Journalist and author Emily Amrousi ascended the Temple Mount Wednesday morning when she found herself alone on the mountain without the escort of Israeli police officers or the Jordanian Waqf.
Today, Jews are not allowed to go up to the Temple Mount independently, alone and without police escort. But apparently thanks to a mistake by the policeman at the entrance to the mount who thought she was a tourist, she was able to visit the holiest site in Judaism without restriction.
"It happened by chance," Amrousi explained. "Jews cannot go up to the Temple Mount unless they are in a group. I quite by chance went up completely alone."
"I came with pants," she said. "I don't look like one of the classic visitors to the mount The policeman asked me at the entrance where I was from, he thought I was a tourist. I told him my girlfriend was already on the mount, so he told me well, go up. Then I walked around here, all the policemen saw me," she said.
"Perhaps I am the first Jewish woman who managed to ascend alone without policemen and without the Waqf hovering over my head," she noted. "The only thing the Waqf told me was that my sleeves were too short. My independent tour here continues. I'm alone. No police, no Waqf. Unrestricted. I just look like a tourist."
When she left the Temple Mount, she met Naama, the friend who was supposed to go up to the Temple Mount with her. "Naama explained to me that it's not Jews who aren't allowed to go alone, it's Jews with a religious appearance. That's why a girl in a headscarf like Naama can't go alone. As soon as she tries to go up alone, she's immediately attached to the group. It's not a matter of Jews, it's a matter of Jews who have religious appearance."