Historic shift at Temple Mount as Jewish worshippers allowed printed prayers

Israeli police have, for the first time, permitted Jewish visitors to enter the Temple Mount carrying printed prayer materials, marking a notable shift in the management of one of Jerusalem’s most sensitive religious sites. 

According to multiple reports, Jewish worshippers were handed liturgical leaflets on Wednesday morning ahead of their ascent to the compound.

The leaflets reportedly include religious guidelines for visiting the site, a prayer to recite before ascending, and the Amidah, a central prayer in Jewish liturgy. 

Until now, while discreet forms of Jewish prayer had increasingly been tolerated, bringing any religious items or printed texts onto the site—such as prayer books, tallit, or tefillin—remained strictly prohibited.

Police have not issued an official statement on the change. Beyadenu, an organization advocating for Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount, said that for now only a specific brochure produced by a Temple Mount-affiliated yeshiva has been approved, though the policy could evolve further.

Under longstanding understandings between Israel and Jordan— which administers the site through the Islamic Waqf—non-Muslim prayer on the Temple Mount, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa compound, is officially prohibited. These arrangements are intended to preserve the fragile status quo at the site, sacred to Jews as the location of the ancient Temples and to Muslims as home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock since the 7th century.

In practice, enforcement of these restrictions has eased in recent years. Previously, Jewish visitors found praying were routinely removed or detained. 

That approach has softened under National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a vocal supporter of expanding Jewish prayer rights at the site. Jewish worshippers are now often permitted to pray quietly and, in some areas—particularly on the eastern side of the esplanade—to prostrate themselves.

Beyadenu described the introduction of printed prayers as a significant step. 

“This is something the police once enforced with extreme strictness,” a spokesperson said, noting that possession of liturgical texts previously resulted in immediate expulsion.

The shift follows the recent appointment of Avshalom Peled, an associate of Ben Gvir, as Jerusalem district police commander. According to Haaretz, his predecessor reportedly left the role after resisting political pressure to further relax regulations governing the site.

READ MORE LIKE THIS:

•EU parliament bans Iranian diplomats and representatives from its facilities

•Bondi Beach shooter charged with 59 offenses, including 15 murder counts

•Coalition leaders plead with Netanyahu not to comply with Supreme Court ruling over the dismissal of Minister Ben Gvir