In a new twist on the ways in which coronavirus-era litigation can be exploited, Temple Mount activists attorneys Aviad Visuli and Hillel Weiss have submitted a petition to the Supreme Court demanding that Jews be permitted to hold demonstrations on the Temple Mount.
Their petition, submitted on the day before Yom Kippur, demands that protests be permitted on the Temple Mount during the upcoming festivals of Sukkot and Simchat Torah – that is, from next Shabbat for eight days.
Their decision to turn to the Supreme Court follows an unsuccessful petition submitted to the Jerusalem District Court, which was summarily dismissed without a hearing or any reason given for its rejection.
In their petition, the two attorneys note that the respondents – in this case, Israel Police – “blatantly discriminate against Jews who want to protest against the racial and political discrimination they are subjected to by both the Police and the State of Israel, which tramples on their human rights on the Temple Mount and treats them as inferior citizens.”
They stress that: “While the police meticulously protect the rights of Muslims on the Temple Mount, they behave in an opposite manner to the Jews – negating their basic rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, freedom to protest.
“The police allocate mere ‘crumbs’ of human rights to Jews on the Temple Mount,” they add, “in order to be able to claim that they do not display outright racism against Jews. In fact, these ‘crumbs’ only serve to highlight the racially based discrimination of the police against Jews on the Temple Mount.”
Approached for comment, attorney Aviad Visuli stated: “The Supreme Court zealously defends the rights of the left wing to demonstrate in any place and time they wish. Now we plan to test the Court and see if it wants to defend the rights of all Jews to protest – even when they are protesting the fact that the State of Israel prevents the free entrance of Jews, 24/7, to the Temple Mount, negates their human rights while they are on the Temple Mount, and does so in a clearly racial manner. The police treat Jews on the Temple Mount as if they were third-rate citizens.”