At Al Aqsa Mosque, shards of stained glass tell tale of conflict

Artisans at the disputed holy site in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, complain about Israeli interference in their work and claim facing a constant struggle to keep pace with repairs after outbreaks of violence.
JERUSALEM - In a workshop on the edge of the Aqsa Mosque compound, Muhammad Rowidy spends hours hunched over stained glass, painstakingly sculpting white plaster to reveal geometric patterns. While he's working, there's a thought he can't get rid of.
"You see that," he said, stopping and leaning forward. back, "It takes months to finish, and in a minute, in a kick, all that hard work is gone."
Mr. Rowidy and dozens of other Palestinian craftsmen and laborers maintain and restore historic mosques and other structures within the 35-acre Aqsa Mosque compound revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount. are preparing for more unrest.
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins Wednesday and overlaps with the Jewish holiday of Passover in early April, raising fears that most worshipers and visitors to the contested site will increase the risk of clashes.
The craftsmen there, including a fire specialist lle d'or, coppersmiths and wood carvers, fear that their meticulous work will be destroyed, as has happened in years past. Their frustrations have been intensified by Israel's tighter control of the compound in recent years, making repairs more difficult.
ImageMuhammad Rowidy spends hours bent over the plaster tiles of the stained glass windows. "With one kick, all that hard work is gone," he said, referring to the clashes at the compound.Credit...Afif Amireh for The New York Times workers at the mosque, the third Islam's holiest site, need approval from Israeli authorities for repairs or replacements, down to every broken window or broken tile, say workers, site administrators and rights groups Israelis.
Jews believe the compound to be the location of two ancient temples and consider it the holiest site in Judaism. In recent years, Jewish worshipers have prayed inside the compound, a violation of an agreement that has been in place since 1967.
With the overlapping holidays this year, there are concerns that increased unauthorized visits and prayers could provoke further clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians, as has happened in previous years.
The atmosphere is already tense amid escalating violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It has been the deadliest start to the year for Palestinians in the territory in more than two decades, as settler violence increases and Israel intensifies deadly raids in response to a series of attacks by armed groups Palestinians.
Clashes at the Aqsa compound between riot police armed with batons firing tear gas and sponge-tipped bullets and Palestinians throwing rocks and fireworks have left a trail of broken windows and other damage in recent years. After the violence, Mr. Rowidy and his colleagues must pick up the pieces.
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World Mar 22, 2023 0 51 Add to Reading List

At Al Aqsa Mosque, shards of stained glass tell tale of conflict

Artisans at the disputed holy site in Jerusalem, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, complain about Israeli interference in their work and claim facing a constant struggle to keep pace with repairs after outbreaks of violence.

JERUSALEM - In a workshop on the edge of the Aqsa Mosque compound, Muhammad Rowidy spends hours hunched over stained glass, painstakingly sculpting white plaster to reveal geometric patterns. While he's working, there's a thought he can't get rid of.

"You see that," he said, stopping and leaning forward. back, "It takes months to finish, and in a minute, in a kick, all that hard work is gone."

Mr. Rowidy and dozens of other Palestinian craftsmen and laborers maintain and restore historic mosques and other structures within the 35-acre Aqsa Mosque compound revered by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount. are preparing for more unrest.

The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins Wednesday and overlaps with the Jewish holiday of Passover in early April, raising fears that most worshipers and visitors to the contested site will increase the risk of clashes.

The craftsmen there, including a fire specialist lle d'or, coppersmiths and wood carvers, fear that their meticulous work will be destroyed, as has happened in years past. Their frustrations have been intensified by Israel's tighter control of the compound in recent years, making repairs more difficult.

ImageMuhammad Rowidy spends hours bent over the plaster tiles of the stained glass windows. "With one kick, all that hard work is gone," he said, referring to the clashes at the compound.Credit...Afif Amireh for The New York Times workers at the mosque, the third Islam's holiest site, need approval from Israeli authorities for repairs or replacements, down to every broken window or broken tile, say workers, site administrators and rights groups Israelis.

Jews believe the compound to be the location of two ancient temples and consider it the holiest site in Judaism. In recent years, Jewish worshipers have prayed inside the compound, a violation of an agreement that has been in place since 1967.

With the overlapping holidays this year, there are concerns that increased unauthorized visits and prayers could provoke further clashes between Israeli police and Palestinians, as has happened in previous years.

The atmosphere is already tense amid escalating violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It has been the deadliest start to the year for Palestinians in the territory in more than two decades, as settler violence increases and Israel intensifies deadly raids in response to a series of attacks by armed groups Palestinians.

Clashes at the Aqsa compound between riot police armed with batons firing tear gas and sponge-tipped bullets and Palestinians throwing rocks and fireworks have left a trail of broken windows and other damage in recent years. After the violence, Mr. Rowidy and his colleagues must pick up the pieces.

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