Rabbis Urge Jews To Avoid Temple Mount
Israel’s chief rabbis and other senior rabbis have called on Jews not to visit the Temple Mount because it is against Jewish law.
The declaration is being presented now, according to the statement’s signers, because many Jewish organizations are calling for the public to visit the Temple Mount.
“It is a holy obligation to make you aware that it is completely forbidden by Halacha to ascend to the Temple Mount, and this prohibition has always been a simple and clear one, and this thing has been forbidden by all of the Great Ones of Israel,” the statement reads. “Since, in the recent period, all kinds of organizations are calling on the public to ascend to the Temple Mount, we hereby proclaim the Torah opinion, that the prohibition still stands, and it is completely forbidden to ascend to the Temple Mount at this time.”
The declaration by Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar was co-signed by Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi Yona Metzger, former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron, Old City Rabbi Avigdor Neventzal, and the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovich, among others.
Rumors of extremist Jewish groups’ planned visits to the site have sparked riots by Muslims at the Temple Mount in recent weeks.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
