EU diplomats.

"I would recommend that it won't be a Big Bang – it has to be well done, member states need to prepare the people, and it probably would be better if this takes some time."

Solana backs Felipe González for EU president job

EurActiv (Link) (June 23, 2009)

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana yesterday (22 June) endorsed former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González as first permanent president of the European Council, should the Lisbon Treaty enter into force.

Speaking at a public event organised by the Belgian section of the Association of European Journalists in Brussels, Solana was positive about the possible nomination of González for the job.

Answering a question, he said: "[Felipe González] is a good friend, we have worked together for 15 years, and I know he has the energy and the capacity for the job."

Should the Lisbon Treaty enter into force by the end of 2009, the EU’s first permanent president will be introduced under the Spanish EU Presidency in the first half of 2010.

"A relationship between two Spaniards - and I know them well - will be very positive, very constructive, and would bring added value," Solana said, referring to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Spanish prime minister, alongside González.

U.N. to Emerge as Global IRS

Worldview Times (Link) - Cliff Kincaid (June 23, 2009)

While our media sleep, the United Nations is proceeding, with President Obama's acquiescence, to implement a global plan to create a new international socialist order financed by global taxes on the American people.

The Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development that begins on Wednesday will consider adoption of a document calling for "new voluntary and innovative sources of financing initiatives to provide additional stable sources of development finance..." This is U.N.-speak for global taxes. They are anything but "voluntary" for the people forced to pay them.

The most "popular" proposals, which could generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue for global purposes, involve taxes on greenhouse gas emissions and financial transactions such as stock trades.

The document was agreed to at an informal meeting of expert "facilitators" and was made available on Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. It is doubtful that any changes will be made to it.

The conference was postponed from June 1-3 and will now take place June 24-26 at the U.N. in New York. While the "outcome document" has been watered down somewhat from the previous version, it still reaffirms attainment of the U.N.'s Millennium Development Goals, which would require the payment of $845 billion from U.S. taxpayers. A commitment to the MDGs was a stated objective of the Global Poverty Act, which Barack Obama had introduced as a U.S. senator. It requires the U.S. to devote 0.7 percent of Gross National Income to foreign aid.

Syria: 160 villages abandoned due to famine

Ynet News (Link) - Doron Peskin (June 23, 2009)

Study conducted by Syrian government reveals poverty in country expanding. Some 3.5 million people have no income, peasants immigrating to cities in order to avoid food shortage.

Some 700,000 households in Syria – about 3.5 million people - have no income. In other words, an average of one family of five in Syria leans on monthly governmental aid in order to survive, according to a comprehensive study conducted by the Social Affairs and Labor Ministry in Syria, whose main findings were published by the local al-Watan newspaper.

Most supported families are living in conditions of poverty, as the governmental aid allows for minimal living conditions. According to Syrian law, a household is entitled to governmental aid if it is able to prove that both partners have no income during the year or a pension sufficient for basic living.

The study reveals that the main center of poverty is in northern Syria. In the Halab district, for example, there are 110,000 families in need of aid in order to survive. In Hasaka there are 87,000 such families, and in the Hamat province there are 68,000 such families.

The smallest number of needy families is in the Quneitra district, which borders with Israel, totalin 6,825 families.

Minister's Temple Mt. visit irks Arabs

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Abe Selig & Elie Leshem (June 23, 2009)

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Israel Beiteinu) made a rare appearance on the Temple Mount on Tuesday, drawing condemnations from Arab MKs and the Wakf Islamic trust, who labeled the tour a "provocation."

While the Public Security Ministry reported that the visit ended without incident, Wakf director Azzam el-Ahmed told the Palestinian Ma'an news agency it had not been coordinated in advance and was "a provocative entry to the holy site, which may complicate the sensitive situation [there]."

United Arab List-Ta'al MKs Ahmed Tibi and Taleb a-Sanaa also condemned the visit, with Sanaa calling it "a dangerous, pathetic provocation."

"Aharonovitch is unwelcome at the Aksa Mosque, and his purpose was to incense the Muslims and to try to show them who's in charge," he continued.

Solana lecture on “the new shaping of the world”

Council of the European Union (Link) (June 22, 2009)

To speak to you tonight in this house, your own, is an honor as well as a pleasure. I thank the Association of European Journalists and its Belgian branch in particular.

I was invited to speak for the world and the situation of the European Union. Speaking of the world as it stands today is not easy. No model, no slogan, no paradigm does resistant to changes in recent years.

But periods of transition and major alterations are as follows: uncertain and fluid; with new opportunities but also greater risks.

