The Temple Institute: Court: Jewish Prayer on the Temple Mount is not a Provocation

Judge Ben Atar: An arrangement allowing for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount similar to the arrangement already existing in the Cave of the Patriarchs [in Hebron] is the preferable solution.

In the hearing which took place on Sunday, 20 Tishrei, 5769/October 19, 2008, in the District Court of Jerusalem, before the honorable Judge Maurice Ben Atar, the judge determined that Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount does not constitute a provocation.

The court released Yehudah Glick, director of the Temple Institute, from detention after he had been arrested by the police earlier in the day on suspicion of attempting to create a provocation on the Temple Mount. The police alleged that Glick tried to enter the Temple Mount with articles of prayer, thereby creating a provocation.

Glick was represented at the hearing by attorney Aviad Vissuly, claiming that in the past year he has entered the Temple Mount tens of times, both as a guide leading groups and in his role as Director of the Temple Institute, and in 90% of his visits he has engaged in prayer, with the knowledge of the police, and not a single instance of provocation has occurred. In addition, Glick claimed that on October 15th, 2008, the police authorized the entry of more than 700 Jews to the Temple Mount in groups of twenty, and and each group was authorized by the police to read verses from the book of Deuteronomy, related to the Hakhel ceremony. Glick further noted that at the time of his arrest he had arrived at the Temple Mount with the identical printed materials for guiding groups that he uses each time he ascends the Mount, as well as with the printed verses that he had been authorized to read on the Mount (on October 15th).

Attorney Aviad Vissuly opened the hearing by mentioning the illegality of the police policy of forbidding Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. Vissuly charged that this policy contradicts the Israeli Basic Law guaranteeing freedom of religion and worship. He likewise charged that the police have never formally adopted the forbidding of prayer on the Temple Mount in writing, as such would contradict the ruling of the International Court of Justice. In spite of this, the police continue to forbid all non-Moslem prayer on the Mount in accordance with the demands of the Moslem Wakf which is under the control of Islamic Movement.

Judge Maurice Ben Atar ruled that it has never been proven that Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount has created a provocation, and therefore the police had no basis whatsoever for arresting Yehudah Glick: "In light of the lack of legal basis for the arrest, there exists no reason for accepting the police request to limit Glick's freedom of movement." (The police had earlier presented their request that Glick be ordered to stay away from the Temple Mount for a period of 180. They later reduced their request to 20 days.) The judge ruled that there exists no reason for acquiescing to the police request of restricting Glick's access to the Temple Mount, even for a minute. The judge further stated that in light of the desire of hundreds of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, an arrangement allowing for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount similar to the arrangement already existing in the Cave of the Patriarchs [in Hebron] is the preferable solution.

In response to his arrest and hearing, Yehudah Glick stated that, "The feeling is that the Israeli police, instead of admitting that they failed in their preparation for the orderly entry of hundred of Israeli and tourists who wished to ascend to the Temple Mount to perform the agreed upon Hakhel ceremony, throughout the Sukkot holiday, in spite of the fact that they had been provided by Glick concrete information concerning the numbers months in advance, they prefer to betray the very individual who for months has been actively pursuing a policy of cooperation with the police. It pains me especially that the very same police officers with which I had pursued and enjoyed a working relationship built on trust over the past years, were those which brutally turned on me at this moment of truth."

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