Arab protests and riots on Temple Mount
Arab protests and riots on Temple MountFlash 90

Video filmed on the Temple Mount attests to what right-wing activists have long contended – that the police and security forces are afraid of Muslim rioters, who are prepared to cause anarchy at the drop of a hat. Upon seeing Jews, Muslim women begin rioting, while police, instead of stopping the riot, usher Jews off the Temple Mount in order not to further “agitate” the rioters.

Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, head of the Temple Mount Institute, called on Jews not to hesitate to visit the Mount, in order to make it clear that Jews belonged there, and had a right to be there. “We must repent,” he said. “The situation is difficult. The Mount is under the rule and control of various Islamic groups, and the police rush Jewish visitors in and out in order not to interfere with the Muslim sovereignty of the holy site.”

The proof, he said, was in video shot by activist Gilad Hadari, who brought a GoPro outdoor camera with him and filmed one of the riots. Women are seen threatening to throw rocks, ululating, cursing, and generally making Jewish visitors unwelcome – a cue taken by police, who rush the Jewish group off the Mount quickly.

The Hamas thugs – ostensibly members of the Waqf – are the bosses of the Israel police,” said Rabbi Ariel. “They do as they are told. Recently it was reported that ISIS activists are present on the Mount, and that is even more worrying.”

The time has come, he added, for the Chief Rabbis to embrace the notion of Jews ascending the Temple Mount – a move the rabbis have refused for decades, claiming that Jews are unable to do so lest they enter holy areas that ritually impure individuals are not allowed to tread. “It's very sad,” he said. “There is a small minority of us that are visiting the Mount against the wishes of the rabbis, of ISIS, and of the government. The proper way to repent would be for all of us to rise up and declare that we are visiting the Mount freely. That is one of the greatest of deeds we can accomplish today.”