Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins on the evening of
September 4. Rosh Hashanah kicks off the Jewish high holidays. It
could get very interesting on the Temple mount this year. Recently,
there have been more and more calls for Jews to have the same rights
to pray on the Temple Mount. The desire to have the right to pray by
Jews has reached all the way into the Knesset. Miri Regev, who is a
member of the Knesset a member of the Likud party and chairwoman of
the Interior Affairs and Environmental Protection Committee is preparing for the holy days. According to Israel National News she has ask the police to be
prepared for the holy days during the month of Tishrei and that Jews
be allowed on the Temple Mount during this time.
MK Regev's committee is also taking up the question of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.
Ministry of Interior Affairs Hearing on Temple Mount Prayer
The Ministry of Interior Affairs held a
hearing on Sunday regarding Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. The
most recent conflict surrounding the Temple Mount has been the ban of
all non-Muslims and religious prayers at the holy site.
Many Jewish visitors protested against
these restrictions, with hundreds of individuals attending prayers
and vigils on August 7th outside of the Temple Mount, in order to
demand the same privileges as Muslim visitors, who have unrestricted
access to the site.
Jewish visitors are subjected to severe
restrictions while on the Temple Mount, including a total ban on
conducting prayers or any other religious rituals, despite the site
being the holiest place in Judaism. The ban on Jewish prayer has
continued despite numerous court rulings that such restrictions are
illegal.
In response, Deputy Director of the
Ministry of Religious Services, Moshe Dagan, stated: “As a
regulator, the Ministry will work together with the Chief Rabbinate
of Israel to avail prayer to all parties interested in worship.”
In another response, Ministry Director,
Elhanan Glatt commented, “The Ministry of Religious Services
attaches great importance to the establishment of regulations that
make prayer available to all who wish to pray at designated holy
sites.”
The director of Religious Services also
noted that the Ministry is working in order to grant the Kotel
HaKatan, the Small Western Wall, status as a holy site.
Recently, Jews were blocked even
ascending to the Temple Mount during the entire Islamic holy month of
Ramadan. And they were prevented from ascending the Temple Mount
during the ninth of Av (Tisha B'Av) to commemorate the day when both
the first and second temples were destroyed.
On the other side the protests and violence by Muslims has become more intense.
This footage of Moslem hatred and
incitement was proudly taken by a Moslem on the Temple Mount and
originally uploaded by the Arab website hon.ps. The original title in
Arabic, "تصدي
المرابطين في المسجد الاقصى لاستفزاز
احد المتدينين اليهود بعد محاولته الوصول
للساحات الداخلية " translates
roughly as "A response to a single Jew who attempted to enter
the Temple Mount."
The welcome committee of hate is
organized and sponsored by Raed Salah abu shakra antisemitic
hate-monger and head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement
in Israel.
While it can be acknowledged that the
police presence most definitely prevented a lynching, their utter
passivity is shameful. This is not an isolated incident. It has
become the standard reception every Jew receives upon entering the
Temple Mount in recent months. The presence of large numbers of
Moslems on the Temple Mount due to Ramadan has escalated the violence
and incitement against Jews. In the face of this abuse and even
occasional physical violence against the Jewish visitors, the police
do nothing. The perpetrators are protected instead of prosecuted, and
the Jews are removed or even arrested, and the Mount is closed to
Jewish visitors.
It is the most basic and profound right
of Jews to enter and to pray upon the Temple Mount - the site of the
Holy Temple - the holiest place on earth according to Torah truth.
Israel's failure to guarantee this right is reprehensible.
Tensions are very high as Israel prepares for the holy days of the month of Tishrei.
