JERUSALEM (AP) – A new Israeli proclamation to uphold a ban on Jewish prayer at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site should have dealt a sobering blow to Jews who have spent years fighting for the right to worship at the spot, which is sacred to Muslims as well as Jews. Instead, it has only emboldened them.
The Jewish activists, whose visits to the site are at the center of a current round of violence, are now pledging to step up their attempts to change the decades-old status quo by expanding their presence at the spot where the ancient Jewish Temples once stood and where they hope a third temple will one day be built.
A decade ago, there were only 200 or 300 Jewish visitors annually. Last year, activists say there were about 10,000.
What Jews call the Temple Mount is known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Revered as Islam’s third-holiest spot, it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the iconic gold-topped Dome of the Rock, which is where Muslims believe their prophet Mohammad ascended to heaven.
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