For what I guess is the second time, as last year they announced it "for the first time in two thousand years", some people from Yeshivat Hamikdash broke into Har Habayit via Shaar Hatzon, an ancient gate into the walls of Har Habyit via which the sheep were generally brought into the mikash for sacrifices, and performed the sacrifical rite of waving the "2 loaves" on Friday on the holiday of Shavuos. The "hanafat shtei halechem", the waving of the two loaves is the central korban of the Shavuos holiday (in addition to other korbanos that are less possible to bring or perform today).

It is hard to find too many details about this incident but the "Har Habait News" mentions it saying 14 people broke in to Har Habayit through Shaar Hatzon on Shavuos, 9 of whom succeeded in getting in, including Ariel Cohen, to the area of the azara, the inner courtyard of the mikdash where korbanos would be sacrificed. Once there, Cohen, dressed in the Priestly Garments, waved the two loaves, performing the ritual as prescribed.

Ariel Cohen did the same last year as well.

They were all captured and detained.

Har Habayit was closed to Jews on the shavuos holiday, so they really had to break in somehow. I would really like to discover how they got in. Har Habayit is an extremely secure and locked down area.

Can the "Two Loaves" be brought nowadays? I don't really know, I am no authority on this, but form what I understand it is considered a public offering which is generally allowed when the entire, or majority of the, community is impure (similar to Korban Pesach), but there are connected requirements that are more problematic. I found this rundown of the issues on the Har Habait News site if you are interested in learning more about it.

Are these a bunch of delusional kids making trouble, getting involved in dangerous matters (bringing korbanos could be trouble if not done properly - of which there are many aspects)? Are they heroes forcing a matter few want to talk about but some think the time has come? Can it be considered a korban tzibbur, a public offering, if the tzibbur, the public, isn't aware of it, isn't interested in it, and maybe largely even opposes it? Does it matter, if there is an obligation and this Cohen fellow is fulfilling it? I know several years back I would have thought this was a great thing, while now I just don't know. I do think it is good from the perspective of bringing awareness and raising discussion. And I still want to know how they circumvented to police and successfully broke into the most secured strip of land in the country with enough time to do this ritual.

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Despite PM Netanyahu's opposition to this, the government is looking to pass a law that would require all behavior to comply with the orders of the Chief Rabbinate at the Holy Places in Israel, including the Kotel... this would disallow women from using Torah scrolls or laying tefilling and donning tallit at the Kotel, appropriate attire, among other behaviors we have seen and some have fought over. Netanyahu is pushing for them to drop the vote on this law proposal, but so far many of the ministers are saying they are going to push it forward despite Netanyahu's opposition to it.

MK Avi Maoz (Noam) has propsoed a law that will require compliance with the Chief Rabbinate's decrees or directives at the Holy Sites, including the Kotel. Maoz would have this be punishable by up to 7 years of prison for non-compliance.

One potential side effect of passage of this law would be Jews going to Har Habayit. The Chief Rabbinate has always been opposed to Jews going to Har Habayit and has issued directives against Jewish ascent. If the law passes and Jews go up anyway, we could see frum Jews being arrested for going to Har Habayit, and that is regardless of how they act up there or what they do (until now Jews could be and were detained on Har Habayit for visibly praying or doing other "provocative" things, though this has been lessened since Minister Ben Gvir took office as Minister of National Security).

I am not sure what the official legal status of Har Habayit is in Israeli law - I think it only has status as a holy site for Muslims, not as a Jewish holy site, so that might actually be its saving grace for Jews. If it is not a holy site it might not fall under the authrity of the Chief Rabbinate. Strange that it is not considered a holy site, but that is what I understand its status is...

As far as the Kotel, where does it begin and where does it end? Will the same rules apply to the Kotel Hakattan (it should)? What about the plaza leading to the Kotel? Can the women make their minyan in the plaza without threat of arrest? if people are dressed inappropriately in the plaza can they be arrested?

At the end of the day, I cant see it being a good thing to see people arrested for praying, for not wearing stockings (if the Rabbanut decides that is appropriate attire for a holy site) or for other such behaviors. Once the genie is out of the box, not sure it will be so easy to put back in, and while the goal is against the Reform from doing their things, it will quickly affect others as well... will this take away the right for Israel to express outrage when other countries ban prayer in certain places or ban circumcision unless done in certain ways?

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As a thoroughly secular person and a staunch supporter of freedom of religion, I just can’t understand why the Temple Mount is the only place in the world where Jews who wish to do so are forbidden to pray (alongside Mecca, where Muslims completely ban all “infidels” from…

— תמיר מורג Tamir Morag (@Tamir114) August 3, 2025

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rabbi talking Torah to a group of ascendants on Har Habayit, protected by a visibly religious Jewish Israeli policeman

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And to be sure, I am in favor of allowing Jews to go up as much and as often as they want and to allow them freedom of prayer on Har Habayit. Even if you think Jews should not go up for halachic reasons, that should be a personal decision. The State, being a democracy, should allow freedom of worship and of access to the maximum. Not going up for halachic reasons should be for me and you to decide for ourselves, not the State.

