For the second month in a row, the police have banned the monthly "March Around the Temple Mount Gates." Up to 5,000 people have participated in past events of this nature. The police fear that unwelcome friction with thousands of Moslem worshipers arriving for the Moslem holy month of Ramadan is liable to occur. Last month's walk around the gates was also banned, for the same reason.
Organizers of the event said that due to "popular demand," a more modest version of the walk might be held, with police permission.
The monthly March Around the Gates, held at the start of every Jewish month (Rosh Chodesh), began with a small group three years ago, and has since become a very popular event. The marchers express their desire to identify with the Temple Mount by circling the holy site, and stopping - and often singing - at each of the gates.
Both the Jewish and Moslem calendars are lunar-based, such that their months overlap almost exactly. The Jewish calendar adds a "leap-month" approximately once every three years so as to remain coordinated with the solar calendar, while the Moslem system does not. The month of Ramadan thus always begins and ends on or near Rosh Chodesh - albeit not of the same month each year.
Organizers of the event said that due to "popular demand," a more modest version of the walk might be held, with police permission.
The monthly March Around the Gates, held at the start of every Jewish month (Rosh Chodesh), began with a small group three years ago, and has since become a very popular event. The marchers express their desire to identify with the Temple Mount by circling the holy site, and stopping - and often singing - at each of the gates.
Both the Jewish and Moslem calendars are lunar-based, such that their months overlap almost exactly. The Jewish calendar adds a "leap-month" approximately once every three years so as to remain coordinated with the solar calendar, while the Moslem system does not. The month of Ramadan thus always begins and ends on or near Rosh Chodesh - albeit not of the same month each year.