A senior officer in the Jerusalem Police Department reports that ever since the opening of the Temple Mount to Jews four months ago, some 10,000 people have visited the holy site - including 4,000 who have done so according to Halakhic [Jewish legal] guidelines. Kol Rina News Agency reports that before September 2000, when the Temple Mount was closed in the wake of the beginning of the Oslo War, the annual average number of visitors was only 4,000.
In light of the growing demand, the "El Har HaMor" Temple Mount organization is sponsoring a course for Temple Mount tour guides. The course, already underway for several weeks, instructs tour guides how to lead groups at the holy site within the boundaries of halakhah [Jewish law], guided by rabbinical rulings on the matter. Certain areas of the Mount are off-limits to visitors by grave Biblical injunction, and the holiness of the entire site requires immersion in a mikveh [ritual bath] and other precautions prior to and during entry. In addition, El Har HaMor tour guides must know the precise boundaries of the permitted areas.