MK Bezalel Smotrich (Jewish Home) lobbied Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) and Israeli Chief of Police Roni Alshich on Tuesday following what he termed the “violation of freedom of worship” of Jews, after the arrest of worshippers outside of the Temple Mount.
On Sunday, Smotrich noted in his letter, two teenage girls were arrested after they prayed near one of the entrances to the Temple Mount.
The female worshippers, wrote Smotrich, had merely prayed and at no point did they attempt to enter the Temple Mount or engage in any provocative behavior. One of the girls, a minor, was freed after several hours, and given a four-day restraining order distancing her from the Old City.
The second girl, who refused to accept the restraining order, was held overnight before being brought before Judge Miriam Kaslesi, who issued a 15-day restraining order barring her from entering the Old City.
Smotrich added that yesterday another nine Jews were arrested while praying outside of one of the entrances to the Temple Mount.
“The police’s conduct [this week] marks a new low in their harsh and discriminatory conduct towards Jews.”
The new prohibition against praying outside of the gates, wrote Smotrich, banning a more than 1,000 year old Jewish tradition, is being enforced in a “discriminatory and racist manner, targeting Jews, and as such constitutes a serious violation of the freedom of movement and freedom of worship on the Temple Mount and its surroundings.”
The Jewish Home MK called upon Erdan and Alshich to immediately halt the “continuing violation of basic human rights of Jews in the heart of Jerusalem.” There are no restrictions on Arab prayer.