Troubling New Sign on The Temple Mount Forbids Jewish Prayer

Abra Forman : Jul 20, 2015
Breaking Israel News

"We cannot understand why the police have adopted the radical Muslim narrative of the sanctity of the Temple Mount to Muslims only." –Rabbi Yehuda Glick

(Israel)—Violating Israeli law guaranteeing freedom of worship, the Israeli Police, Monday morning, erected a new sign at the visitors' entrance to the Temple Mount strictly forbidding any kind of prayer and enforcing a set of stringent restrictions on dress, behavior and the bringing of religious items in order to "respect the holiness of the site." (Photo: Sliman Khader/FLASH90)

The Israeli Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the rights of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site in all of Judaism and the third most holy site in Islam.

Though the issue is a difficult one due to the controversial nature of the site, complete freedom of worship is guaranteed by the Israeli Declaration of Independence and the Israeli Knesset's Basic Laws. Attempts by the Israeli Police to curtail this right on the Temple Mount have been defeated several times in court.

Nevertheless, Israeli Police enforce their own rules on the Temple Mount, closely monitoring Jewish visitors to prevent any kind of visible prayer, escorting any "violators" off the Mount and occasionally arresting and banning Jews from the holy site. Muslim prayer, however, is freely allowed.

Although the sign does not specify non-Muslim prayer, it is clearly aimed solely at Israelis and tourists. It is written in Hebrew and English—not Arabic—and it is posted only at the visitors' gate and not at the multiple Temple Mount entrances used by Muslims.

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