Jewish visitors to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount surged to record numbers during this year’s Passover holiday. According to data from Beyadenu, Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount reached 6,788 with the first day of Passover alone seeing 494 worshippers, marking a 43% increase from last year’s 345.
The Temple Mount has long been governed by an unwritten status quo agreement that prohibits non-Muslim prayer at the site. While Jews are permitted to visit during specified hours, the arrangement has traditionally barred them from praying there. Despite Prime Minister Netanyahu’s consistent denials of any status quo changes, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir openly claims credit for policy reforms permitting Jewish prayer.
“The rights of Jews on the Temple Mount are advancing too slowly in relation to the progress among the Israeli public, across its various sectors, which is reconnecting with the Temple Mount,” said Beyadenu CEO Tom Nisani.
Historically, mainstream Orthodox Judaism has forbidden Jews from entering the Temple Mount due to concerns about ritual purity and the site’s exceptional holiness. Many religious authorities continue to denounce the government’s recent policy shifts, describing them as both a desecration of sacred space and a needless provocation that inflames tensions throughout the Muslim world.
However, a growing movement within Orthodox Judaism advocates for Jewish presence on the holy site, viewing it as a fulfillment of religious obligations and an assertion of Jewish connection to their ancient homeland.
As in previous years, authorities also detained several Jewish activists in recent days for attempting to bring animals to the site to perform the traditional Passover sacrifice.
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