Unlike many others who fear backlash from Muslim countries, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and many other Israeli Jews, believe the time has come to assert full sovereignty over the Temple Mount.
(August 18, 2024 / JNS) Nearly three thousand Jews visited the Temple Mount last week on Tuesday, Tisha B’av, which commemorates the destruction of the two ancient Jewish Temples.
But it was the visits to the Temple Mount by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Minister for the Negev and the Galilee Yitzhak Wasserlauf that set off another firestorm of controversy.
Ben-Gvir said during the visit that the status quo had changed and that Jews could now pray at the site.