Tisha B'Av and rebuilding the Temple

TISHA B'AV (the Ninth of Av) begins tonight at sundown. An easy fast to all those observing it.

This poll was clearly timed with this holiday in mind:

Half the Public Wants to See Holy Temple Rebuilt

by Hillel Fendel (Arutz Sheva)

Half the Israeli public wants the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash) to be rebuilt. This is the main finding of a poll commissioned by the Knesset Television Channel and carried out by the Panels Institute.

The poll was taken in advance of this Tuesday’s national day of mourning, known as Tisha B’Av, on which the two Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed, 2,000 and 2,500 years ago, respectively.

Forty nine percent said they want the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, while 23% said they do not. The remainder said they were unsure.

The public is about evenly split on whether they believe it will happen, with a slight edge – 42% to 39% – to those who believe the Third Holy Temple will be rebuilt.

Should the State of Israel take active steps towards the reconstruction? Forty-eight percent said no, while 27% said yes.

[...]

I'll say it again: NO EXCAVATION on the Temple Mount unless it is scientifically controlled archaeological excavation, and even then I think we should wait for the non-intrusive and non-destructive techniques that technology should be sending our way in due course.

I'll leave it to someone else to discuss the politics that would go with any attempt in the foreseeable future to rebuild the Temple.

(Cross-file under "Temple Mount Watch.")