Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi participated Thursday evening in a conference focused on the demand to open the Temple Mount on Shabbat (Saturdays) and called on the relevant authorities to take action to change the current situation. MK Amit Halevi also participated in the conference and joined the call.
In his remarks, Karhi referred to the closure of the Temple Mount to Jews yesterday, which he said was due to the Waqf's decision to mark Muhammad's birthday.
He criticized the situation, saying: “If this is the reality, in which they determine what Jews are permitted and forbidden to do in the Land of Israel, we could find ourselves facing closed gates on Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, the Saturdays of the month of Tishrei, God forbid."
He further emphasized that, as far as he is concerned, this is a demand concerning the rights of Jews on the Mount: “We are not asking anyone for a favor. We are demanding our historic right."
MK Halevi joined the call and criticized the restrictions imposed on Jews on the Temple Mount: “It is inconceivable that Jews face restrictions on the hours they can be on the Temple Mount. This demand to open the Mount on Saturdays is a demand that, it must be emphasized, should be self-evident."
The calls at the conference come after Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rothman approached Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir earlier this week. Rothman asked that shofar blowing be permitted on the Temple Mount on Rosh Hashanah 5787 and that the Mount be opened for the Musaf prayer on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, which falls on a Saturday.
In his letter, Rothman argued that blowing the shofar is one of the central commandments of Rosh Hashanah and that preventing it from being performed on the Temple Mount impairs the public's ability to fulfill the commandment at the site. He added that opening the Mount on the first day of the holiday would allow a large number of people to come there for prayer.
“Opening the Temple Mount for the Musaf prayer on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, which falls on a Saturday, is a rare opportunity for a broad segment of the public to come and pray at the holy site on a major holiday," Rothman wrote. According to him, restricting access on that day prevents many Jews from being able to pray there.
Rothman asked Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir to make two decisions ahead of the holiday: to permit the blowing of the shofar during the Musaf prayer on Rosh Hashanah on the Temple Mount, and to open the Mount for the Musaf prayer on the first day of the holiday.
“I am confident that you will consider these requests with an understanding of their spiritual, religious and national importance to the observant public in Israel," he wrote.