Temple Mount and Western Wall; Photo credit: Lee Aloni/FLASH90
Sunday, December 26, 2021, 21:02 On Sunday, December 26, following an appeal filed by Honenu Attorney Nati Rom, who is representing the two “Temple Mount mista’arvim“, the Jerusalem District Court canceled all of the restrictions imposed on the activists by the Jerusalem Magistrates Court ten days previously. The police requested that the activists’ remand be extended, however the Jerusalem Magistrates Court ordered them released under restrictive conditions.
During the hearing at the Jerusalem District Court, Rom stated that the claim that Jews are forbidden to enter the Temple Mount gates designated for Muslims is incorrect, and the opposite is true. Rom quoted the Protection of Holy Places Law which proves that the entrance of Jews to such sites may not be restricted, and therefore limiting the activists was not proportional and was not in line with the law. Rom added that the police had not been deceived, and there is no evidence which proves their claims.
The two “Temple Mount mista’arvim“, who are Hozrim L’Har (Returning to the [Temple] Mount) activists, were detained on December 15 after an article was published showing them training to be “mista’arvim” for the purpose of ascending the Temple Mount. The activists were interrogated on suspicion of entering the Temple Mount through gates that are not permitted to Jews and also at times that are not permitted to them.
Honenu Attorney Nati Rom “We are pleased that the court accepted our claims and canceled all of the restrictions which had been imposed on the two activists. We succeeded in proving not only that no violation had been committed, but that the Protection of Holy Places Law prohibits restricting entry to holy sites and imposes five years’ imprisonment on restriction of worship. We hope that this will prompt the Israeli Police to stop harassing Jews who ascend the Temple Mount and to allow also the sons of Yitzhak [as opposed to the sons of Yishmael, i.e. Muslims] freedom of worship. Concerning the frequent references to laws regarding disturbance of public order and public peace, anyone who actually disturbs public order and makes threats of terror to those who only want to pray at the site [the Temple Mount] should be detained.”
For a selection of cases in which Honenu Attorneys represented Jews detained on or near the Temple Mount please see here.