Likud hopeful prays on Temple Mount, breaking taboo

Likud hopeful prays on Temple Mount, breaking taboo

timesofisrael.com

Likud politician Moshe Feiglin on Monday violated the unwritten rule that prohibits Jews from practicing religion on the Temple Mount, as he prayed at the holy site.

Feiglin, a political hard-liner, is No. 15 on the Likud list for the upcoming elections and head of the Jewish Leadership faction within the right-wing party, a nationalist group defined by many as extreme.

Footage obtained by Channel 10 showed a group of Jews, including the likely future MK, as they prayed on the Temple Mount.

Feiglin recently wrote his political vision on Facebook, remarking that the mission would be over when “we build the [Jewish] Temple on top of the Temple Mount and fulfill our purpose in the land.”

Though there is no law against Jews praying on the Temple Mount, for years both Israeli officials and the Islamic Wakf — the religious group in charge of managing the site — have told Jews not to carry out religious ceremonies or prayers at the site, for fear of violence and a potential outbreak of riots.

The site is considered the holiest in Judaism as the site of the First and Second Temples. The esplanade is also revered by Muslims as the place where Mohammed ascended to heaven.