Free Republic

Defense Minister Peretz, in the face of Muslim violence, appealed to Prime Minister Olmert to halt the construction of the footpath at the Rambam Gate to the Temple Mount. Olmert turned him down. Jews were blocked Thursday from reaching the Kotel (Western Wall) Prayer Plaza by the hundreds of Israeli-Arab protestors. Islamic clerics leading the demonstration as well as Arab politicians threatened an “Intifada worse than the previous one in 2000” if the Israel Antiquities Authority did not immediately halt the repair work and excavations at the site. Spokesman Aryeh King, representing the Jewish associations in the eastern part of...

The ceremony has become a tradition ever since the liberation of the Temple Mount during the Six-Day War in 1967 and is seen as an observance of the Jewish obligation to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Temple three times a year, on Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles). During the weeklong Pesach and Sukkot holidays, the ceremony is held on the second of the Hol haMoed (intermediate) days. Hundreds of kohanim, Jews who trace their lineage to Aaron, the first High Priest, stood closest to the Western Wall to take part in the special blessings....