The picture in the previous post is that of the Ramban shul (also known as the Hurva - as it was destroyed) in the Old City under reconstruction. You know, the one with the arch (which used to be a dome).

One rumor has it, that the Israeli government had a deal with local Arabs not to rebuild it (not to mention local politics that prevented it from being rebuilt).

One story has it that in exchange, the rather out of place mosque attached to the shul wouldn’t be used (which I believe even has people living in it).

Unfortunately I don't know the details, but the forces of good have won and the shul is being rebuilt after having been destroyed by the Jordanians (in their let's respect Jewish Holy Places campaign) in 1948.


I have this story 2nd hand as it was originally told by Rav Neventzal of the Old City, so I may be fuzzy with some of the details.

Apparently, the land the mosque was on used to also be Jewish property. One day the (Jewish) owner got into a fight with his mother, and decided that the best way to get back at her would be to sell the land to Arabs to be used as a Mosque. So that’s what he did, and that is how a mosque got built attached to the Ramban shul.

The story came with a moral, but I don’t remember what it was at the moment – but I can think of a few off-hand.


For further information.