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Last update - 00:00 09/05/2007
Increasing number of rabbis are allowing Jews to enter Temple Mount
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent

An increasing number of religious Zionist rabbis are allowing their followers to enter the Temple Mount, contrary to the religious consensus on the matter.

This weekend, the rabbis Haim Druckman and Avraham Zukerman, of the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and Tzafania Drori, chief rabbi of Kiryat Shmona, are set to join this growing group with an ad in the Orthodox media. The rabbis, who are major figures in the religious Zionist movement, will call on Jews wishing to enter the Temple Mount "in purity, to ascend at this time to the to the places permitted for Jews to enter."

The three rabbis are known for their principle support for letting Jews on to the Temple Mount. But they had not yet expressed their stand formally, because of the religious sensitivity of the issue. Now, in honor of the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem's unification, with many right-wing movements placing the Temple Mount on their agenda, the rabbis have decided to call publicly on Jews to go to the Mount.
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In publishing the ad, they will be joining dozens of other rabbis of the religious Zionist stream, among them rabbis in West Bank settlements, who in recent years have allowed Jews to go to the Temple Mount within the bounds of Jewish law.

Currently, rabbinic consensus in the religious Zionist and the ultra-Orthodox world prohibits Jews from entering the Temple Mount. This is because the exact location of the Holy of Holies is not known, and therefore Jews who have not properly purified themselves may accidentally walk there or through other prohibited places.

Rabbis who allow their supporters to ascend to the Temple Mount set stipulations for entry, including the mandating of ritual immersion beforehand, the wearing of cloth shoes, the keeping to areas permitted to Jews under Jewish custom, and the studying of relevant religious regulations.

There are two Islamic shrines on the Mount, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

Over the years, successive Israeli governments, backed by the High Court of Justice, have allowed Jews to visit the Temple Mount, but have prohibited them from praying there.

