Dr. Moti Kedar: "Muslims Are Trying to Convince the World that There is No Jewish Connection to Jerusalem"

The video in which Middle East scholar Moti Kedar confronts an Arab sheikh, aired on the Arabic television network Al Jazeera, seems to have been seen by almost everyone. In the confrontation, Kedar, who speaks impeccable Arabic, asserted that it is the Muslims, not the Jews, who have no connection to Jerusalem. "We were in Jerusalem over 3000 years ago when the ancestors of the Muslims were drinking wine and alcohol, burying daughters alive, and worshiping idols. We were in Jerusalem worshiping the one and only God while you were worshiping idols in the Arabian desert!" he retorted to the sheikh.

However, this video is not unusual for Kedar, who holds unmistakably non-leftist views, yet is a frequent guest on Western radio and television programs.

Dr. Kedar, why does Al Jazeera, an Arabic network, invite an Israeli interviewee at all?

"Al Jazeera is essentially a media jihad against Israel. Its goal is to topple the more moderate Arab regimes and establish Muslim Brotherhood governments in every Arab country. However, they try to appear like a legitimate and objective media outlet, so occasionally they bring Israeli interviewees. Usually, they are people like Yossi Beilin or Gideon Levy, who do not necessarily represent the average Israeli."

How did you end up on the program 'The Opposite Direction'?

"I am boycotted by programs produced directly by Al Jazeera. Ten years ago, I appeared on Al Jazeera in a program with the main presenter. At that time, there was anger in the Arab streets over an Israeli decision to build in a Jerusalem neighborhood, and I told them that we were controlling Jerusalem when they were still idolaters. They were so angry with me that they decided not to invite me again. But the program I appeared on this time is not produced by Al Jazeera. It is by an external producer, and Al Jazeera buys it as is. The producer is an Arab nationalist who dislikes Israel, but his main concern is ratings. He enjoys creating loud disputes, where sometimes the debaters even stand up and start hitting each other. This is the most popular program aired on Al Jazeera."

In the confrontation over the issue of Jerusalem, Kedar was placed on the Israeli side, facing a Syrian sheikh whose positions Kedar describes as "somewhere between Hamas and Al Qaeda." "He came with prepared speeches, merely reading lies and fabrications one after another. For example, that there is no Jewish archaeology to prove a connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem. I had a few monologues and lines prepared in advance, but certainly, part of what was said came in the heat of the moment. It was important for me to prove that this sheikh is nothing but a deceitful chatterbox, and not particularly wise. The host intervened several times, and on my side. When the sheikh talked about the devotion to Jerusalem, for example, he sarcastically said to him that so far, all that has happened is sending three Twitter missiles and four Facebook bombs to Israel... meaning, the Arabs aren't actually doing anything for Jerusalem, just chatting on social media."

Watch Dr. Kedar talk about the confrontation with the Syrian sheikh on Al Jazeera:

It's not surprising that the video went viral in Israel, but what was the reaction in the Arab world?

"Dozens of articles have been published in response to this confrontation so far. They tear me apart, of course, but also Al Jazeera for even allowing me to speak. However, on social media, I also see responses like 'This Zionist scoundrel is right.' There are Arabs who know that although they don't like what I say, I don't lie. On the other hand, of course, I received many curses against me and my mother..."

In this confrontation, you essentially said that it's the Muslims who have no connection to Jerusalem.

"Exactly. Jerusalem is not mentioned at all in the Quran. They claim that 'Al Aqsa' of the Quran is Jerusalem, but historical research proves that it's a location in Saudi Arabia. Only when a war broke out in that area after Muhammad's death did the believers search for an alternative place to celebrate their holiday and chose Jerusalem, which was already famous worldwide as a holy city for Jews and Christians."

How can it be that Muslims continue to deny the Jewish connection to Jerusalem despite archaeological findings?

"They would tell you that all those archaeological proofs are one big forgery. And you can't say that these lies don't work for them: they've managed to raise an entire generation to believe that all of Zionism is a forgery and there were never Jews in the Land of Israel or Jerusalem. As far as they're concerned, there were only Bedouin nomads..."

The confrontation between Kedar and the Syrian sheikh took place in the shadow of a decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to begin moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This decision, says Kedar, has stirred great anger and difficult emotions in the Muslim world, as it distances them from their dream of destroying the Jewish state. Nonetheless, Kedar does not anticipate long-term problems as a result of Trump's decision.

"This whole story will be forgotten in a few weeks. Even when Trump actually moves the embassy, there'll be a week of demonstrations, and that's it. It's likely that in such a case other countries might start moving their embassies, and generally, it won't seem like anything unusual anymore. The problem is at the UN, where there are thirty Muslim countries voting as one bloc against any issue related to Israel. There is also Qatar, pouring money into promoting the issue of the war for Jerusalem."

There was talk about the decision harming the delicate ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia expressed opposition to the decision because it had no choice. There were rumors in the Arab world that Trump consulted with the Saudis before the announcement, and they did not object. They, therefore, had to publicly condemn the decision. But the truth is their cooperation with Israel will remain the same, and they're not really upset about what Trump did. Remember, Jerusalem is simply an unwanted competition to Mecca for them..."

One reason you could appear so successfully on Al Jazeera is your fluent Arabic. Don't you feel Israel lacks Arabic-speaking advocates?

"Definitely. I can say that I often appear on Arabic and even Palestinian media because they want to know what the Israeli right thinks, and they want to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. And indeed, there aren't too many Israelis who speak Arabic properly. The problem is there's a lot of resistance in the country to learning Arabic, which I believe isn't justified. Many important holy books, like 'Chovot HaLevavot', 'Kuzari', and parts of Maimonides' writings, were originally written in Arabic, and I can attest that they can be best understood when read in the original language..."