Fifteen rabbis called on the Israeli government on Thursday to raise the Temple Mount and al-Haram al-Sharif next Wednesday, when the Jewish holiday of Passover begins, a move that could raise tensions in Jerusalem. worse during the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The rabbis have sent a request to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Thursday to go up to the Temple Mount and allow Jews to offer the Passover, as it was practiced in biblical times. .
Over the years, the majority of rabbis have ruled that Jews are not allowed to go up to the site of the Temple Mount, as purification rites cannot be performed when the temple is destroyed. Most of the Rameses oppose reviving the biblical sacrifices of a lamb or a goat. However, far-right religious activists have registered a clear trend in recent years of an increase in the number of Jews going up to the Temple Mount compound.
The request from the rabbis to enable the Passover sacrifice is not new. Temple Mount activists have made similar demands frequently in recent years, mostly ahead of traditional Jewish holidays. Israeli police are regularly monitoring such attempts. Ten people were detained by police in 2016, on their way to offer the Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount. A prominent far-right activist who bought a young goat last year was arrested for his intention to bring it to the scene as a Passover sacrifice.
The “Back to the Mount” movement, which preaches for Israel to take control of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif complex from the hands of the Muslim Waqf authorities, is available on Thursday prizes for Jews who would try to swallow a lamb into the holy place. A person detained by police trying to enter the complex with a lamb would receive a reward if 1,200 Israeli shekels ($330) were presented, a person caught inside the complex with a lamb 2,500 shekels ($690) and if one succeeded in bidding. a young lamb or goat on the Temple Mount would fetch 20,000 shekels ($5,500).
The calls for a Passover sacrifice come in the context of very high tensions in Jerusalem this year, with Ramadan and Passover overlapping. Jerusalem police traditionally limit Jewish entry to the site during Ramadan to minimize friction, especially in the last 10 days of the Muslim holy month. It appears that Ben-Gvir, who over the years has asked Jews to go up to the Temple Mount, is currently in charge of the Israeli police, adding to the already volatile situation. Ben-Gvir’s wife is a well-known Temple Mount activist.
At the same time, measures were implemented last week to enable Muslims from the West Bank and Gaza Strip to enter Israel to pray at Muslim holy sites and celebrate Ramadan with family members living in Israel. A report from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday around midday that more than 100,000 Palestinians had entered Israel, most of them going to Haram al-Sharif for Ramadan prayers, double the number compared to last Friday. Still, the IDF decided Friday morning that all crossing points in the West Bank and Gaza would be closed on the first and last day of Passover.