Tom Nisani
Tom NisaniPhoto: INN

The Muslim holiday of Ramadan has begun. The month of Ramadan, instead of being a religious holiday for Muslims in the State of Israel, has become a timeframe in which Israel becomes a “sponge” to absorb terror attacks.

In past years, the State of Israel has repeated the same mistakes again and again while expecting a different result; Einstein already called that insanity. Prior to every month of Ramadan, the same "assessments of the situation" begin which usually is centered around deciding whether to restrict Jewish ascent to the Temple Mount, which is already severely restrictive for Jews. At the end of Ramadan we debate whether to close the Temple Mount completely to the entry of Jews. Why? Because Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Jordan threaten us - and we choose insanity.

Check me, and you will find that every time when the Temple Mount was more restricted than usual or closed to Jews altogether, the closure or restriction was the spark of serious riots on the Temple Mount which, from there, very quickly brought the possibility of another military operation, such as in the Guardian of the Walls, or a wave of attacks in Jerusalem, or "only" another unprecedented destruction of antiquities on the Temple Mount; all while leaving the Temple Mount at the mercy of terror organizations and foreign state interests.

The escalation of violence does not occur because we take a firm stance and resistance to the demands of terrorist organizations; on the contrary, every time we have shown weakness in the form of closing the Temple Mount - our payment was in blood.

I won’t pile responsibility on historic leaders of Israel, but the heads of the current coalition themselves, such as the Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir who in the past rightly called the closure of the Temple Mount a “surrender of the Israeli government to the Waqf and the murderers.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in 2021 spoke out about closing the Temple Mount to Jews and said “when you choose disgrace, you get war, … you must not surrender to terrorism.” And he is right!

It is clear to me that Smotrich and Ben-Gvir do not decide alone and that this is a matter that is approved by the cabinet. Therefore, my appeal is to all members of the cabinet, wherever you are, do not adopt the closures or restrictions, do not prevent yourself from thinking outside the box. This time it can be different.

During last year's Ramadan, a huge PLO flag was hoisted on top of the Dome of the Rock for 10 days, until the Waqf removed it. This year, we will see the same spectacle if we elect a decision of insanity and disgracefully expel the Jews from the Temple Mount.

This month will be another critical test for the right-wing government. Soon, attention will be shifted to the Temple Mount, which will be the focus, and where the ministers of the government and the prime minister will be evaluated by their response.

Governance is not just an election slogan. Governance begins with breaking with patterns of the past and learning from history. You have the responsibility to carry out, and to prove that whoever controls the Mount controls the land, and that it is also possible otherwise.

Tom Nisani is the CEO of the organization: Beyadenu - Returning to the Temple Mount