Transcript [00:00] Israeli authorities have formally [00:02] allowed Jewish prayer for the first time [00:05] inside the Alaxa mosque in occupied East [00:09] Jerusalem. That is a quote from the new [00:11] site, The Middle East Eye. And [00:13] unfortunately, it isn't true. What is [00:16] true is almost just as crazy. Israel [00:20] just changed the rules for the Temple [00:22] Mount yet again. And this change brings [00:25] us one step closer to seeing a house of [00:27] prayer built once again on the mountain. [00:30] God chose to place his name forever. [00:35] As I'm sure many of you know, the Temple [00:37] Mount is a spiritual hotbed. It also [00:40] seems to reflect the broader state of [00:43] the Middle East in an odd way. Ever [00:46] since Israel recaptured the mount from [00:47] Jordan in 1967, non-Muslims have finally [00:51] been able to ascend the mount, but not [00:54] to worship. Israel continues to this day [00:57] to allow Jordanian religious police to [00:59] run day-to-day operations on the mount. [01:03] The result of this has been strict rules [01:05] for non-Muslims. [01:08] To date, Jews and Christians ascending [01:09] the mount can't pray. They can't move [01:11] their lips or bring any religious text [01:14] up with them. If these rules were [01:16] violated, you would be arrested by [01:18] Israeli police at Muslim request. Over [01:22] the past few years though, there has [01:24] been a huge shift. Slowly, the Muslim [01:27] police started losing their dominance on [01:29] the mount. And in response, Jewish [01:31] police started gaining confidence. At [01:34] some point, Jewish police stopped [01:36] warning groups ascending the mount that [01:38] they couldn't pray. And as a result, [01:40] prayer has become much more frequent and [01:42] open. It's not uncommon to see Jews [01:45] praying out loud, also singing or bowing [01:48] down. But then a few months ago, there [01:51] was also another breakthrough. Israeli [01:53] police coordinated with the Temple Mount [01:55] Yeshshiva to put together printed prayer [01:57] sheets and hand them out to Jewish [01:59] groups ascending the mount. This was a [02:02] huge shift. For the first time, Israeli [02:04] law enforcement didn't just turn a blind [02:06] eye to prayer on the Temple Mount. They [02:08] actually endorsed it in a cautious way. [02:12] But there were limitations of course. [02:14] You still couldn't bring your own prayer [02:15] book or Bible or any other religious [02:17] text up on the mount. Only the approved [02:20] prayer sheets printed by the yeshiva. [02:24] But in another breakthrough, all of that [02:26] has now changed. Israel just announced [02:29] that they are running an initial [02:30] experiment where they are allowing [02:32] non-Muslims to in fact bring their own [02:35] prayer books up on the mount. And in [02:38] initial reports, it looks like this has [02:40] actually been happening for the past few [02:43] days. I know this sounds like a trivial [02:45] announcement. The Temple Mount is the [02:47] holiest site for Jews, and they can now [02:48] actually pray up on that holy site. But [02:51] if you've ever been up on the mountain [02:53] yourself, you'd understand just how [02:55] significant this is. Basically, ever [02:58] since 1967, Jews have only been allowed [03:00] to ascend the mount for a few hours [03:02] every day, and they could go up, circle [03:05] them out, and come back down. And that's [03:07] basically it. And while up there, they [03:10] would be subject to harassment, yelling, [03:12] spitting, thrown rocks and bottles by [03:14] the local Muslim population. If a Jew [03:18] even so much as moved his lips in prayer [03:20] or pulled out a Bible or prayer book or [03:22] bowed down, he would be thrown down by [03:24] Israeli police, handcuffed, and hauled [03:26] off to jail. On the flip side, the local [03:29] Muslim population can pretty much do [03:31] whatever they want on the mount. They go [03:33] up to worship, to pray, and also pretty [03:35] much just to use it as a park. I've seen [03:37] myself on a number of different [03:38] occasions, uh, Arab kids just playing [03:40] soccer up on the mount, Arab teenagers [03:42] and adults doing the same, doing crazy [03:44] things like sliding down the ramp by the [03:46] eastern gate in produce crates, as you [03:48] can see in this video. [03:54] So, obviously, Muslims showing a lot of [03:56] respect for one of Islam's supposedly [03:59] most holy sites. We'll get into the rest [04:02] of the details on this along with the [04:03] fallout from this announcement in a [04:05] second. But first, did you know you [04:07] could hop on a live call with our team [04:09] on the ground in Israel every month? [04:12] That's just one perk you get as an [04:14] Israel guys member. Give any amount of [04:17] your choice each month and you'll be [04:18] part of our team. The live calls, [04:21] updates from our volunteer team out in [04:22] the field, an epic 4K Israel photo [04:25] download every month, and more. After [04:28] over 20 years of volunteering in Israel, [04:31] we've learned the best way to stand with [04:33] Israel is both media and boots on the [04:36] ground. And your monthly gift makes both [04:38] of those