Knesset Member Amit Halevi visited the Temple Mount this morning (Sunday) and criticized the decision to restrict Jewish visits during the midday hours of Ramadan.
“There must not be even a comma of change to Jewish prayers on the Temple Mount during the month of Ramadan," Halevi declared after the morning prayer on the Temple Mount alongside Rabbi Shimshon Elbaum, head of the Temple Mount Administration.
He added, “Anyone who comes here to pray, and anyone who leads the prayers on behalf of the Muslim community, must decide whether Ramadan is a month of charity and prayer - or of barbaric terror and evil."
Continuing his remarks, Halevi said, “The notion that we will accept a reality in which someone comes here to pray and no one can pray alongside him - certainly not the Jews, the legal owners of this place - is intolerable and unacceptable."
Halevi added that he intends to appeal to the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Security to maintain the current prayer arrangements. “I will demand that this must at least remain as it is, and that Jews will continue to pray here. ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,’ and if others wish to pray - they may pray. Under no circumstances should Jewish prayers be reduced by even a comma this month."
During the visit, the MK also noted with satisfaction changes on the ground, saying that for the first time he used prayer sheets and siddurim distributed to Jewish worshippers at the site. “That is the direction we need to go - to pray for justice, for truth, and for peace. The peace of the entire world."