Haredi coalition faction chastises Ben Gvir’s ‘dangerous’ Temple Mount visit

Senior coalition lawmaker Moshe Gafni slams far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for visiting and praying at Jerusalem’s flashpoint Temple Mount, accusing him of desecrating the holy site and causing “bloodshed.”

Ben Gvir’s visit prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office to swiftly say in a statement that the longstanding status quo at the compound — according to which Jews are not allowed to pray atop the mount — has not changed. Under Ben Gvir, who is in charge of the police, enforcement of the prayer ban has dramatically loosened, and Jews have started frequently prostrating and openly praying during visits.

The ultra-Orthodox Gafni, No. 2 in the United Torah Judaism party and the leader of its Degel Hatorah faction, writes a piece in faction mouthpiece Yated Ne’eman headlined “Minister Ben Gvir is continuing to inflame tensions with a dangerous ascent to the Temple Mount.”

“Ben Gvir is severely harming the sanctity of the place, inciting the whole world against the Jewish people, and leading to bloodshed,” he charges, with the newspaper saying rabbis and public officials have protested the visit.

While the Haredi community is overwhelmingly opposed to entering the site due to its holiness, growing parts of the religious Zionist community support the pilgrimage, and the number of Jews entering the site has soared in recent years.