Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount on Tuesday caused a flurry of reactions, including widespread international condemnation by world leaders.
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism—the location of both the First and Second Temples. It is also the third holiest site in Islam and, currently, the plaza houses Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
Israel allows Muslims to visit and pray on the Temple Mount, whereas Jews—according to the “the status quo” policy—are only allowed to visit during specific time windows, but not to pray or to perform religious rituals.
In 2006, Ben Gvir joined other activists who were attempting to perform the Passover sacrifice—the ritual slaughter of a one year old male lamb—on the Temple Mount, before they were stopped by the police. The “Returning to the Mount” activist group every year requests permission to perform the ritual sacrifice on the Mount. Every year, their application is rejected.
“This year, in light of the political situation and the formation of a ‘fully right-wing’ government for the first time in a long time, there is real potential that the Passover sacrifice could be performed in a respectful way, with approval from and coordination with all of the different authorities, principally the Israel Police, which are under your power as the new national security minister of the State of Israel,” the group wrote to Ben Gvir recently.
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