Did you know that
In Saudi Arabia, the public practice of any religion
other than Islam is prohibited, and the government enforced restrictions on
religious freedom. The government reportedly deported foreigners for
worshipping privately…In Iran, the arrest and harassment of members of
religious minorities, including Sunni Muslims, increased significantly. There
continued to be reports that the government imprisoned, harassed, intimidated,
and discriminated against people because of their religious beliefs.
The 1967 Protection of Holy Sites
Law protects the holy sites of all religious groups…A government policy since
1967, repeatedly upheld by the Supreme Court and routinely enforced by the
police, who cite security concerns, denies non-Muslim worship and prayer at the
Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. While the government ensures limited access to
the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif to everyone regardless of religious belief,
only Muslims are allowed to pray at the site, although their access is
occasionally restricted due to security concerns. The Israel National Police
regulates traffic in and out of the compound and removes non-Muslim visitors if
they appear to be praying.
The Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem
Islamic Waqf that manages the site generally restricts non-Muslims from
entering the Dome of the Rock shrine and Al-Aqsa Mosque, a practice it started
in the year 2000. The Waqf does not allow non-Muslim religious symbols to be
worn on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif.
As I just blogged, UNESCO's delegation has been rebuffed, at present.
While this sounds encouraging, last week almost 100 schoolchildren
could not enter the Temple Mount compound not because they were going to pray
but because their visit was a learning tour to become acquainted with the
Shavuot Festival Temple Service.
Members of Knesset virtually have to sneak up to the Mount and one
is a target for discrimination. The
Knesset’s Interior Committee, headed by Miri Regev, after being forced to cancel a fact-finding tour, discussed the issue of freedom of religion on the Temple Mount and was supplied with misleading information when told by a Foreign Ministry
lawyer that Jordan possesses “international authority” to administer the site.
Freida Yuval, deputy head of the
Jordan desk in the Foreign Ministry, went on to say that
allowing Jews free worship on the Mount would “awaken the entire world,” and
bring about another intifada. She
did admit that 30 MFA staffers visited the Mount that week – unidentified – and
managed to enter with no problems.
Of course, that is the problem: you cannot be in any way Jewish
there.
^