IT’S OURS AND OURS ALONE – WE ARE THE MASTERS OF JERUSALEM: – Ultra Orthodox right wing Rabbis and radical Israeli politicians believe that they have to rebuild the Jewish Temple in order for the Messiah to return. Once a fringe movement in the Holy Land without any real political power, they are now front and center in Israeli politics. The only way current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to stay out of jail was to invite extremist groups to form a coalition with the ruling party, Likud. 

Since the October 7 attacks these groups have grown even more powerful and now hold a metaphorical sword over Netanyahu’s head. If he makes peace with Hamas, they will withdraw from the coalition and allow the government to collapse. They demand full occupation of Gaza and the removal of all Palestinians. To gain a deeper understanding of what’s really going on, feel free to read the article below.

THE TEMPLE MOUNT MOVEMENT: – Shalom . . . Welcome to the home page of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement. The goal of the Temple Mount Faithful is the building of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in our lifetime in accordance with the Word of G-d and all the Hebrew prophets and the liberation of the Temple Mount from Arab (Islamic) occupation so that it may be consecrated to the Name of G-d. –

What is the Temple Mount movement?

The Temple Mount movement is an extremist messianic Jewish movement whose objective is to build a temple inside the 1,300-year-old Noble Sanctuary Mosque complex in occupied Palestinian East Jerusalem, one of the most sensitive holy sites in the world.

Built in the late 7th and early 8th centuries, the Noble Sanctuary (“Haram al-Sharif” in Arabic) contains the iconic Dome of the Rock shrine and al-Aqsa Mosque, and is the third holiest site in Islam. Called the Temple Mount by Jews, it’s also the location where two Jewish temples once stood, the second of which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE and is the holiest site in Judaism. The Noble Sanctuary abuts and overlooks a wall known as the Wailing (or Western) Wall, where Jews have traditionally prayed instead of the Noble Sanctuary.

Once considered to be on the fringes of Israeli society, since the early 2000s the Temple Mount movement has grown rapidly and become increasingly mainstream. Rabbis increasingly approve of and encourage Jews to visit the Noble Sanctuary and urge the Israeli government to allow them to pray openly there. By 2016, it had become so mainstream that Israel’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau publicly declared he wanted to see a temple built in the Noble Sanctuary.

Although they sometimes mask their intentions in terms of civil rights and religious freedom, Temple Mount extremists make clear their goal is to take over the Noble Sanctuary for exclusive Jewish use. As Moshe Feiglin, then-deputy speaker of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and one of the leaders of the movement explained in 2014: “I’m not asking for equality at the Temple Mount; there is no equality – it’s ours and ours alone.” 

Echoing those sentiments, notorious far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir – who is in charge of Israeli police – declared in June 2024: “We say in the simplest way, it’s ours.” During a visit to the Noble Sanctuary in 2023, Ben-Gvir declared: “We are the masters of Jerusalem and all of the land of Israel.” 

In addition to frequently denying Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem access to the Noble Sanctuary and Christian holy sites like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Israel denies millions of Muslim and Christian Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, occupied Gaza, and the diaspora, the right to visit occupied East Jerusalem and worship at its holy sites.

Notable Temple Mount groups.

The Temple Institute. – The government-funded Temple Institute runs a museum and visitor’s center in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City near the Noble Sanctuary and is the most mainstream group in the movement. It is actively working towards building a temple in the Noble Sanctuary, including making plans with an architect, training priests and making vessels for ritual use in temple ceremonies, and indoctrinating Israeli schoolchildren with the belief that building a temple in the Noble Sanctuary is a religious and national imperative.

The institute’s head, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, is a major figure in the movement. In the early 1980s, he ran for the Knesset with the overtly racist, fascist Kach party, second on the electoral list after its notorious leader, Meir Kahane. Kahane’s Kach party, Jewish Defense League, and offshoots were labeled terrorist organizations by the US government because of terrorist attacks carried out by their members. In 1983, Ariel was arrested on suspicion of plotting to take over the Noble Sanctuary. A year later he established the institute.

Return to the Mount. – One of the most extreme and dangerous Temple Mount groups, Return to the Mount engages in provocations like attempting to sacrifice animals in the Noble Sanctuary and offering cash to any Jew who does so or gets arrested trying. Members also disguise themselves as Muslims to enter the Noble Sanctuary and pray. Return to the Mount is closely associated with the extremist Kahanist movement and Lehava group, which works to prevent the mixing of Arabs and Jews in Palestine/Israel. 

The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement. – One of the oldest Temple Mount groups, the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement openly calls for the removal of the Dome of the Rock shrine and al-Aqsa Mosque, declaring on its website: “The Temple Mount can never be consecrated to the Name of G-d without removing these pagan shrines. It has been suggested that they be removed, transferred to, and rebuilt at Mecca.” – Institute for Middle East Understanding IMEU 21 June 2024.

JERUSALEM DAY: The leader of an Israeli far-right group called for the demolition of the Dome of the Rock Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem on Wednesday.

Bentzi Gopstein, the founder and leader of Lehava, published the controversial post online in which he called on Israeli settlers to unite on “Jerusalem Day” on 29 May to break into Al-Aqsa and start dismantling the revered Muslim landmark and pave the way for building a Jewish temple at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

“Jerusalem Day, which falls on 29 May, is the day the demolition of the Dome of the Rock will begin,” Gopstein wrote. 

“Jerusalem Day” is an annual Israeli holiday celebrated on the 28th day of the month of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar, commemorating the city’s “unification” when the Israeli military occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed the Palestinian city in violation of international law. 

The Lehava group published a poster on social media showing an excavator next to the Dome of the Rock. In another poster, another excavator appears to be carrying debris from the mosque. – Middle East Eye –

AI images of the destruction of the Dome of the Rock are plentiful on social media. Image of Netanyahu courtesy of the Mushroom Healer.

May 11, 2025 4:18:08 pm