possible. Give any amount to [04:41] get started. Click the link in the [04:43] description or scan the QR code on [04:46] screen. So, the reasoning why Israel let [04:49] Muslims control the Temple Mount was [04:51] fairly simple. The Israeli government [04:53] was secular. They didn't care about the [04:55] Temple Mount all that much. In their [04:56] mind, religious Jews had the Western [04:58] Wall, and that should be enough. Also, [05:01] Israel was on a knife edge [05:03] security-wise. If Jews should openly [05:06] worship God on the mount, all hell could [05:08] break loose in Israel. And on several [05:10] occasions, this fear was realized. So, [05:13] the status quo was easier and supposedly [05:16] safer to keep Jews from worshiping God [05:18] on the Mount, let the Muslims have [05:19] control, and assert dominance, and [05:21] everything would be fine. But since [05:24] October 7th, a lot of things have [05:26] shifted in the Middle East. Finally, [05:29] Israel in many ways has regained their [05:32] backbone. Even secular politicians have [05:34] realized that the Temple Mount now [05:36] belongs to Israel. It was a site of two [05:38] Jewish temples hundreds of years before [05:40] Islam was invented. And regardless, [05:42] Israel won the mount back in a war of [05:44] self-defense in 1967. They can extend [05:47] kindness and continue to allow the [05:49] Muslims to pray on the Temple Mount and [05:51] have access to the mosque and the Dome [05:53] of the Rock, but there's no reason why [05:54] they should continue to stop Jews from [05:56] worshiping on the mount. I think in a [06:00] lot of ways, Israelis have kind of just [06:02] had enough. And this is why I think they [06:05] are finally allowing Jews to pray on the [06:07] Temple Mount, open, less restricted, and [06:10] finally now with prayer books. And to [06:13] clarify, the books themselves aren't [06:15] that important. Jews can look up a [06:17] prayer book on their phone and pray from [06:19] it. It's the symbol what it represents. [06:21] It's a basic level of freedom that [06:23] should be normal and that hasn't been [06:25] allowed up until now. And thankfully, [06:29] more and more Israelis have been taking [06:31] advantage of this freedom. This past [06:33] Tishbah on July 23rd, over 3,000 [06:36] Israelis ascended the mount, many [06:38] bringing Tishbah liturgy with them. Even [06:41] Israeli security minister Idmar Benkir [06:43] was seen ascending, bringing his own [06:45] prayer book with him and engaging in [06:47] open prayer on the mount. Although not [06:50] everything was allowed, Israeli police [06:52] ended up arresting 12 different Israelis [06:54] that day for being too open in their [06:56] outward expression of worship on the [06:58] mount. So there's still progress to be [07:01] made. And of course, Israel isn't [07:03] restricting Muslim worship. The opening [07:05] headline about the Israeli government [07:06] allowing Jews to pray in the Alaka is [07:09] false and just dumb on its face. The [07:11] Alaxa is a Muslim mosque, not a place [07:13] Jews want to enter, visit, or pray in. [07:16] And also, the Israeli government would [07:18] have massive trouble on their hands if [07:19] they allowed something like this to [07:21] happen. It's just too far out of the [07:23] realm of reality for the current moment. [07:26] Predictably, Jordan strongly condemned [07:28] this latest move to allow more freedom [07:30] of prayer on the Temple Mount. and a [07:32] spokesperson for Aman's foreign ministry [07:34] called it quote a flagrant violation of [07:36] the historical and legal status quo and [07:39] an unacceptable incursion by ministers [07:41] Knesset members and extremist settlers [07:44] and also predictably the president of [07:46] the Palestinian Authority Mahm Abbas [07:49] issued a similar condemnation but you [07:51] might notice strong statements of [07:53] condemnation seem to be all that are [07:55] happening it seems like when Israel [07:57] operates from a position of weakness [07:59] trying to appease the Muslim world, all [08:02] hell tends to break loose. But when they [08:04] operate from a position of strength, [08:06] openly embracing what God gave them from [08:09] a position of strength and moral [08:10] clarity, their enemies go silent. Many [08:13] predicted that if the US moved their [08:15] embassy to Jerusalem, World War II would [08:17] follow. Yet, when they made the move, [08:19] nothing happened. In the same way, many [08:21] predicted that if Israel ever allowed [08:23] prayer on the Temple Mount again, World [08:25] War II would happen. And you know what? [08:27] So far, it hasn't. Open prayer by God's [08:30] people in the place where he chose to [08:32] place his name forever is a good thing. [08:36] It's a wonderful thing and solid proof [08:38] that the redemption of Israel is [08:40] happening. May it continue. And guys, [08:43] maybe we could actually see a house of [08:45] prayer for all nations restored on the [08:47] Temple Mount in Jerusalem, God willing, [08:50] very soon. Don't forget, as an Israel [08:53] member, you can join a live call with [08:55] our team in Israel every month, plus a [08:57] lot more. 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