In a strongly worded public letter released Friday, senior rabbis from the Religious Zionist community have called for a halt to ascents to the Temple Mount and the accompanying activities such as tours, photography, and attempts to establish a presence at the site.
The rabbis argue that such visits during wartime do not strengthen Israel’s connection to the Temple Mount but rather harm it and undermine the broader effort against the enemy.
They referenced Hamas' use of images of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in their tunnels and stressed that the Jewish approach to the Temple Mount must be fundamentally different: "We stand before the Mount of the Lord in awe, reverence, and holy admiration," they wrote.
The rabbis reiterated the long-standing position of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel — from the time of Rabbi Kook until today — which prohibits entry to the entire Temple Mount due to the severe religious prohibitions involved, including impurity of the sanctuary and disrespect for the holiness of the site. "From then until today, the Chief Rabbinate in every generation has persistently warned about the severe prohibition of entering the Temple Mount," they wrote.
They also criticized behaviors they see as disrespectful to the sanctity of the site, such as tourism, photography, and protest actions: "The Temple Mount is not a place for settlement, residence, touring, or photography. Strengthening sovereignty over the Temple Mount will not be achieved through wandering, symbolic protests, group photos, family events, or attempts to create ‘facts on the ground.’ On the contrary, these only weaken our hold on it."
The rabbis clarified that refraining from entering the Mount stems from reverence, not fear of Arabs: "Entering the Temple Mount today not only fails to help us win the war with our enemies, but rather diminishes our rights and harms our connection and ownership of the site of our Temple — and as a result, weakens, damages, and hinders our fight against our enemies."
They concluded: "Precisely because of our yearning and longing for the site of our life, we stand at a distance, in awe and trembling, in holy reverence, lest we harm its sublime sanctity. We must be careful not to desecrate or diminish, through our actions or thoughts, the sacred reverence that must guide our relationship to this holy place."
The letter was signed by more than 20 prominent rabbis, including: Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rabbi Eitan Eisman, Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar, Rabbi Binyamin Baari, Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Meir, Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg, and Rabbi David Druckman.
Additional signatories include: Rabbi Chaim Katz, Rabbi Yehoshua Katz, Rabbi Shlomo Levi, Rabbi Eliav Meir, Rabbi Yeshayahu Meitlis, Rabbi Nachum Neria, Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl, Rabbi Mordechai Nagar, Rabbi Ratzon Arussi, Rabbi Zalman Menachem Koren, Rabbi Eli Sadan, Rabbi Amnon Shugarman, Rabbi Amiel Sternberg, Rabbi Tzvi Israel Tau, and Rabbi Yosef Zeini.
