For a selection of cases in which Honenu Attorneys represented Jews detained on or near the Temple Mount, please click here.
Tom Nisani (L) and Attorney Nati Rom (R); Photo credit: Honenu
Monday, May 22, 2023, 16:43 Honenu Attorneys Nati Rom and Menashe Yado petitioned the High Court of Justice on behalf of Tom Nisani, a Temple Mount activist and the director of the Beyadenu-Returning to the Temple Mount organization, regarding an order barring him from entering the Old City of Jerusalem for one month. The GOC of the Home Front Command, Major-General Rafi Milo, signed the order claiming that Nisani poses a security threat due to his activism.
Attorney Yado stated in the petition that contrary to Maj.-Gen. Milo’s claims, all of Nisani’s activism is legal, public, and definitely does not pose a threat to the security of the region. Attorney Yado emphasized that Nisani is not planning on conducting any activities in the Old City, including on the Temple Mount, in the near future, which eliminates the need for the order: “The petitioner is not active in the entirety of the Old City, but rather only on the Temple Mount. Leading up to Jerusalem Day, the petitioner organized a parade from Jaffa Gate to the Temple Mount. This activity was unusual for the petitioner and was planned in honor of Jerusalem Day. As of the filing of the petition, Jerusalem Day has passed, and the parade that he had organized took place without him, quietly and with exemplary order. As of today, the petitioner does not have any activities planned in the Old City – not in the coming month and not at all. An order barring the petitioner from the Old City is devoid of all meaning.
“The petitioner firmly asserts that he poses no danger to anyone, not on the Temple Mount and not in the Old City. Moreover, not only does he not pose any danger in the Old City, but he does not conduct any activities there either. Therefore, there are no grounds to claim that he is dangerous. The bottom line is that after Jerusalem Day passed, on which the petitioner was barred from entering the Old City, there were no longer grounds to bar him from the area. In this context, the order is meaningless,” wrote Attorney Yado.
Tom Nisani commented, “With the assistance of Honenu, I petitioned the court with regard to being barred from entering the Old City. The fact that the GOC of the Home Front Command issued orders by the power of emergency regulations dating from the British Mandate and thus barred me from the Old City for a month should concern every Israeli citizen. This is a great danger to democracy. It is intolerable for draconian and heavy-handed orders to be served to law-abiding citizens, especially without presenting any facts or evidence. The damage is already irreparable, but I hope that at least now, justice will be done for my sake and for the sake of everyone who ascends the Temple Mount.”
Honenu Attorney Nati Rom added, “Using orders dating back to the British Mandate period on law-abiding Israeli citizens, including those who served in elite IDF units, only because they are trying to preserve freedom of worship and freedom of movement on the Temple Mount, is an embarrassment and a disgrace. We hope that the High Court of Justice, which considers itself to be a defender of human rights, will immediately cancel the decision.”