Starting today: Police issue Jewish quota on Temple Mount
Only 45 Jews in morning and 15 in afternoon allowed in with pre-registration
to limit free entry; 'this is anti-Semitism.'
By Shimon Cohen First Publish: 11/23/2015, 8:20 AM
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/203793#.VlNI2ZvouM8

In a new repressive measure, Israeli police on Monday morning are starting a
new official policy to limit the number of Jewish visitors to the Temple
Mount to a certain quota, and further limiting entry via registration in
advance.

In contrast, non-Jews will be able to continue to enter the Mount - which is
the holiest site in Judaism - freely and without restrictions, according to
the Headquarters of Temple Organizations.

The organizations report that Jewish visitors to the holy site were
surprised on Sunday to receive an announcement from the police, according to
which the status quo on the Mount is to be changed starting Monday.

Only 45 Jews will be allowed to enter the site in the morning, and another
15 in the afternoon according to the police announcement. Additionally, the
police decided to prioritize the entry of Jews who had registered in advance
with them.

"What the registration means is that beyond the 'numerus clausus' (i.e.
racial quotas - ed.) for Jews, the police won't allow any more free entry
for Jews to the Temple Mount, on the claim that the quota of Jews is full
with advance registrants," warned the Headquarters of Temple Organizations.

Activists who contacted the police to verify the announcement were told that
the police indeed intend to enforce the discriminatory step, claiming that
it is in the benefit of the Jews and their security.

The step joins another controversial move at the site taken in response to
the latest wave of Arab terror. Last month Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
agreed to install cameras on the Mount, in a move approved by Jewish Home
chairman Naftali Bennett, who likewise stated his support of the Jordanian
Waqf's ban on Jewish prayer.

However, Jordan's King Abdullah II made clear that the footage from the
cameras will only be accessed by Jordan, which will then decide what
segments to share with Israel.

"This is anti-Semitism"

In response to Monday's new step, the Temple Organizations complain that the
measure will further undermine the precarious Israeli sovereignty on the
site and in essence hand it over to the Waqf completely.

"The idea to fix a numerical quota for Jews on the Temple Mount is
anti-Semitic," they stated.

"The Temple Mount is the holiest site to the nation of Israel. It cannot be
that again and again the police try to thin out and exclude the Jews from
the site through various strange methods."

"The Temple Mount needs to be open to Jews at least as much as is the
complex on its western wall," they added, referencing the Kotel. "The Temple
Mount is a lot more quiet and secure than any other place in the Old City.
The police are bearing the name of security in vain, there is no reason to
limit the Jews on the Temple Mount."

Referencing the current draconian conditions, the activists added, "sticking
police (units) to the Jews on the Temple Mount was only meant to prevent the
Jews from freedom of religion at the holy site, in order to cater to the
demands of the Waqf and the Jordanians. The security excuses are false."

According to the activists the new move is a submission to the threats of
the Waqf and of Jordan, according to which the terror will continue if their
demands are not met.

"Particularly in these days when the state of Israel stands before a wave of
discrimination and labeling (by the EU - ed.) we must not allow any sort of
discrimination. All the more so we must not ourselves implement the
standards of discrimination against Jews as a submission to terror and
pressure from the enemy."

"We will not accept this illegal step, and we will do all we can in order to
oppose it and breach it," promised the activists.

Meanwhile, a Jewish man was arrested Sunday for saying the Shema prayer on
the Temple Mount, challenging restrictions banning Jews from praying on
Judaism's holiest site.

Despite the creeping restrictions and Muslim harassment, numbers of Jewish
visitors to the Temple Mount have been rising steadily. Activists believe
the tightening restrictions are meant to stem the flow of Jews visiting,
essentially imposing a de-facto ban to appease Muslim groups.