BREAKING: House Calls for Jewish Prayer Rights at Temple Mount

The House passed a resolution Wednesday as part of the appropriations bill calling for freedom of worship at the Temple Mount for people of all faiths.

 Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) introduced the resolution last October calling for “equal access and religious freedom for Christians, Muslims and the Jewish people at one of the world’s most sacred sites.”

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“The resolution recognizes the Temple Mount as the holiest site in Judaism and a revered place for all three Abrahamic faiths” and “reaffirms that Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel and calls for the protection of the right of all people to worship freely and peacefully,” she said at the time.

In prepared remarks Wednesday, Tenney recounted the experience of one of her staffers at a visit to the Jews’ holiest site.

“When one of my staffers ascended the Temple Mount last year, he was harassed by Muslim onlookers, restricted from visiting most of the site, and was only allowed to be upon the Temple Mount for a very short duration of time,” she said.

“Madam Chair, it’s unconscionable that Jews do not enjoy the same access rights to visit and pray at their holiest site, that other religions do. This is a basic tenet and principle of religious freedom, and the U.S. must do more on this issue,” she added.

In a social media statement posted alongside a video of her remarks, the congresswoman wrote, “Today, the House adopted my amendment calling on the U.S. to defend religious freedom and equal access at the Temple Mount.”

“Jews are denied the freedom to pray at their holiest site while Muslims and Christians worship freely. They deserve that same right. This should not be controversial,” she declared.

After the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel delivered control over the Temple Mount to the Jordanian-controlled Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. While Israel maintained security control, the site was restricted for non-Muslims, and non-Muslim worship was banned.

Although the purpose of keeping the status quo was to preserve the peace, critics have argued that its acceptance by the international community demonstrated an unfair double standard: While Jews have been banned from praying at their holiest site without a hint of protest from activists worldwide, if the roles were reversed, global condemnations of Israel would surely be forthcoming. They argue that the idea itself that Israel would prevent Muslims from worshiping at their holy sites is unimaginable.