The manipulation of balance sheets to the virtual collapse of real economies. Of fear of new pandemics, the difficulty of finding meaningful response to threats increasingly asymmetric. The proper or improper use of the Internet or Twitter. We have suddenly entered the twenty-first century.

And, by now, we know very well that in this Century threats are global. Take the economic crisis. The speed at which it spread from the US to the rest of the world, how quickly it contaminated the whole financial system and then the real economy. It has been a dramatic reminder of the dark side of globalisation. The response can only be global.

That crisis has reminded us, brutally and suddenly, of the eternal contradiction: markets and risks are global, yet political legitimacy continues to be local or national. As well as resources. We need to find a way out of that contradiction. How Europe works, how Europe is, can give us some good clues. I will come back later to this point.

One of the main trends that define the age we live in, is power shift. Within States and between States. Within States to society, to various groups within society, to markets, and even to individuals. Between States, from the West to emerging powers.

A consequence of that, a second basic trend, is the necessary enlargement of the main international fora. We have to give a proper voice and place to all key players. You cannot expect people to contribute to solutions if they have not been involved in shaping the strategy.

The almost natural way in which the G8 has given way to the G20 in addressing the crisis is a first step. But that is not enough. It cannot be restricted to economic issues. It has to apply to others like regional security issues, climate change or the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

Italy: Strong aftershock hits quake zone

Google (Link) - AP (June 22, 2009)

A powerful aftershock hit the quake-struck areas of central Italy on Monday, rattling buildings as far away as Rome. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The temblor had a preliminary magnitude of 4.6, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Italy's Civil Protection put its epicenter just north of L'Aquila, the Appennine city that was devastated by the April earthquake. L'Aquila is hosting the summit of the Group of Eight leading industrial nations early next month.

Monday's quake struck just before 11 p.m. (2100GMT) and was felt in the Italian capital, some 75 miles (120 kilometers) away.

The April 6 earthquake killed nearly 300 people, displaced some 50,000 and toppled entire blocks of buildings in L'Aquila and the surrounding Abruzzo region.

Even though about half of the homes in the area have been declared safe, many survivors continue to live in makeshift tent camps set up after the quake in fear of the hundreds of aftershocks that have hit the area since.

After the disaster, Italy moved the venue of the G-8 summit from the Sardinian island of La Maddalena to L'Aquila in a show of support for the stricken population.

World leaders, including U.S. President Barack Obama, are expected to attend the July 8-10 summit, which will be held at a police school just outside the city.

Arrests of Rafsanjani kin show Iran clerics split

Yahoo! News (Link) - AP (June 21, 2009) Video

Iran's government said Sunday it arrested the daughter and four other relatives of former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, one of the country's most powerful men, in a move that exposed a rift among the ruling Islamic clerics over the disputed presidential election.

State media also reported at least 10 more deaths, bringing the official toll for a week of confrontations to at least 17. State television inside Iran said 10 were killed and 100 injured in clashes Saturday between demonstrators contesting the result of the June 12 election and black-clad police wielding truncheons, tear gas and water cannons.

Police and members of the Basij militia took up positions in the afternoon on major streets and squares, including the site of Saturday's clashes. There was no word on any new clashes Sunday, although after dark many people in Tehran went to their rooftops to shout "Death to the dictator" and "Allahu akbar," a common form of defiance in recent days.

State-run Press TV reported that Rafsanjani's eldest daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, and four other unidentified family members were arrested late Saturday. Initial reports suggested Hashemi was still being held Sunday after the others were released. But both Iran's ambassador to France, Seyed Mehdi Miraboutalebi, speaking on France's RFI radio, and Iran's al-Alam Arabic-language television channel said Sunday that she'd been released as well.

Can Third Temple be built without destroying Dome of the Rock?

The Jerusalem Post (Link) - Matthew Wagner (June 21, 2009)

A new Jewish interfaith initiative launched last week argues building the Third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem would not necessitate the destruction of the Dome of the Rock.

"God's Holy Mountain Vision" project hopes to defuse religious strife by showing that Jews' end-of-days vision could harmoniously accommodate Islam's present architectural hegemony on the Temple Mount.

"This vision of religious shrines in peaceful proximity can transform the Temple Mount from a place of contention to its original sacred role as a place of worship shared by Jews, Muslims and Christians," said Yoav Frankel, director of the initiative.

The Interfaith Encounter Association at the Mishkenot Sha'ananim's Konrad Adenauer Conference Center in Jerusalem is sponsoring the program, which includes interfaith study and other educational projects.

According to Islamic tradition, the Dome of the Rock, built in 691, marks the spot where Muhammed ascended to Heaven.

But according to Jewish tradition, Mount Moriah, now under the Dome of the Rock, is where the Temple's Holy of Holies was situated.