A Jewish Israeli man detained on the Temple Mount says police on the mount were taking their orders from members of the Islamic Wakf.
The man, David Hertzlich, was at the Temple Mount with his son. The two were overwhelmed with emotion as they stood on the mount, which according to Jewish tradition is the holiest place on earth.
However, he told Arutz Sheva, they were careful not to violate orders against praying, or even appearing to pray, at the site. “They told us we couldn’t pray, or move our lips, and we didn’t,” he said.
But that was not enough. “Toward the end of the tour I got a bit emotional and said a silent prayer in my heart,” he recalled. “A Wakf man yelled to a policeman to arrest me, because I was praying.”
“The policeman seemed conflicted,” Hertzlich reported. “But in the end he took me to the police station and told me I was detained. I said I didn’t do anything, but it didn’t help.”
Police simply accepted the Wakf man’s complaint without investigating themselves, he accused. There is a sense that officers are quick to crack down on visiting Jews, he added.
Hertzlich was ultimately released without being charged, but not before police tried to persuade him to sign a form confirming the complaint. “The captain at the station told me he understood that [the complaint] was not correct, and that I hadn’t violated any orders, but that the procedure is to fill out forms,” he said.
Police have not yet responded to Arutz Sheva’s request for clarification.