Israel’s chief rabbis and other senior rabbis have called on Jews not to visit the Temple Mount because it is against Jewish law.
The declaration is being presented now, according to the statement’s signers, because many Jewish organizations are calling for the public to visit the Temple Mount.
“It is a holy obligation to make you aware that it is completely forbidden by halachah to ascend to the Temple Mount,” the statement reads.
The declaration by Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar was co-signed by Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger, former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi Doron, Old City Rabbi Avigdor Neventzal, and the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovich, among others.
Rumors of extremist Jewish groups’ planned visits to the site have sparked riots by Muslims at the Temple Mount in recent weeks. — jta