Nearly three thousand Jews (2,958) ascended the Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av earlier this week.
One of the Jews was National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir who said, “We are here on Tisha B’Av, on the Temple Mount, to commemorate the destruction of the Temple. But we also have to say honestly: there is a very big progress here in governance, in sovereignty. Pictures of Jews praying here. As I said: our policy is to allow prayer.”
PM Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Ben-Gvir for determining policy on the Temple Mount. Ben-Gvir then released a subsequent statement, presumably in response to Netanyahu: “The policy of the Minister of National Security is to allow freedom of worship for Jews everywhere, including the Temple Mount, and Jews will continue to do so in the future as well. The Temple Mount is a sovereign territory in the capital of the State of Israel. There is no law that allows racial discrimination against Jews on the Temple Mount, or anywhere else in Israel.”
Source:
Ben Gvir Ascends Temple Mount on 9 B’Av, Jews ‘Break the Rules’ by Praying, Prostrating and Singing, by David Israel/Jewish Press, August 13, 2024