Jewish visitors on Temple Mount
Jewish visitors on Temple MountZac Wajsgras/Flash90

More haredim ascended the Temple Mount over the Sukkot holiday than ever before, according to the Kikar Shabbat haredi news site.

The number of haredim who ascended the Temple Mount over Sukkot this year was 70% greater than the number who ascended over Sukkot during previous years.

This increase comes despite the repeated banning of Jews from the Temple Mount by many haredi rabbis, including Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef due to the possibility of walking in areas that are forbidden by the Torah.

Others however, are pleased with the increased Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. MK Yehuda Glick (Likud) last week praised the more than 400 Jews who ascended the Temple Mount in a single day.

Glick has blamed the Israeli policy of restricting Jewish access to and freedom of prayer on the Temple Mount for the UNESCO vote denying any Jewish connection to the holiest site in Judaism.

“UNESCO’s resolution last week reminds us that 50 years of neglecting the Temple Mount led the world to make a mistake and think we are admitting we have no connection to the place."

There has been no reported increase in terrorist activity in response to the ascension of a greater number of Jews to the Temple Mount.