Dear Friends, 

Recent weeks have seen serious attacks on the status quo on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, which is liable to inflame tensions in and around Jerusalem. Enshrined in peace agreements with Jordan and upheld by consecutive Israeli governments since 1967, the status quo confers only Muslims with worship rights, while all others - including Jews - are only visitors to the flashpoint holy site.

For nearly two years, increased incidences of quiet Jewish prayer have been allowed by the Israeli police. Two weeks ago, a lower court in Jerusalem went as far as dismissing a police ban against a known Temple Movement activist from entering the Holy Esplanade after he was caught praying. The Minister of Internal Security, Omer Bar-Lev, appealed the decision, which was ultimately reversed by the District Court - but not before Temple Movement activists celebrated the latest affront to the status quo. The same week, Ir Amim submitted a letter to Minister Bar-Lev, calling on him to continue to enforce the status quo on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif.

Below is an opinion piece written by Ir Amim's Senior Field Researcher, Aviv Tatarsky, and published in Haaretz on the dangerous erosion of the status quo. 

Sincerely,
Ir Amim Staff

Israeli Court Is Rubber Stamping Temple Mount Zealots

The ruling by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court that Jewish prayer is part of the proper routine on Temple Mount, and the judge’s decision to remove the restraining order against Temple activist Aryeh Lipo, is a slap in the face to the status quo. For the first time an Israeli court – even if it’s a lower court – has ruled that Jewish prayer on Temple Mount is permitted not only in principle but in practice as well, and that the police are not permitted to restrict it.

The Jewish Temple movement hastened to celebrate victory. The police appealed to the district court, which about 10 days ago reversed the magistrate court’s decision and left the ban in place. But despite this appearance of rivalry, the truth is that the police have been operating systematically and consistently in recent years along with the Temple movement to undo the status quo. In fact, it can be said that absent a series of steps taken by the police in the past two years, the magistrate judge would never have made her ruling in the first place.

First, it may be worth explaining who Aryeh Lipo is. He is one of the leaders of the Temple movement, which envisions building the Third Temple. Statements emanating from the movement include “[We have to] decide to whom the Temple Mount belongs, to the queen of the Land of Israel, the holy presence, or, God forbid, to the evil handmaid, who is making a mockery of Isaac? There is no choice but to expel this handmaid and her son, because her son will not inherit together with my son Isaac.” Lipo is no exception, of course. The Temple activists often call for the “conquest of the Temple Mount,” the removal of the “foxes” from it and the destruction of the Dome of the Rock.