The policy was set 40 years ago by then-defense minister Moshe Dayan. Dayan argued that the national and territorial dimension of the Arab-Israeli conflict should be separated from the religious dimension, and for this reason Jewish prayer and ritual should be prohibited on the Mount. At the same time, it was decided that ultimate responsibility for security on and around the Temple Mount would be in the hands of Israel, while religious and administrative autonomy at the Temple Mount would be under the Waqf (the Muslim religious authorities), a situation that prevails to this day.
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  1.   What About The al aqsa Mosque??? 05:36  |  Robert B. 09/05/07
  2.   1967 foretold in the Tanakh 05:59  |  Daniel 09/05/07
  3.   Once Again, Dishonesty In Reporting 07:09  |  Yishai Kohen 09/05/07
  4.   To Daniel 07:53  |  Yoel 09/05/07
  5.   IT NEEDS THE TERMINATOR III 10:06  |  indrajaya 09/05/07
  6.   More problems than solutions 10:22  |  ZSherlock Holmes 09/05/07
  7.   Separate but equal 10:27  |  Joe 09/05/07
  8.   A quickie? 10:30  |  Ben Azai 09/05/07
  9.   Any "rabbi" who lets his followers go there will face punishment 11:09  |  Daniel van Dalen 09/05/07
  10.   Reply to #8 suspicion of trying to pray... 11:41  |  Joseph 09/05/07
  11.   Oh the peace loving muslims... NOT!! 11:44  |  Adrian de Klerk 09/05/07
  12.   Remember how 2nd Intifada started? 12:27  |  Pinguin News 09/05/07
  13.   Zionist Provocations 12:28  |  Clickfool 09/05/07
  14.   #1 Robert B. 12:46  |  Kurt 09/05/07
  15.   Indrajaya, understand what you are saying 13:15  |  bbl 09/05/07
  16.   RobertB. #1 13:15  |  Avi Yerushalmi 09/05/07
  17.   Clickfool blind Jew hater 13:17  |  Steven 09/05/07
  18.   Pinguin News = historic revisionist 13:19  |  Steven 09/05/07
  19.   response to clickfool 13:42  |  barak ben yehuda 09/05/07
  20.   Middle ages at best 14:00  |  Pete 09/05/07
  21.   5 Indrajaya. Judgement Day! LOL!! 14:06  |  Jem 09/05/07
  22.   Perfectly Justified 14:07  |  Tom Servo 09/05/07
  23.   Clickfool 14:10  |  Tito 09/05/07
  24.   #1 Right on dude 14:11  |  Crow T. Robot 09/05/07
  25.   Clickfool 14:17  |  Allon 09/05/07
  26.   Permissions and prohibitions 14:35  |  Scientist 09/05/07
  27.   #18, Steven. Obituary to your Intifada-causal theory 14:55  |  zmogus 09/05/07
  28.   Indrajaya 18:34  |  Lynn 09/05/07
  29.   Language of hatred 19:58  |  Peace lover 09/05/07
  30.   Build a synagogue in the northern part 20:07  |  Tosefta 09/05/07
  31.   29 - This is a holy site for Jews 20:27  |  Bruriah Sarah 09/05/07
  32.   30 - It is a very Holy site for Jews 20:30  |  Bruriah Sarah 09/05/07
  33.   Beware of these rabbis and their followers 20:53  |  Yaakov Sullivan 09/05/07
  34.   Yaakov, where is your evidence? 21:03  |  Bruriah Sarah 09/05/07
  35.   The Temple Mount vs The Holy Sepulchre 21:13  |  Yaakov Sullivan 09/05/07
  36.   Rebuild the Temple 21:43  |  Efox 09/05/07
  37.   Very holy site (Bruriah Sarah #32) 21:44  |  Tosefta 09/05/07
  38.   To #4 Yoel 22:12  |  Daniel 09/05/07
  39.   @ (click)fool 22:14  |  Adrian de Klerk 09/05/07
  40.   Another way og looking at it 22:16  |  Adrian de Klerk 09/05/07
  41.   the Temple Mount and access to it 22:18  |  Moshe Dick 09/05/07
  42.   Where are all the posts? 22:19  |  Nadav Shragai 09/05/07
  43.   This Really Is Bogged Down! 22:43  |  Yaakov Sullivan 09/05/07
  44.   #9, #33, #39 22:46  |  ODP 09/05/07
  45.   Adrian de Klerk 22:47  |  ODP 09/05/07
  46.   37 - Some Sages Believe it is too holy to tread on 22:51  |  Bruriah Sarah 09/05/07
  47.   temple mount 22:55  |  j 09/05/07
  48.   Bruriah and Her Problems #34 22:56  |  Yaakov Sullivan 09/05/07
  49.   Moishe from Monsey on Hebron #41 23:08  |  Yaakov Sullivan 09/05/07
  50.   Moshiach has already come 23:11  |  David 09/05/07
  51.   Its offensive 23:20  |  Virginia Pearcy 09/05/07
  52.   Don´t get used to the unification of Jerusalem 23:26  |  John 09/05/07
  53.   Sullivan, the one who does not even agree that Israel has the 23:50  |  Dalya Ramon 09/05/07
  54.   Hey Clickfool 23:50  |  Steven Coran 09/05/07
  55.   I hear the ancient temple of King Arthur is in Scotland 00:04  |  steve 10/05/07
  56.   JEWS CANT GO TO PLACES IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY? 00:23  |  APARTHEID TOWARDJEWS 10/05/07
  57.   What a shame 00:28  |  Danite 10/05/07
  58.   But for Yaacov Sullivan, sanctity can only be found with others 00:46  |  Jacob Blues 10/05/07
  59.   While Yaacov oggles the Church of the Holy Sephulcre 00:50  |  Jacob Blues 10/05/07
  60.   Sepulchre/Yaacov Sullivan #35 01:01  |  Rene 10/05/07
  61.   Sepulchre/Yaacov Sullivan #35 01:38  |  Rene 10/05/07
  62.   Not a ggod move since recent suspicious activities by the 01:55  |  lakshmi 10/05/07
  63.   13CLICKFOOL probably trying to provoke a third intifada 01:58  |  sara 10/05/07
  64.   Clickfool lets one slip 02:07  |  natan 10/05/07
  65.   YAKOV SULLIVAN,I agree wtih your reading of the situation 02:10  |  lakshmi 10/05/07
  66.   Hey John! 02:27  |  Jean 10/05/07
  67.   58JACOB BLUES you are misrepresenting 02:48  |  Vijaya 10/05/07
  68.   Wahoo, #1! Tell it like it is... 03:33  |  Zionist Christian 10/05/07
  69.   Hear O Israel The Lord Thy God is ONE God, Hallelujah!!! 06:05  |  mary e. 10/05/07
  70.   Which is why Lakshmi, the Hindu`s burned down 06:24  |  Jacob Blues 10/05/07
  71.   Unfortunately Vijaya, Yaacov is anything but an advocate for 06:55  |  Jacob Blues 10/05/07
  72.   # 35, YAAKOV SULLIVAN 08:34  |  indrajaya 10/05/07
  73.   holy to 1.25 billion muslims.holy to jews.belongs to whom? 09:34  |  sulaiman[solomon] 10/05/07
  74.   To #73 Sulaiman 17:51  |  Daniel 10/05/07
  75.   Access to the Temple Mount 17:41  |  rush 11/05/07
  76.   Scripture 06:02  |  Randy 12/05/07
  77.   #73 - The Owner 08:24  |  John 13/05/07
  78.   Amen ! 03:38  |  Mrs. M 15/05/07
  79.   The Temple Mount Belongs To The Jews 22:41  |  M.Minchew 20/05/07
  80.   Robert B 04:33  |  KC 26/05/07
  81.   It will Happen!!! 00:00  |  Nicole 31/05/07
  82.   Jewish Return to Temple Mount 18:53  |  Yerachmiel 31/05/07
  83.   Stop praying 15:39  |  Iain 04/06/07
  84.   Visiting the Temple Mount 07:34  |  Mi cha el 07/06/07
  85.   No prayers allowed! 15:45  |  Joe 17/06/07
  86.   `Not to pray` 15:48  |  Ben Azai 17/06/07
  87.   Equal Rights legislation? 15:52  |  Sherlock Holmes 17/06/07
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