WhatsappThe Temple Mount was not in the hands of the Jewish people for 19 years – between 1948 and 1967. But in truth, it wasn’t in the hands of the Jewish people for nearly 2,000 years prior to that. The Land of Israel was an occupied country by Romans, Byzantines, Mamluks, Crusaders and Ottomans – for centuries. The Land largely stood empty, always with just a few Jews, until the beginning of the 19th century, when tens of Jewish families began to make the risky trek to return to the Land of Israel.
The Jewish people always prayed to return to the Land of Israel. But in today’s environment, the Jewish people in Jerusalem have been under attack by many throngs of Arabs. The Temple Mount has clearly not been a place where a Jew can freely pray, despite the fact that the Temple Mount is indeed under Jewish sovereignty.
So where is the violence in Jerusalem coming from? Dr. Mordechai Kedar explains that it is always young males that are performing the violent attacks on Jews in Jerusalem. The new “cool” phenomenon is always to attack and post on Tik-Tok. Arabs are indeed free to travel nearly anywhere in Israel, and therefore it is easy for Arabs to find Jewish people to attack. But in addition, Dr. Kedar points out that in the month of Ramadan, becoming more religious is often expressed by Arabs via attacks on Jews.
The Jewish people in Israel need to reassert their authority over violent mobs, in Jerusalem and throughout the country. But more than anywhere else, the Temple Mount must be a place of peace, for people of all faiths to worship all the time, not just the Muslims. Instead of the authorities always appeasing the Muslim world, we need the Israeeli authorities to finally put a total stop to all the Muslim violence and terror, so that all peace-loving Jews, Muslims and Christians can live and worship peacefully. That is the way we can return a true feeling of holiness to our Holiest place on earth.
