
Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef wrote a letter to National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir Tuesday protesting the ministers visit to the Temple Mount this morning in which he stated that religious government ministers must obey the instructions of the Chief Rabbinate forbidding all Jews from entering the Temple Mount.
"I heard with sadness about your decision to go up to the Temple Mount, today, the day of the Tenth of Tevet, and by virtue of my position as the Chief Rabbi of Israel and as the successor of the Chief Rabbis throughout the generations, I feel obliged to warn you of the severity of the ban on going up to the Temple Mount, and to ask you, on behalf of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, to refrain from going up to the Temple Mount in the future, so as not to cause the masses to err, particularly in the case of a government minister whose influence and potential to lead the public astray is greater," Rabbi Yosef wrote.
Rabbi Yosef cited the opinions of multiple former Chief Rabbis, including Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, in establishing that the majority rabbinical opinion forbids visiting the Temple Mount.
At the end of his letter, the rabbi noted that "Even if there is a claim that there is some minority of rabbis who allowed you personally, it is clear that as a minister in the government of Israel you cannot act against the instructions of the Chief Rabbinate which has been consistent for generations, and what will the masses of the people say when they see a minister, an observant Jew who acts contrary to the position of the Chief Rabbinate? I hope you will find a way to correct this matter and sanctify the name of heaven."
Earlier, the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Shlomo Amar, also criticized Ben-Gvir for his visit to the Temple Mount.
"Many approached me to say that today a minister came to pray on the Temple Mount, and asked what I thought. And I wondered and wondered how a minister in Israel who observes the Torah and its commandments could violate the Torah ruling of all the Chief Rabbinical Councils, which followed in the footsteps of our great rabbis of the generation and the judges of the generation ... who ruled according to the law of our holy Torah - that it is completely forbidden to enter the Temple Mount," Rabbi Amar said.
He added: "And it is certainly not in our power to measure the boundaries of the Temple and its courtyards, and this may lead to violations the most severe prohibitions, G-d forbid."
"And I consider it my duty as the former Chief Rabbi of Israel and the current Chief Rabbi of the Holy City and the Temple of Jerusalem to protest all those who enter the Temple Mount at this time, and to announce that there is absolutely no permit whatsoever to enter the Temple Mount."