Religion

Jews Turn Out In Record Numbers At Holy Site Recently Besieged By Islamic Violence

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Jews ascended the Temple Mount in the largest crowd in recent years Tuesday in the wake of mass Islamic violence that besieged the site recently.

Mass Islamic protests descended into violence and besieged the holy site during a “Day of Rage” after Israeli authorities installed metal detectors at the entrance to the Al Aqsa mosque. Israeli authorities removed the security measures and the violence, once spurred on by Hamas and Jordanian authorities, subsided. Over 1,000 Jews visited the site Tuesday in honor of their holy day, Tisha B’av,  making it the largest Jewish crowd to ascend the Temple Mount in recent years according to an Associated Press report. Anger over the handling of the holy site, however, has not subsided.

(Related: Palestinians Attack Israeli Police At Jerusalem Holy Site, Hamas Calls For Religious War)

“People are very angry, the government’s behavior last week was humiliating and degrading,” Fried told JP. “If Moshe Dayan gave the Waqf the keys to the Temple Mount in 1967, then last week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave over sovereignty over the Temple Mount to the Waqf.”

Nine Jewish visitors were removed from the site for breaking the visitation rules that stipulate that Jews can not pray or wear religious paraphernalia at the site, according to the AP report.  Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said authorities arrested three Jewish visitors and one Muslim for fighting at the site.

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