For a selection of cases in which Honenu Attorneys represented Jews detained on or near the Temple Mount, please click here.
Temple Mount and Western Wall; Photo credit: Lee Aloni/FLASH90
Sunday, October 6, 2024, 16:57 On Rosh HaShana, police officers detained two Jews who blew a shofar on the Temple Mount. They were removed from the site, taken into custody, and held in remand from Friday, the second day of Rosh HaShana, until Saturday. After Shabbat, on Saturday night, Jerusalem Magistrates Court Judge Arnon Eitan extended their remand until the following day. They were brought to a hearing on Sunday afternoon where the police asked the court for a five-day remand extension. The court refused the request and released the detainees to house arrest. Honenu Attorney Moshe Poleski is representing the detainees.
Attorney Poleski welcomed the decision and said, “We are of the opinion that there were no grounds for even house arrest. The criminality of the incident is in doubt. For some reason, the Israel Police, who seem to fear the Wakf, inappropriately chose criminal proceedings. They asked to detain the youths without any legal justification.
Prior to the hearing, Attorney Poleski leveled sharp criticism at the police: “The conduct of the Israel Police is outrageous. They act as if they fear the Arabs, the Wakf, and the Jordan government. The police constantly violate the freedoms of movement and worship on the Temple Mount. They detained youths only for blowing a shofar. We thought that after the incidents of October 7, the police had changed their mindset, and that the government authorities had realized that fear and retreat lead to war. Unfortunately, the situation on the Temple Mount has not changed. Over the past year, many have come to the understanding that we cannot run away from Gaza and Lebanon. We must deal with the threats. Regrettably, the police have not internalized that they must adopt new policies regarding the Israel haters who control the Temple Mount.”
Attorney Poleski added, “Instead of banning inciters and removing Wakf personnel, the Israel Police are unjustifiably detaining Jews for no reason. It is simply a disgrace. The police are making discriminatory use of administrative detention orders. They are violating the freedom of Jewish youths solely out of concern for what the Arabs will say. We genuinely thought that police policy in all of Israel, in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount, would change. Unfortunately, that has not occurred.”