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Jews offered 20,000 shekels for Passover sacrifice, Western Wall rabbi and Ben-Gvir say no

“Jews must go up to the Temple Mount,” Ben-Gvir said. However, “I’m not encouraging people to go there with a Passover sacrifice.”

By World Israel News Staff

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the rabbi of the Western Wall and Jerusalem holy sites worked to prevent Jewish Temple Mount activists from bringing a Passover sacrifice to the holy site on the eve of Passover, AFP reported.

“Under the direction of the rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, (we) will work to prevent bringing animals to the Mughrabi ramp area,” the Western Wall Foundation said in a statement, referring to the entrance to the mosque compound used by non-Muslims.

The Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site and Islam’s third holiest, is where the two Holy Temples stood. The First Temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed in 586 BCE; the Second Temple, built on the same site, was destroyed in 70 CE.

Jews are obligated to bring the sacrifice, according to Torah law, although most rabbis believe it is not applicable today due to the security threat.

The Returning to the Mount movement has offered 20,000 shekels (appr. $5,800) to anyone who manages to perform the sacrifice. The cash reward is offered each year, although no one has succeeded in going through with the ritual.

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The movement’s director, Rafael Morris, was detained Monday as a preventative measure, police said. The next day, two Israelis were arrested after being seen with a goat in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Morris was arrested last year as well after being found with a goat in his possession. In 2016, he spent the Seder night in jail after being caught that morning with a goat that he was attempting to bring into the Old City.

“Every move that the Jews want to do regarding the Land of Israel, the Arabs react with violence and terror,” he told World Israel News last year. “That never was and never will be a reason not to live in the land and be proud Jews. The police should protect us and help us bring the sacrifice rather than stop us. That’s the real job they’re supposed to do.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, himself an advocate of Jewish rights to the Temple Mount and who in the past had supported the idea of bringing the sacrifice, now says the time is not right, calling for “calm.”

“Jews must go up to the Temple Mount. The Temple Mount is not just for Arabs… It’s the most important place in the State of Israel. We won’t give up on it,” he said, according to Times of Israel.

However, “I’m not encouraging people to go there with a Passover sacrifice.”