US envoy poses with photo showing Temple in place of Al-Aqsa
US Amb. David Friedman poses while holding a photoshopped picture showing the Third Temple in place of Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa; US Embassy says it had nothing to do with the photo, reaffirming its support of the Temple Mount's status quo.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman posed with a photoshopped picture of Jerusalem with the Third Temple replacing the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Ambassador Friedman, who was visiting the ultra-Orthodox institute Achiya in Bnei Brak, received the photograph as a gift from the institute's directors.
The photoshopped picture was published on the Kikar HaShabbat website, sparking outrage.
The US Embassy's Spokesperson had to issue a statement saying the American diplomatic mission to Israel had nothing to do with the controversial photo.
"Ambassador Friedman was not aware of what was shown on the photo given to him. He was disappointed when realizing somebody took advantage of his visit to Bnei Brak to create controversy," according to the statement.
"The US policy is absolutely clear—we support the status quo regarding the Temple Mount."
Last March, Friedman had aroused the fury of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who called the ambassador a "son of a dog."
"The US is lending legitimacy to settlements. That is what senior American officials have done who are led by their ambassador in Tel Aviv, David Friedman. He said: ‘(Israelis) are building on their land.’ You son of a dog. They’re building on their land? He himself is a settler and his family are settlers,” Abbas scathed.
Friedman lashed back at the Palestinian president during the Global Forum for Combating anti-Semitism. “Three Jews were murdered in cold blood and the Palestinian Authority's response was silence. Abbas chose to respond, I saw his response on my iPhone a few minutes ago. His response was to refer to me as 'son of a dog.' Anti-Semitism or political discourse? Not for me to judge, I leave that all up to you," the US ambassador wondered.
The Palestinians see the American ambassador as a champion of the settlers, and they consider him the one behind US President Donald Trump's decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.
The Achiya organization, which gifted Friedman with the photo, also issued a statement saying " We sincerely apologize to the US Ambassador David Friedman and the US Embassy in Israel. One of Achiya's personnel gave the ambassador the (pohotoshopped) photo without Achiya, the US Embassy or the ambassador's knowledge.
"We would like to thank Friedman and the embassy personnel for their professionalism and the courtesy they showed during their visit to the Achiya institution to highlight the life-changing important work we do here.
"Unfortunately, the ambassador's visit was overshadowed by a cheap political act. The one responsible for that was found and the institution will handle it internally," the statement said.
