WND Hits Paydirt

Forget “Jesus Junk” – WorldNetDaily has “the ultimate gift”:

For a limited time, genuine Temple Mount soil is being made available exclusively to WND readers as part of a campaign of solidarity with the Mount, which is under threat by Islamists and by Israeli government laws banning Christians and Jews from worshiping at the site or visiting during most hours of the day.

Well, given that the gallons of Holy Land crude oil promised to WND readers have so far failed to materialize, dirt from the Temple Mount is at least a more realistic prospect:

This past summer WND was able to salvage a very small amount of soil from the Temple Mount slated to be disposed by the Waqf, the holy site’s Islamic custodians. The soil, which originates near what many consider the holiest place of the Mount itself, was searched for ancient relics since the Waqf numerous times has attempted to dispose of Temple artifacts.

One imagines Aaron Klein stuffing his trousers with the brown gold while interviewing local Islamists, or some such scene.

Show your love for Jerusalem’s holiest site. Purchase a Temple Mount solidarity necklace containing earthy soil from the Mount and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Act quickly as supplies are extremely limited.

Cost: $79.95, with some issues of Whistleblower thrown in.

The soil is being brought to the USA by Holy Land Earth, LLC, which garnered some media interest last year when it began importing Israeli soil:

Genuine earth from the Holy Land is available to purchase in the United States for the very first time. A state-of-the-art method of processing has been developed for the earth to meet American import regulations and be available for individual sale. Holy Land Earth comes directly from Israel and has a multitude of uses; it can bring a touch of purity to any area of your life. It may be added to a loved one’s burial, sprinkled on a nascent planting or held onto for keepsake and good fortune.

Stones are also available. According to the company’s website:

Holy Land Earth is certified genuine by Rabbi Velvel Brevda- the director of the Council of Geula, Jerusalem. Rabbi Brevda travels between Israel and America, and oversees the entire collecting, importing, and packaging processes.

The rabbi is apparently well-respected, but has a minimal internet presence (Geula is an ultra-orthodox neighbourhood of Jerusalem). The founder of the company, 25-year-old Steven Friedman, was interviewed by the Religion News Service:

“I’ve gotten e-mails from people that have told me that they are Jewish, they are Christian, they are Muslim, they are unaffiliated,” he said. “I’ve had a few Scientology people that have e-mailed me that they find this fascinating. Evangelical Christians have been responding in e-mails that they love it.”

A trend within Evangelicalism to appropriate Jewish artefacts and practices is something I noted here, and this is doubtless what WND hopes to cash in on. Of course, little vials of “Holy Land soil” have been available for years, and are particularly popular with Roman Catholics. The Wittenberg Door has one suggestion for how soil from Israel might be put to use:

Mixed with a little water from the River Jordan, you can even make holyland mud pies.

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