Jews Pray on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount as Decades-Old Status Quo Begins to Shift

Police are allowing limited Jewish prayer on Temple Mount, marking the most significant shift to the status quo since 1967 – and stirring quiet tension on one of the world’s most contested sites.

. . .Ali, who said he goes to pray every day at Al-Aqsa (so called because it was “the farthest” mosque from Mecca when the Quran was revealed), said Jewish groups visiting and even praying there doesn’t bother him.

“It does disturb some people, but it doesn’t bother me,” he said. “If they do it quietly, it’s okay. People should worship God in the way they want to.”

But other Palestinians disagreed. A group of three women from the Galilee, who said they come about once a week to pray at the mosque for their families and for those who were killed in Gaza, frowned as they watched the Jewish group.

“This place is for Islam, and Jews are supposed to pray at the Wall,” Samira said.

Indeed, that has been the case since 1967 when Israel took over Jerusalem’s Old City from Jordan during the Six Day War. For many Israelis, it was the fulfillment of a dream, with the chance to pray at the Kotel – the Western Wall. The iconic photo of three paratroopers standing at the Wall is inscribed into every Israeli’s DNA. (Read more from “Jews Pray on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount as Decades-Old Status Quo Begins to Shift” HERE)