Chief rabbis restate ban on Jewish visits to Temple Mount

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau and Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef, as well as more than 100 prominent Israeli rabbis, issued a statement Thursday reiterating a previous decree barring Jews from visiting the Temple Mount.

The rabbinical decree forbidding Jewish worshippers from visiting the volatile holy site in Jerusalem has been in place for decades.

“We have been blessed, by the grace of God, to witness the fact that this holy place is in our possession, and many among the people of Israel flock to it, so that they may see it with their own eyes. Some even venture into the Temple Mount, despite the generations-old warning barring us from setting foot anywhere on the premises, so that we do not fail and, heaven forbid, infringe on the purity of this sacred place,” the rabbis’ statement read.

In Jewish law, entering the Temple or the Tabernacle while in a state of ritual impurity is one of 36 offenses punishable by kareth (“cutting off”)—extinction of the soul and denial of a share in the world to come.

“With time, we have become unaware of the exact location of the Temple, and anyone entering the premises may unknowingly enter the holiest of holies, potentially risking kareth,” the rabbis said.