Despite a long-time prohibition on Jews reciting prayers and hymns on Temple Mount, a group of Jewish visitors to the mountain were allowed to sing Israel's national anthem on Sunday in the main area and to pray in a separate location near one of the gates to the area, marking the first time this is done with permission from Israeli authorities on Tisha B'Av, during which Jews lament the destruction of the Temple and a long line of calamities in Jewish history that coincided with that date.
Video: Moshe Ben Simchon
The singing was carried out by MK Amichai Chikli (Yamina) and former right-wing lawmakers, while the prayer service was held with MK Yomtob Kalfon and other activists in a secluded area near the Golden Gate.
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The issue of Jewish prayer on the site has been a source of friction with the Islamic Waqf, which has de facto control over it due to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine, two of the most important places in Muslim tradition.
The Israel Police has tried to accommodate Jewish activity on Temple Mount in recent weeks by turning a blind eye to prayers conducted in a secluded area by private individuals so long as they continue walking and avoid reading from prayer books.
The fact that the national anthem is sung openly just next to the Islamic holy sites marks an apparent turning point. Despite this, several Jews were told to leave the area on Sunday after they allegedly violated the prohibition in a more vocal way, with one visitor being kicked out for saying 'Temple Mount is in our hands."
More than 1,000 Jews made their way on Sunday to the Temple Mount, but many more arrived in the general area. Starting Saturday evening, thousands of Jewish worshippers descended on the Western Wall to mark Tisha B'Av, reading out the Book of Lamentations and reciting prayers of mourning. Some sat on the ground and wept over the destruction of the Temple.
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