Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on Wednesday that he has prayed atop Yerushalayim’s Har Habayis and intends to allow all Jews to openly pray at the holiest site in the world, changing the status quo that has existed there since 1967.
“I was at Har Habayis last week. I prayed on Har Habayis, and we pray on Har Habayis,” Ben-Gvir declared during a summit on the issue hosted at the Knesset, adding, “I am the political echelon, and the political echelon permits prayer on Har Habayis.
In response to Ben-Gvir’s statement, the Israel Police declared that Jewish prayer remains prohibited on Har Habayis.
“We do not allow [Jewish] prayer at Har Habayis,” said Ch. Supt. Eyal Avraham, the commander of the police’s Holy Sites Unit.
The Prime Minister’s Office also disavowed Ben-Gvir’s words, issuing a statement saying that “Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed and will not change.”
Ben-Gvir said: “There is still progress to be made, but I remember that there were days when they shouted ‘Allahu Akhbar’ and I yelled back ‘Shema Yisrael’ and was arrested. Today, it is different: Many people enter the site, proudly walk around and pray. This is how it should be.”
Thanking the police, he reiterated that “there will be no discrimination against Jews on Har Habayis; that’s what I am striving for.”
Wednesday’s conference, titled “Israel’s Return to Har Habayis,” was also attended by Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen (Likud) and Knesset members Ariel Kellner (Likud), Keti Shitrit (Likud), Nissim Vaturi (Likud), Yitzhak Kroizer (Otzma Yehudit), Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit) and Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionism).
Under a status quo arrangement reached with Jordan in the wake of the 1967 Six-Day War, Jews may visit Har Habayis but not pray there.
However, Israel’s Chief Rabbinate opposes visits to Har Habayis by Jews due to the concern that they may inadvertently set foot in an area that, according to Halacha, is forbidden to enter unless one is Tahor.
On the other hand, prominent Religious Zionist rabbis have permitted—and even encouraged—Jews to visit the holy site. They argue that measurements taken after 1967 have determined the boundaries of the area Jews may enter following immersion in a Mikvah.
According to a 2022 survey, most Charedi Jews living in Israel, nearly 87%, oppose Jewish prayer on the Har Habayis.
Conversely, more than half of Jews who identify as either National Religious or traditional religious support prayer on Har Habayis, as do nearly half of all “traditional non-religious,” who say Jewish prayer bolsters Israel’s sovereignty at the contested site.
During his visit to Har Habayis last week, Ben-Gvir Davened for the return of the remaining 120 hostages held by the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.
“I went up to Har Habayis this morning to pray for the return home of the captives—without a reckless deal, but through increasing military pressure against Hamas and continuing to crush it,” the Otzma Yehudit Party leader said in a video statement posted to X.
During the year 2023, 50,098 Jews visited Har Habayis, down from 51,483 in 2022, according to data compiled by Beyadenu, an Israeli NGO dedicated to strengthening the Jewish connection to the holy site.
{Matzav.com}