Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Petition in USA Calling for Opening of Har HaBayis to Jews

An online petition originating in the United States is seeking support for a call to permit Jewish access to Har HaBayis on “fixed Jewish days,” including erev Pesach, Pesach, Shavuos, Sukkos, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Chanukah, 10 Teves, 17 Tammuz, 9 Av, Yom Yerushalayim, Yom HaAtzma’ut, and for Hakel following Shmitah year.

At the time of the writing of this article, 3,022 people have signed. Some of the organizations supporting the petition include the Chevron Fund, One Jerusalem, the Temple Institute and Manhigut Yehudit.

The exact text of the petition is as follows:

To: The State of Israel
The Temple Mount is the holiest place in the world to the Jewish people; yet Jews are denied the right to pray in groups, and even as individuals; this refusal is accompanied by their constant degradation, and they are granted no opportunity for any religious expression whatsoever on the Temple Mount.
It is our position that if the stature of the Jews on the Temple Mount were to change positively, in a manner that would reflect their status as law-abiding citizens, sons of the nation that is sovereign on the Mountain and as people who have basic human rights in the Jewish state, then the standing of the State of Israel would immediately improve. This would effect a positive change for the benefit and security of all its citizens.
Ever since the Six Day War, many Jews to whom the Temple Mount is precious (and what Jew does not hold the Temple Mount as precious?) have demanded the right to pray at this sacred site. These demands have been based on their understanding that arrangements could be made that would reflect the reality of the current situation. However, let it be known that the Jewish people will never accept the total refusal of Jewish communal prayer on the Mountain.
We demand that the Government of Israel allow the Jewish people to have freedom of religious expression on the Temple Mount. Additionally, the government must establish special fixed days for Jewish communal prayer in fixed locations on the Temple Mount. This move will serve as evidence of Jewish sovereignty on the Mount.

*The Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Israel which are Sukkot, Pesach and Shavuot.
*The 14th of Nisan, the eve of Passover, is the day on which our holy Torah obligates each Jew to bring the Passover offering (it should be noted that this right has already been recognized by Israel’s High Court of Justice, #2955/07 ).
*Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur
*The eight days of Chanukah
*The Three Fast Days of the 10th of Tevet, the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av
*Israel Independence Day and Jerusalem Day
*The Hakhel Ceremony at the conclusion of the Sabbatical Year
This will serve as a preliminary step in confirming the Jewish people’s inexorable connection with the Temple Mount, location of the Holy Temple, under the sovereignty of the people of Israel.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned.

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