Historically, Eastertime—which often falls, as it does this year, quite close to Passover—was a season when Europeans circulated rumors about Jews murdering Christian children and repeated the old story that Jews were responsible for the death of the Christian messiah. To Terry Glavin, not much has changed, although the coincidence of Ramadan with both holidays has added something to the mix. The current libel, a mere century old, is that Jews are desecrating the Islamic holy places on the Temple Mount, and plan to displace Muslims there. This calumny spurred Palestinians to throw rocks and attack police officers at al-Aqsa mosque on Friday; politicians from the Canadian Liberal party, meanwhile, are repeating the misinformation that provoked the very violence they wish to abate:

It starts Friday with a milquetoast both-sides-ism from Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly that also contains an instruction to the Israelis to maintain the . . . status quo [which allows Muslims, but not Jews, to pray at the site of the ancient Jerusalem Temple]—which, despite Hamas propaganda, the Israelis have been upholding since 1967: “Violence in & around al-Aqsa is unacceptable. The sanctity and status quo of holy sites must be respected. We call for de-escalation of tensions. Canada stands with the Israeli and Palestinian peoples in their right to peace & security.”

The Pickering-Uxbridge Liberal Jennifer O’Connell begins [by simply blaming Israel]: “I’m gravely concerned with violence occurring in, and around Masjid al-Aqsa. Excessive force used by the Israeli police is unacceptable and takes us further away from peace. I condemn this violence. Everyone, no matter their religion, should feel safe to pray—free from fear.”

So, there you have it. If you are a Liberal in Canada you have been sternly admonished to understand that what happened at al-Aqsa on Friday wasn’t about a bunch of stone-throwing yobs incited by an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that was already hoary and thoroughly discredited in the time of their grandpappies. It wasn’t about a bunch of vandals setting off fireworks in one of Islam’s holiest precincts preventing Muslims from worshipping in their accustomed ways on one of the holiest days of the year. It was about those mean Israelis, doing what Israelis do, again and again, which is trample on the dignity of innocent Muslims during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

In Canada, the Jewish advocacy organization B’nai Brith recorded 267 anti-Semitic incidents across the country including 61 violent acts—the worst violence ever reported for a single month since B’nai Brith first started tracking anti-Semitic incidents in 1982. . . . That’s something all those Liberals might want to keep in mind the next time some bloodcurdling anti-Semitic hoax threatens to set the Holy Land on fire again.

On the evening of June 26 the annual period of the Hajj begins, during which Muslims from all over the world visit Mecca and perform prescribed religious rituals. Because of the de-jure state of war between Saudi Arabia and the Jewish state, Israeli Muslim pilgrims—who usually number about 6,000—must take a circuitous (and often costly) route via a third country. The same is true for Palestinians. Mark Dubowitz and Tzvi Kahn, writing in the Saudi paper Arab News, urge Riyadh to reconsider its policy:

[I]f the kingdom now withholds consent for direct flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia, it would be a setback for those normalization efforts, not merely a continuation of the status quo. It is hard to see what the Saudis would gain from that.

One way to support the arrangement would be to include Palestinians in the deal. Israel might also consider earmarking its southern Ramon Airport for the flights. After all, Ramon is significantly closer to the kingdom than Ben-Gurion Airport, making for cheaper routes. Its seclusion from Israeli population centers would also help Israeli efforts to monitor outgoing passengers and incoming flights for security purposes.

A pilot program that ran between August and October proved promising, with dozens of Palestinians from the West Bank traveling back and forth from Ramon to Cyprus and Turkey. This program proceeded over the objections of the Palestinian Authority, which fears being sidelined by such accommodations. Jordan, too, has reason to be concerned about the loss of Palestinian passenger dinars at Amman’s airports.

But Palestinians deserve easier travel. Since Israel is willing to be magnanimous in this regard, Saudi Arabia can certainly follow suit by allowing Ramon to be the springboard for direct Hajj flights for Palestinian and Israeli Muslims alike. And that would be a net positive for efforts to normalize ties between [Jerusalem] and Riyadh.