A synagogue on the Temple Mount? Temple Institute founder answers

Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the founder of the Temple Institute and the dean of the Temple Yeshiva, sat with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News for an interview following the renewed debate regarding Jewish visits to the Temple Mount.

The debate surrounding the issue was rebooted after National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said that he would establish a synagogue on the Temple Mount.

Asked if Ben-Gvir's remarks crossed a line, Rabbi Ariel answers: "The real question is who draws that line? For us, G-d is the one who draws the lines which were set in the Torah and during the return to Zion in the Land of Israel and Jerusalem after the Six Day War." Rabbi Ariel harkens back to the days after the war when he was assigned to guard the Dome of the Rock, the site of the Holy of Holies in the Temple. "Since then I haven't left the position. We must protect the place. That is our line, and we have no other."

Regarding rabbinical rulings prohibiting entry to the holy site, Rabbi Ariel emphasized: "To be honest, there was never a discussion on the matter at the Chief Rabbinate. There were decisions made, but there was never a discussion about entering the mount." According to him, there is no sweeping halachic ruling prohibiting entry, he notes that "there isn't even half a document that confirms this."

Rabbi Ariel recounts that he spoke with Minister Ben-Gvir and reminded him that the idea to build a synagogue on the Temple Mount is not a new one. He mentions the Chief Rabbinate Council's decision from the 12th of Av 5760 (August 13th, 2000), 24 years ago, which decided to hold deliberations regarding the construction of a synagogue on the Temple Mount. "That means that there was a Chief Rabbinate decision to discuss the matter, and not to prohibit entry to the mount," Rabbi Ariel says.

Rabbi Ariel also mentioned claims made mostly by haredi rabbis that visits to the Temple Mount provoked the Gentiles, especially during such a sensitive time of war. He emphasized that "whoever says it's prohibited to provoke the nations of the works disagrees with the Torah. The entire book of Deuteronomy talks about inheriting the land and settling it, and there is no place to fear the nations."

Rabbi Ariel concluded by mentioning the stance of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, which was communicated in a letter by the late Haifa Chief Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Hacohen, according to which everything possible must be done to restore Jewish control over the Temple Mount. According to him, Rabbi Kook encouraged the establishment of a synagogue on the Temple Mount but asked that it be done through a Chief Rabbinate Council decision. "Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda planned, together with Rabbi She'ar-Yashuv Hacohen, the establishment of a synagogue on the Temple Mount under the direction of the Chief Rabbinate," Rabbi Ariel concluded.