The number of Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount has surpassed all previous years since the liberation of Jerusalem in 1967.
As of Sept. 6, 51,672 Jews have visited the holy site since last Rosh Hashanah (Sept. 16, 2023), according to the Beyadenu—Returning to the Temple Mount organization.
As of the beginning of the month of Elul (Sept. 4), some 48,144 Jewish worshippers had ascended since last Rosh Hashanah, marking a 14% increase from the 44,317 Jews who visited the Temple Mount throughout the entire previous year (5783).
This number of Jews who visited this past year also surpassed the previous record from two years ago, when 47,988 Jews visited the Temple Mount during 5782.
A turning point in the number of visitors was recorded after the “Return of Israel to the Temple Mount” conference held at the Knesset on July 24, where National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir announced the prayer policy of the “political echelon.” A 45% surge was recorded during this period compared to the same time last year.
However, despite that declaration, and following the comments made by Ben-Gvir in recent days where he called for a cessation of anti-Jewish “racism” on the Temple Mount with regard to who is allowed to pray there, and stating that if it were up to him he would build a synagogue on the Temple Mount, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “there is no change to the status quo” barring Jews from worshiping there.
President Isaac Herzog also reiterated that Israel has an “unequivocal commitment to preserving the status quo at the holy site—in accordance with political agreements laid down since 1967 [with Jordan], and in the spirit of the rulings by leading rabbis and religious figures over the last 100 years.”
Not all agree
However, not all rabbis agree that the status quo is non-negotiable.
Rabbi Steven Burg, the CEO of Aish, a Jewish educational institution located opposite the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City, said in a recent interview on ILTV, “It’s almost surreal to hear people arguing so vehemently against people being able to pray in a holy site. I think there needs to be a conversation about how everyone, Christians, Muslims and Jews, could be allowed to pray and to reach out to the Almighty from all the different religions that believe in one God.
“I think people should be allowed to pray on the Temple Mount. How the structure will be, and what that would look like, that is a real conversation that should happen. I feel that we shouldn’t ban anyone from praying in any place where they feel they could reach out to the Almighty,” he said.
Burg added that the threat of violence as repercussions to prayer and religious worship “is a premise that we shouldn’t accept. There needs to be a conversation about it. The Temple Mount should be a place of unity, not a place of distrust.”
Ben-Gvir said in an interview with Army Radio on Aug. 26 that Jewish prayer is allowed on the Mount. That prompted the denial from the Prime Minister’s Office, which stated that policy at the holy site is determined by the Cabinet and the prime minister.
A statement published by the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday said: “Last night, at the start of the Security Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared that on the issue of the Temple Mount there is no change in the status quo, nor will there be. The prime minister repeated his directive that government ministers are not to visit the Temple Mount without his approval in advance via his military secretary.”
The Temple Mount Administration activist group reacted to the report of the record-breaking number of visitors, saying, “It is heartening to see the people of Israel returning to the Temple Mount. The increase in the number of worshippers ascending the Mount, even during times of war, makes the return of Israel to the Temple Mount a living and existing reality.
“This surge has many contributors: the tens of thousands of visitors, the commanders and police officers who ensure that the Temple Mount remains calm, peaceful and safe for visits, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who tirelessly works for positive progress on the Temple Mount, and also Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been enabling and encouraging this positive transformation for a decade.”
