National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded Sunday evening to the letter of Knesset members who received about the difficult documentation from last week, saying that the situation on the Temple Mount is better than it was.
In the letter, initiated by Constitution Committee Chairman MK Simcha Rotman and joined by MKs Ariel Kelner, Tali Gottlieb, Ohad Tal, Amit Halevi and Dan Illouz, they referred to the documentation published in Israel Hayom and wrote: "In the documentation, Jewish immigrants to the Mount encountered severe violence by Temple Mount police. The footage shows a police officer turning off the body camera, approaching and brutally beating a young boy who is not noticed. In addition, the police officers are observed trying to snatch their cell phones from the hands and pockets of immigrants by force and use threats and explicit language against them."
Unusual incident on Temple Mount: Policeman beats youths and takes their cell phones//Courtesy of Bidinu
Rothman later wrote in a letter joined by other Knesset members: "Such a reality, after two thousand years of exile, cannot exist in a Jewish state. The Declaration of Independence states that the State of Israel "shall ensure freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture. Take care of the holy places of all religions.' I will ask for clarification of the matter as soon as possible and, if necessary, a meeting of the National Security Committee to discuss the issue."
The situation on the Temple Mount is bad and bitter - is it?
Now National Defense Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is responding to Knesset members. In a lengthy response letter, Ben-Gvir said that he considers the Temple Mount the holiest place for the Jewish people, and that he is working to allow Jews to ascend freely to the Mount 24/7. According to him, there is a significant improvement in the situation on the Mount compared to the past, and that police commanders and police officers who are working hard should be strengthened to enable safe immigration of Jews.
A harsh hand on the part of the police? (Archive), photo: Marco
"According to numerous examinations by many different immigrants, it seems that the situation on the Temple Mount is good; You don't usually wait at the entrance to the Temple Mount for more than a few minutes and enter a long and full tour of the Temple Mount. Even on Tisha B'Av, when there were a very large number of Jews, everyone won and ascended to a full circle of the Mount, compared to previous years when many found themselves on a very shortened ascent, or in the year of Minister Bar Lev, when hundreds remained outside the Temple Mount," he wrote in a letter to Knesset members.
Ben-Gvir noted that he maintains close contact with regular immigrants to the Mount and with police commanders, and according to his examinations, the situation is relatively good. He added that some organizations are taking advantage of the situation to raise funds, presenting a darker picture than reality. However, Ben-Gvir undertakes to investigate any complaint of police violence and work to improve the situation. He calls on coalition ministers to support him in his efforts to promote free immigration of Jews to the Temple Mount.
"Tremendous devotion"
"I am in constant contact with the rabbis who regularly go up to the Temple Mount and my wife talks to them every few days. I talk to other regular immigrants, to immigrants who sometimes immigrate, and to the Temple Mount Administration who communicates the situation on the Temple Mount to me on a daily basis. The feeling is that there are certain organizations that see the Temple Mount as a foundation to dig into for donations, and for these donations they are willing to tell everyone how bad and bitter it is on the Temple Mount. An organization whose sole purpose is to tell that the situation is bad in order to add immediately, always, that this is why it must be contributed immediately, its complaints are less credible in my opinion, and mainly it seems to me that they are doing damage to the purpose for which they were established... (And I say this out of great appreciation for everyone who works for the Temple Mount.)
"I get the impression that my policies are trickling down." MK Ben-Gvir on the Temple Mount (Archive), photo: Temple Organizations Headquarters
"Today, the Sunday of Chol Hamoed Sukkot, 748 Jews ascended to the Temple Mount, the vast majority for a full tour, time to stay in the eastern part of the Temple Mount and leisurely ascents. This is the place to thank and strengthen District Commander Doron Turgeman, District Commander Avi Cohen, Mount Commander Shai Pozmentir and the Jerusalem Police officers who work many hours every day, sometimes whole days in a row, to enable every Jew who comes to the Temple Mount to ascend safely. This is the place to thank the police officers who kept Muslim rioters away before every holiday so that they would not barricade themselves and try to harm immigrants and police officers, thereby enabling immigration on a full and regular course, work that they do with a great shortage of police officers and tremendous devotion.
"It is clear that there are also cases in which I demand clarification and answers, but overall I am under the impression that my policy is permeating, and that the police and the entire level of the district from the first to the last – although not always at a fast pace – are implementing the things I outline," Ben-Gvir wrote.
"Accordingly, I turn to the continued progress of the Temple Mount, and I will continue to act in faith. This is the place to note that I support convening the cabinet immediately and holding a discussion on opening the Mount 24/7 to Jews, while allowing prayer in a minyan and the like," Ben-Gvir added, "and I hope that the ministers of Religious Zionism and Likud who are in the cabinet will also support these moves, even though they themselves oppose going up to the Temple Mount."
"Ben-Gvir backs police officers who arrest teenagers and destroy evidence." Tom Nissani, Photo: Tene Communications
Tom Nissani, executive director of Bidinu for the Temple Mount, the organization Ben-Gvir attacked, said in response: "Minister Ben-Gvir decided to give up the Temple Mount, it seems. The same Ben-Gvir who knew how to threaten the coalition in order to get more funding for the police is unable to get credible updates on what is happening on the Temple Mount while backing up police officers who arrest teenagers and destroy evidence. If Minister Ben-Gvir really wants to learn about the situation on the Temple Mount, he will be honored to come and talk to the public on the ground instead of denigrating NGOs that devote all their energy to the issue."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us