A long list of government ministers and coalition Knesset members sent an official letter to Police Commissioner Danny Levy and incoming Jerusalem District Commander Avshalom Peled demanding that Jews be permitted to enter the Temple Mount on the upcoming Jerusalem Day.
The appeal comes in light of the fact that this year, Jerusalem Day will fall on a Friday - a day on which the Temple Mount is routinely closed to Jewish visitors. In their letter, the ministers and MKs argued that the situation is both absurd and unacceptable.
The letter stated: “It is unacceptable that on the day marking the liberation of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, Jews would be entirely barred from accessing the holiest site for the Jewish people due to a standing arrangement that fails to provide a solution for this unique circumstance."
Among the demands presented to the police, the signatories - at the initiative of the organizations “Beyadenu" and “Shofar B’Tzion" - called for the Temple Mount to be opened in an orderly manner to Jewish visitors on Friday itself, in light of the unique circumstances of this year’s Jerusalem Day. Alternatively, they requested a special opening on Thursday evening, the eve of Jerusalem Day.
The letter was signed by senior government ministers, including Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Energy Minister Eli Cohen, Innovation Minister Gila Gamliel, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, Health Minister Haim Katz, Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar and Minister Ze'ev Elkin.
Also signing the letter were numerous Likud and Religious Zionist Party MKs, including Amit Halevi, Ariel Kallner, Avichai Boaron, Dan Illouz, Zvi Sukkot, Tally Gotliv, Simcha Rothman and Ohad Tal.
Akiva Yoel Ariel, acting director-general of the “Beyadenu" organization, said: “We call on the Israel Police to come to its senses and not disgrace the people of Israel on the day marking Jerusalem’s liberation. Open the Mount and strengthen sovereignty - that is the proper response to the flood of Al-Aqsa incitement."