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Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Thursday, where he participated in a prayer service and prostrated himself on the ground in worship — activities that are nominally prohibited for Jews at the flashpoint holy site.
Sukkot hailed the “tremendous change” since he was arrested for the same act 14 years ago. Meanwhile, allied far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israel Police, which enforces law and security on the Mount, boasted that a shift in the unwritten status quo that governs the site was a result of his policies.
The fragile arrangement has long seen non-Muslim visitors being banned from praying on the site that also houses the al-Aqsa Mosque, and which is known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif.
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest site in Islam. Perceived changes to the status quo on the Temple Mount evoke strong emotions and are frequently cited as a Muslim motivation for religious violence.
There has been a years-long de facto loosening of the rules for Jewish visitors, particularly since ultranationalist Ben Gvir became the minister overseeing the police in December 2022. Ben Gvir says he has led an overhaul of policy at the Temple Mount and that Jews are now allowed to pray there.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that it is the case, but visitors have time and again been filmed and photographed doing so without police interference, leading to backlash from countries in the region.
In a statement from his office, Sukkot said that during a visit 14 years ago to the Temple Mount, he prostrated himself but was immediately seized by cops and arrested. The charges were later dropped.
“Today, Jews prostrate themselves, pray, with a minyan [quorum of 10 adult Jews], and don’t let the Arabs come near us. The Waqf doesn’t come near us,” he said, referring to the Jordanian religious trust that administers the site.
“I’m seeing this [change] with tears in my eyes,” he added, saying that while on the Mount, he prayed for the IDF’s success in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and the return of hostages held in the Palestinian territory Hamas led an invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering the war.
Sukkot visited the Mount with Rabbi Shimshon Elbaum, head of the self-proclaimed Temple Mount Administration, a far-right outfit that campaigns for Jewish rights at the site.
Ben Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, welcomed Sukkot’s visit and open prayer, taking credit for the change in the status quo at the site that enables Jews to pray there.
“I’m happy to see that MK Zvi Sukkot, like many thousands, is prostrating himself and praying at the Temple Mount,” Ben Gvir said in a statement. “What wasn’t done for 30 years is being done on my watch, and I’m glad to have the honor, by the grace of God, to lead this huge change.”
Ben Gvir has made numerous visits <www.timesofisrael.com/ben-gvir-again-ascends-temple-mount-haredi-mk-slams-visit-as-desecration/>to the Temple Mount, including two weeks ago.
Thousands of observant Jews visited the Temple Mount this week to mark the festival of Passover.
On Tuesday, police reportedly allowed a group of roughly 180 Jews <www.timesofisrael.com/police-said-to-allow-group-of-180-jews-onto-temple-mount-further-testing-norms/> to ascend the Mount together, far exceeding the number usually permitted, which stands at around 30.
Police told Haaretz that they “secured visits to the Temple Mount as usual, in accordance with visitation rules and the number of visitors.”
It was not clear from the Haaretz report whether the 180-strong Jewish group prayed at the site, but a video posted to X on Tuesday by journalist Yinon Magal showed a group performing the priestly blessing on the Mount.
Ben Gvir has said repeatedly that his policy is to allow Jewish prayer there, drawing rebukes from international officials, as well as warnings from the security establishment that renewed conflict over the site could pose a risk to national security.
The far-right minister has also rebuffed Netanyahu’s repeated insistence that the decades-old status quo remains in force.
Religious Zionism MK Zvi Sukkot visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem on Thursday, where he participated in a prayer service and prostrated himself on the ground in worship — activities that are nominally prohibited for Jews at the flashpoint holy site.
Sukkot hailed the “tremendous change” since he was arrested for the same act 14 years ago. Meanwhile, allied far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who oversees the Israel Police, which enforces law and security on the Mount, boasted that a shift in the unwritten status quo that governs the site was a result of his policies.
The fragile arrangement has long seen non-Muslim visitors being banned from praying on the site that also houses the al-Aqsa Mosque, and which is known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif.
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism and the third-holiest site in Islam. Perceived changes to the status quo on the Temple Mount evoke strong emotions and are frequently cited as a Muslim motivation for religious violence.
There has been a years-long de facto loosening of the rules for Jewish visitors, particularly since ultranationalist Ben Gvir became the minister overseeing the police in December 2022. Ben Gvir says he has led an overhaul of policy at the Temple Mount and that Jews are now allowed to pray there.
*Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Editionby email and never miss our top stories*
Top of Form
Newsletter email addressGet it
Bottom of Form
By signing up, you agree to the terms <www.timesofisrael.com/terms>
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly denied that it is the case, but visitors have time and again been filmed and photographed doing so without police interference, leading to backlash from countries in the region.
In a statement from his office, Sukkot said that during a visit 14 years ago to the Temple Mount, he prostrated himself but was immediately seized by cops and arrested. The charges were later dropped.
“Today, Jews prostrate themselves, pray, with a minyan [quorum of 10 adult Jews], and don’t let the Arabs come near us. The Waqf doesn’t come near us,” he said, referring to the Jordanian religious trust that administers the site.
“I’m seeing this [change] with tears in my eyes,” he added, saying that while on the Mount, he prayed for the IDF’s success in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and the return of hostages held in the Palestinian territory Hamas led an invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering the war.
Sukkot visited the Mount with Rabbi Shimshon Elbaum, head of the self-proclaimed Temple Mount Administration, a far-right outfit that campaigns for Jewish rights at the site.
Ben Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, welcomed Sukkot’s visit and open prayer, taking credit for the change in the status quo at the site that enables Jews to pray there.
“I’m happy to see that MK Zvi Sukkot, like many thousands, is prostrating himself and praying at the Temple Mount,” Ben Gvir said in a statement. “What wasn’t done for 30 years is being done on my watch, and I’m glad to have the honor, by the grace of God, to lead this huge change.”
Ben Gvir has made numerous visits <www.timesofisrael.com/ben-gvir-again-ascends-temple-mount-haredi-mk-slams-visit-as-desecration/>to the Temple Mount, including two weeks ago.
Thousands of observant Jews visited the Temple Mount this week to mark the festival of Passover.
On Tuesday, police reportedly allowed a group of roughly 180 Jews <www.timesofisrael.com/police-said-to-allow-group-of-180-jews-onto-temple-mount-further-testing-norms/> to ascend the Mount together, far exceeding the number usually permitted, which stands at around 30.
Police told Haaretz that they “secured visits to the Temple Mount as usual, in accordance with visitation rules and the number of visitors.”
It was not clear from the Haaretz report whether the 180-strong Jewish group prayed at the site, but a video posted to X on Tuesday by journalist Yinon Magal showed a group performing the priestly blessing on the Mount.
Ben Gvir has said repeatedly that his policy is to allow Jewish prayer there, drawing rebukes from international officials, as well as warnings from the security establishment that renewed conflict over the site could pose a risk to national security.
The far-right minister has also rebuffed Netanyahu’s repeated insistence that the decades-old status quo remains in force.
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