A first: Jews permitted to bring prayer books to Temple Mount

Bucking long standing restrictions by the Muslim Waqf, Jews visiting the Temple Mount allowed to bring prayer books.

By World Israel News Staff

Jewish worshippers were permitted to bring full Jewish prayer books onto the Temple Mount on Sunday, in what was described as the first such authorization at the Jerusalem holy site and the latest easing of longstanding restrictions on Jewish worship there.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that Jewish men had been allowed to enter the compound carrying siddurim, or Jewish prayer books.

The development stopped short of an officially announced blanket policy permitting prayer books, but marked a further change in how police are enforcing the rules governing Jewish worship at the site.

Arnon Segal, a journalist and longtime advocate for expanded Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount, published a photograph Sunday showing several Jewish men praying at the site while reading from siddurim.

Towels placed on the ground in front of them appeared to have been used for prostration during prayer.

“Still no blanket permit, but an initial experiment aimed at ensuring the Middle East doesn’t lose its mind over this,” Segal wrote, adding: “History.”

Israel Police did not announce a formal change in regulations. In response to questions from The Jerusalem Post, the force said it operates at the site according to “the directives of the political echelon” as well as established rules and security assessments.

A senior Jerusalem source separately confirmed the development to JNS, saying simply, “There are changes,” and attributing them to “the policies of Ben-Gvir.”

The move represents an expansion of a policy change introduced earlier this year.

In January, police began allowing Jewish visitors to carry specially approved single-page prayer sheets onto the Temple Mount, after religious materials such as prayer books and tefillin had generally been barred.

Police said at the time that the sheets would be restricted to designated areas and described the measure as consistent with maintaining public order.

Full prayer books, however, remained prohibited until the reported experiment Sunday.

The change comes amid a broader transformation in Jewish religious activity on the Temple Mount in recent years.

Jewish visitors who were once removed or detained for visibly praying are now increasingly able to pray openly in designated areas, including in groups and with prostration, despite the formal arrangements traditionally governing the compound.

The Temple Mount is Judaism’s holiest site and the location of the First and Second Temples in antiquity.

Muslims refer to the compound as Haram al-Sharif; it contains the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock and is among Islam’s holiest sites.

Under arrangements developed after Israel captured the Old City in the 1967 Six Day War, Israel retained responsibility for security at the compound while the Jordanian-based Islamic Waqf continued to administer its religious affairs.

Under the longstanding understanding, Muslims may worship at the site, while Jews and other non-Muslims are permitted to visit but not pray there.

Enforcement of that prohibition has weakened substantially under Ben-Gvir, whose ministry oversees the Israel Police and who has repeatedly argued that Jews should have the right to pray on the Temple Mount.

During a July 23 visit to the compound on Tisha B’Av, Ben-Gvir openly celebrated the expansion of Jewish prayer there, saying visitors were praying and increasingly “feeling like they’re the owners of the place.”

His visit and the prayers conducted that day drew condemnations from Jordanian and Palestinian officials, who accused Israel of violating the status quo.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly maintained that Israel has not formally altered its policy at the site.

His office has previously insisted that the policy of maintaining the Temple Mount status quo “has not changed and will not change,” even as police practices governing Jewish prayer have continued to loosen.