USA TODAY International Edition
Jewish activists defy law, secretly pray at holy site
Under a decades- old deal, non- Muslims can visit the holy site but can’t pray
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in September that Jews are “defiling” the complex with their “filthy feet.”
In a move that could further inflame recent Palestinian violence, Jewish activists are defying Israeli law by secretly praying at a site holy to both Jews and Muslims.
On a recent Sunday at the hilltop complex known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, dozens of religious Jews shoved ahead of a line of tourists.
While being closely monitored at the site by security guards, who questioned anyone suspected of engaging in prayer, a number of visitors from a group of about 15 mumbled prayers quietly as they pretended to speak on their cellphones and cupped their hands over their mouths. They recited the prayers from memory, as they had been instructed to leave behind their prayer books before entering.
The 37- acre complex is the holiest site in Judaism and the third- holiest site in Islam, housing the Al- Aqsa Mosque and goldtopped Dome of the Rock. Under a decades- old agreement, nonMuslims can visit the site but not pray, and Jordan is custodian of the walled compound in old Jerusalem.
“This is anti- Semitism!” exclaimed Yael Kabilio of treatment of Jews at the Temple Mount.
Kabilio travels once a month from her home in Netiv Haavot, an unauthorized Israeli settlement in the West Bank, to lead tours to the site for a group called Women for the Temple. She said visiting the site is especially significant now amid heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.
Since mid- September, 14 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings, and 81 Palestinians have died by Israeli fire, including 51 who Israel says were involved in attacks or attempted attacks, according to the Associated Press figures through Sunday.
The clashes erupted amid rumors that Israel plans to retake control of the site, and Palestinians point to the increase in Jewish visits there as a provocation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly denies the alle- gations and vows to maintain the status quo of the holy complex.
“Israel will continue to enforce its longstanding policy: Muslims pray on the Temple Mount; nonMuslims visit the Temple Mount,” Netanyahu said in a statement last month, adding that while Israel acknowledges the site’s religious significance to three faiths, it does not intend to divide the site.
Palestinian leaders, however, have linked the attacks against Israel to what they describe as defense of the Temple Mount. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in September that Jews are “defiling” the complex with their “filthy feet” and that he blesses “every drop of blood that has been shed for Jerusalem.”
A survey released in September by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research showed 50% of Palestinians believed that Israel was intent on destroying the Al- Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock to make way for a third Jewish temple.
As tensions spiraled last month, parliament member Basel Ghattas defied government orders banning politicians from the site and posted a video to his Facebook page documenting his visit.
“Netanyahu and Israel cannot prevent us from entering the mosque,” wrote Ghattas, a Christian Arab.
He said he saw Jews singing and praying as Israeli police stood by.
At least 27 Temple Mount advocacy groups exist and call for an increase in Jewish visitors so they can pray there.
One group called Returning to the Mount said it will pay about $ 500 to Jews arrested for praying there, said Gilad Hadari, a representative for the group who was at the Sunday visit.