The flames that gutted a wing of Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque last August added an unwanted measure of heat and hatred to a conflict that is never far from flash point. Arab leaders, blaming Israeli negligence for the damage to Islam's third most sacred shrine, called for jihad—holy war. Prime Minister Golda Meir's Cabinet met in emergency session amid deep concern that the fire might weaken Israeli rule in the holy city. Last week the man who confessed to setting the mosque ablaze, a 28-year-old Christian named Denis Michael Rohan, was judged insane and committed by an Israeli court to a...
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