Via WEJEW.com and Arutz Sheva: “The Centrality of the Temple Mount in Judaism“,

“The Knesset held a series of discussions on the the importance of the Temple Mount to Judaism and the struggle to take control of the holiest site in Judaism. As seen on Arutz Sheva (IsraelNationalNews.com)”.  Let’s view the video:

Read the Arutz Sheva article: “As Tisha B’Av Approaches, Knesset Focuses on the Temple Mount“. 

     …”Dr. Mordechai Keidar discussed the political implications of Israel’s stance vis-a-vis the Temple Mount. Referring to the Palestinian Authority’s demands for Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, he said, “The struggle for Jerusalem is not territorial, it is theological… do we give in to the Muslim claim that Judaism is no longer relevant?”
     The Muslim view of Judaism is the root of the PA’s refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish country, he said. The PA’s claims to Jerusalem are clearly not due to Islam’s reverence for Jerusalem, as Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran, he argued….” Read the whole article 

UPDATE: With the above Knesset focus in mind, it should be noted that a recent survey in Israel found that ”64% of Israelis want Temple rebuilt Even half of secular Jews say time is right” written by Aaron Klein, who noted .. 

     …”The rebuilding of the Temple is an extremely controversial idea in Israel because currently Jewish access to the Temple Mount is restricted by the Muslim Waqf, which was granted administrative authority over the Jews’ holiest sites, which are occupied by Muslim shrines.” Read it all 

UPDATE:  Ritmeyer Archaeological Design recently blogged re: ”Building a Sacrificial Altar on Tisha B’av“, saying

     “Here is some really exciting news for those who are watching Temple Mount events. Arutz Sheva, a daily news report from Israel, reports that the Temple Institute plans to build an altar on Tisha b’Av – the 9th day of the Jewish month called Av. That is tomorrow, at 5.30 pm on Thursday 30th of July.
     “The stones for the Altar were gathered from below the water line of the Dead Sea, wrapped in plastic and transported to Mitzpe Yericho, located some 15 miles east of Jerusalem, as can be seen in this report. According to Yehudah Glick, the Temple Institute director, the altar will be kept small, so that eventually it could be transported to the Temple Mount. According to him this is the “ideal time to begin to build the Temple.” It will be interesting to see when that happens…”  Read the whole post

UPDATE: As a kind of follow-up, see a July 30th Arutz Sheva article: “Temple Altar Construction Begins on Day of Destruction” by Yehudah Lev Kay

See our previous post: The Temple Institute: “Dare to Dream/Dare to Build” (Updated)