Evening Update: Israelis Called To Mass Temple Mount Protest

Two interesting articles have just come out from Israel Today:

Israelis Called To Mass Temple Mount Protest

Israelis are growing increasingly fed up with the lack of religious freedom for Jews on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, Judaism's most holy site, because of ongoing fear over a Muslim backlash.

For years already, unofficial restrictions bar Jews and Christians from praying atop the Temple Mount or carrying a Bible to the holy site. Muslim watchers keep an eye on all Jewish and Christian visitors, and Israeli police are quick to arrest those who violate said restrictions.

Of late, the police have simply been keeping the Temple Mount closed to all non-Muslim visitors.

Israeli Temple Mount activists hope to begin reversing the situation with a mass protest scheduled for next Wednesday (August 7), the start of the Hebrew month of Elul, according to Israel National News.

Speaking to the website, right-wing Israeli lawmaker Moshe Feiglin (Likud) said that barring Jews from the Temple Mount was no doubt connected to the new US-driven peace negotiations, and warned that Prime Minister Benjamin Netnyahu will be strong-armed into an agreement that surrenders the "very heart of Jerusalem to foreigners, to Islam."

Feiglin insisted that at this point, the only way to prevent the Temple Mount from once again being taken from Israel is to demonstrate en masse and to be ready for confrontation and personal sacrifice.

Netanyahu In Stormy Last Knesset Meeting Before Holidays

Israel’s Knesset is now on break until after the High Holy Days in September. But members of Israel’s legislature made sure not to finish off the legislative year without one last heated verbal confrontation.

On Wednesday night the Knesset approved a new bill requiring a national referendum on any future Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. Any agreement reached during the current talks in Washington will first require Israeli citizenry approval before signing away at the dotted line.

During the discussions over the bill, Arab Israeli MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad), who opposed the bill, declared to Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud), “You're an enemy of peace. We [the Arabs] were here before you and we'll be here after you."

At that point, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped in, retorting, “The first part [of your statement] is not true – and the second part will never happen.” According to one report, Netayahu’s response resulted in an outburst of applause from the Knesset floor.

The bill which received the go ahead by the Cabinet on Sunday means that the government cannot approve any territorial compromise without first taking the decision to the public. The bill however only applies to the territories that are under Israeli sovereignty which means any Israeli agreement over Judea and Samaria will not be included in the measure.

However, the bill still needs to be passed through three hearings before it becomes law.

MK Hanna Swaid (Hadash) believes “this (potential) law is intended to silence the Arab parties,” she accused. The Arab Israeli legislators therefore chose to express their anger by using their three minutes on the Knesset podium to protest with silence.

Zahalka also taped his mouth shut, to which MK Penina Tamanu-Shata (Yesh Atid) joked, “Careful with the mustache!”

Naftali Bennet (Jewish Home) shot fiery criticisms against those Jewish parties such as Shas and Labor who were also against the bill.

“I hear [Shas chairman] Aryeh Deri preaching to me,” Bennett charged, and, in a reference to Shas’s support for the Oslo Accords, added, “The country was divided thanks to you. I could not believe that a party that relies on the Torah divides the land.”