Page 48 - Satan in the Sanctuary

50 Satan in the Sanctuary

entry to which was restricted, on go to the 12-man Supreme Rab-
pain of death, to the High Priest binical Council.
on Yom Kippur—Jews should The secular authorities, unlike
stay off the Mount altogether. the religious, have permitted
The renowned philanthropist, Jews to enter the Temple Mount,
Sir Moses Montefiore, was even taking over control of the
threatened with excommunica- Mograbi Gate in 1967 at De-
tion when he visited the Temple fence Minister Moshe Dayan's
Mount, not being aware of the order to ensure free access dur-
prohibition. The ban has been ing hours when they would not
strongly upheld in recent genera- interfere with Moslem prayer.
tions by the rabbis of Jerusalem The authorities, however, have
and is by far the dominant re- consistently refused to permit
ligious attitude today. Jews to pray on the mount, since
Nevertheless, the ban has been this might be a provocation to
challenged from time to time the Moslems.
over the centuries, most recently Periodic attempts over the past
by Rabbi Shlomo Gorcn, who few years by nationalist Jewish
declared after the Six-Day War, youths and others to pray here
when he was Chief Military have been broken up. In 1970 a
Chaplain to the Armed Forces, five-judge panel of the Supreme
that there were places on the Court ruled that while Jews had
Temple Mount clearly outside the inherent right to pray on the
the area occupied by the Temple Temple Mount the government
and therefore open to Jews and could refuse to permit such
Jewish prayer. prayer if it might lead to a dis-
turbance of the peace. Judge Or's
LAST WEEK, Religious Affairs ruling is now being appealed by
Minister Yitzhak Raphael, mind- the State Attorney, and it will, in
ful of Judge Or's recommenda- all likelihood work its way up to
tion that regulations be drawn up the Supreme Court.
for Jewish prayer on the Temple The drive for Jewish prayer
Mount, asked the two Chief on the Temple Mount is being
Rabbis for their opinion. Sep- led by two Likud members of the
hardi Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Jerusalem City Council, Gcrshon
responded immediately that the Solomon and Rabbi L. I. Rabi-
ban on Jews entering the Temple nowitz. They are acting without
Mount was still in force. Ash- the support of their own party—
kenazi Chief Rabbi Shlomo indeed, against the opposition of
Goren has not yet replied. If he key Likud leaders who object to
advocates revocation of the ban, Jewish prayer on the Temple
the question would presumably Mount because of its political