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Israel’s right defies rabbinate over Al-

Aqsa
Mike Hanna

7-8 Minuten

NOTICE AND WARNING: ENTERING THE TEMPLE MOUNT

AREA IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN BY JEWISH LAW DUE TO
THE SACRED NATURE OF THE SITE- ISRAEL CHIEF
RABBINATE

There’s no missing these signs that have been in place

since Israeli’s occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967; and
there has been no change whatsoever in the position of
the country’s religious authority which interprets the
Torah and advises the government of the day.

Video Duration 07 minutes 17 seconds 07:17

Palestinian ambassador: Al-Aqsa standoff could unravel

Palestinian ambassador: Al-Aqsa standoff could

unravel

Why, then, are numerous groups within Israel clamouring

for full access to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, and
why are they claiming this access on the basis of a
religious right?

The answer to this question makes one thing very clear:

What has changed is not religious law, but the
interpretation of the law by a government that appears
intent on undermining the authority of the rabbis.

I have seen the changes first hand.

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I was in the Old City that September day in 2000 when

Ariel Sharon insisted on access to the area above the
Western Wall. The government of the day headed by
Ehud Barak pleaded with him not to do it, and then
instructed him not to do it.

The only thing that prevented Barak from forcibly

preventing Sharon was the tenuous nature of his
domestic political status. At the time, he was engaging
in accelerated talks on a final status peace deal. Sharon
went ahead and the rest is history. Within days, the
second Intifada was underway, and within months,
Sharon’s approval rating had risen from three percent at
the time of the walk to more than 70 percent going into
new elections.

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Sharon was not a religious man, though he wore his

kippa, or skull cap, on that occasion. Cynics may argue
that the decision was taken with an eye to reviving a
failed political career; but as always, with Sharon, there
was also a strong nationalistic drive.

Moving 15 years forward, I am once again outside the

walls of the Old City, watching Palestinian after
Palestinian being turned away by heavily armed police
officers at every point of access. The total lockdown of
the entire Old City to all but Palestinians who live or own
businesses within the walls is unprecedented, it was
never done even at the height of both Intifadas.

Jewish Israeli citizens along with tourists, though,

maintain their full access, and some choose to ignore
the religious injunction and retrace Sharon’s footsteps
and visit the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Video Duration 25 minutes 15 seconds 25:15

Inside Story - Can Netanyahu change Al Aqsa status quo?

Inside Story – Can Netanyahu change Al-Aqsa status

quo?

I watch group after group take the tour, escorted by

police and guides from the supervising authority, the
Waqf, who are on hand to ensure that no one stops and
prays. It’s significant that the vast majority of those I
observe on the walk are also wearing the kippa skull cap
that, while denoting faith, has also become the signature
headwear of those in the hardline settler movement.

Israeli police produced figures noting that more than 500

people were escorted through the al-Aqsa Mosque
compound on that day; the bulk were classified
as “tourists”, but some 120 were confirmed to be Jewish
Israeli citizens.

The al-Aqsa Mosque compound is in full view from the

Mount of Olives opposite, and throughout the morning, I
watched small Palestinian parties gathering away from
the tourists, looking down as group after group was
escorted through the compound and shaking their
heads.

The question once again crosses my mind: Why is this

being allowed when it is such clear provocation?

Government support for settlers

Video Duration 04 minutes 17 seconds 04:17

Israeli security forces enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound

Israeli security forces enter the al-Aqsa Mosque

compound

The answer to that may be found in looking at some

strange recipients of official government funding that
have an interest in the Old City. These range from a
women’s group in the settlement of Ofra that makes
imitation artefacts from the Third Temple to the
increasingly influential Temple Mount Institute.

The institute receives over one hundred and ten

thousand dollars a year from the Ministry of Culture and
the Ministry of Education. It argues strongly that the
rabbis are wrong, and that not all of the al-Aqsa Mosque
compound ground is sacred – only one tiny area in
which it says the “Holy of Holies”.

This is the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle where God

dwelt and where, in the First Temple, the Ark of the
Covenant was kept. In fact, the institute advocates and
has drawn up plans for the rebuilding of the Third
Temple. By continuing to fund the institute, the
Netanyahu government is not only condoning but
perhaps advocating building on the land occupied by the
al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Then one looks closely at the nature of the current

government: The most influential force within it are
representatives of the settler movement. If the Jewish
Home party of hardline and proud settler leader Naftali
Bennet no longer supports Netanyahu for example, the
government falls.

Then one looks closely at the nature of the current

government, the most influential force within it are
representatives of the settler movement.

by

I am not alone in believing that the Old City has once

again become a political tool as well as a place sacred
to Muslim, Christian and Jew. Ariel Sharon saw clearly
the potential for gaining wider political support by
making a nationalist claim to the whole of the Old City.

The settler movement may well be seeking its own

Sharon moment; after all, what was once a fringe
movement is now mainstream. And it is likely to gain
even more support and legitimacy in the eyes of the
wider Israeli public arguing for a right to the Old City than
it would for some remote hilltop in the West Bank.
In this thesis, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound has
become the focal point of a settler movement seeking
full control of all Occupied Territory.

In 2000 the then prime minister did everything in his

power to prevent Israeli access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque
compound, citing security concerns as well as backing
the religious law as outlined by the country’s Chief
Rabbinate.

In 2015, the prime minister stays silent as members of

his government press for complete access – defying the
country’s supreme religious authority and ignoring – or
perhaps encouraging – devastating consequences
throughout the region.