The Temple Mount is first and foremost the holiest site to the Jewish people

T. Belman. I recently wrote of the Plan,

While it does provide that “the status quo at the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif should continue uninterrupted”, it insists:

“Jerusalem’s holy sites should remain open and available for peaceful worshippers and tourists of all faiths. People of every faith should be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, in a manner that is fully respectful to their religion, taking into account the times of each religion’s prayers and holidays, as well as other religious factors.”

This totally contradicts the present practice of limiting Jewish and Christian prayer there.  As such it is a welcome relief.

Discussion of Muslim interests on the Temple Mount has almost eclipsed the fundamental fact that it is, first and foremost, the holiest site to the Jewish people.

By Nadav-Shragai, ISRAEL HAYOM

If we’re altering the history of the Temple Mount, and even the Saudis,  in order to push out the Turks, might for the first time be given a foothold there at Jordan’s expense – what about the Jewish interest?

In the past few days, ever since Daniel Siryoti reported on talks between the two biggest rivals for Islamic holy sites (Jordan and Saudi Arabia), the interests, status, and rights of the different Muslim players on the Temple Mount have been the subject of intense focus. On the other hand, almost no one is discussing what the Temple Mount is for us, the Jews, or our own interests, goals, and feelings regarding it. Sometimes it seems as if we are only concentrating on directing the movement of the Muslim actors there.

Maybe it’s time to say – with all due caution and sensitivity – that Israel has been enslaved to the status quo on the Temple Mount for 53 years, that the status quo is largely a fiction, and that it has been changed drastically, mostly to the benefit of Muslims. Most importantly: that the Temple Mount is the holiest site to the Jewish people.

When it comes to the Temple Mount, Israel is mostly concerned with putting out fires and managing the conflict. It has never asked itself what the mount means to the Jewish state and what its goals there are. For example, 50 years from now, will we be satisfied with a division that leaves the Western Wall to the Jews and the mount itself to the Muslims? Under a permanent agreement, will Israel maintain the ban against Jewish prayer on the mount? Everywhere on the mount? There might be different possible answers to these questions, but the discussion cannot be devoted solely to the rights of the Muslims, ignoring our own.

As Israel mediates between Jordan and Saudi Arabia about their status on the mount, it must broaden the discussion to include the site’s holiness to the Jewish people and their rights to it. Remember this basic fact: In 1967 the Jewish state made an inconceivable concession and plucked the Jewish people’s holiest site out of their hands and gave it to a competing religion, Islam, which only ranks the Temple Mount as its third holiest site, seriously damaging the rights of the Jews there. This fact should not be taken for granted.

Rather than refreshing the public’s memory of these fundamental facts, the discourse about the Temple Mount focuses on one question alone: to what extent Israel considers and honors the rights of the Muslims to it. The fact that the Temple Mount is first and foremost a Jewish holy site, and we backed away from it due to historical circumstances, has almost been forgotten. We need to start talking about it again, with sensitivity but also steadfastly.