I did find the ensuing exchange humorous.

After the brouhaha began, with many criticizing Ben Gvir's actions solely meant to antagonize the Arabs, The Prime Minister's Office released a statement saying that the status quo on Har Habayit has not changed one iota. The status quo being that Jews can go up (within the limited hours set for this) to Har Habayit but they cannot pray on Har Habayit.

Shortly thereafter, Ben Gvir's office released a statement that Ben Gvir prayed on Har Habayit as per his office's policy to allow it.

Did the status quo change or not? Does it matter. Ben Gvir said it has been changed and acts accordingly, while the PMO says it hasnt and his only purpose seems to be to make the world think it hasn't even if in practice it did. 

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Arnon Segal posted the following picture online today.. he has posted similar pictures and video over the past few days..

This is happening under the watchful eye of the police, not using subterfuge as had to be done way back when, so the police are letting it happen, despite PM Netanyahu announcing that there is no change to the status quo on Har Habayit..

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To note, I support changing the status quo on Har Habayit and think anyone who believes in freedom of religious worship and other personal freedoms should as well.

So the Yated printed the following:

The blurb in the top right corner, leading to a full article further in, talks about how it is seriously prohibited by Jewish law to go to Har Habayit and it mentions the political pyromaniac stirring things up again, etc.. They included a translation into Arabic so the Arabs would know that they do not support Ben Gvir's statements or behavior and call for Jews to not go and to keep the status quo and even break it in the favor of the Arabs.

I do wonder about that Arabic translation. How many Arabs out there are reading Yated Neeman, even on just a somewhat regular basis, that they decided they need to be completely clear so they won't be misunderstood?

(source: INN)

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MK Amit Halevi (Likud) is putting together a plan to divide Har Habayit up between the Jews and the Arabs. I think of it as being somewhat similar to the arrangements in the Mearat Hamachpela in Hebron with Jews getting Ulam Avraham and Yaakov, and Arabs getting the [much larger] Ulam Yitzchak, and for 10 specific days each year Jews get the entire complex and another 10 specific days Arabs get the entire complex. The arrangement there seems to work. I said somewhat similar but more deficient and unlikely.

Halevi has come up with a plan to divide up Har Habayit giving the Jews full access to the central area of Har Habayit (including Dome of the Rock), where the Beit Hamikdash stood, along with the northern side. The Arabs would be given full access to the southern area where Al Aksa mosque is located and the areas surrounding it.

Part of Halevi's plan includes kicking the Jordanians off the Mount and taking away their special status they have obtained somehow via agreements with Israel over the years.

Halevi says the entire Har Habayit is 144 dunam, with just a very small portion on the southern side being Al Aksa. The Arabs have expanded their space adjacent to Al Aksa digging and adding and building. The majority of the Mount though is the central area where the Mikdash stood. The fact that the Muslims consider the entire Har Habayit as Al Aksa is a fiction with no precedent or basis, which has caused us to be unable to go naturally to the sections that are associated with us.

As much as it makes sense, to me, as a Jew, as someone who supports Jewish rights on Har Habayit, I don't see how this can happen without likely starting a major war. As I said above, it is somewhat similar to the arrangement in Hebron but more deficient and unlikely. Why? Because the Arabs, who have a stronger hand there right now, don't agree with Halevi's analysis. They consider the entire Mount to be part of Al Aksa, whether they made that up or not. Jordan is not just going to walk away from their control of the area just because Israel says get lost. Unless Israel is willing to create a lot of conflict over this it just isnt going to happen. Plus the northern side is where a lot of Arab activity happens as well as there are Arab houses abutting the northern side and there is a school there and people cross through to get to school or do go on their way. It might make sense and be more palatable to others if the division was more like Hebron where each side had access to part the entire year and then for x number of days each of the other would get full access.... I wonder how quickly PM Netanyahu will shoot this down considering the flare up it has the potential of causing...

And one can point to the story of King Solomon and the babies and say if Amit Halevi is willing to divide Har Habayit he must not really have a connection to it, while the Arabs who are not willing to divide it must have a stronger connection to it...

Gafni explains the significance of Har Habayit and the destruction fo the Mikdash, along with the severity of ascending Har Habayit. Gafni writes that today we are seeing more Ministers and MKs going up to Har Habayit, but with the decision being in your hands (ie PM Netanyahu's hands), Gafni requests to prevent any further ascension for both diplomatic reasons and for security reasons. Diplomatic reasons because of how countries around the world look at this situation. Security reasons because of the incitement it causes as well, especially in the Arab world. And the main reason, Gafni says, is because there is no reason to go up - it does not show any sovereignty and only causes a desecration of the holiest place.

I understand 100% where Gafni is coming from, even though I disagree with his assertions. However, if Gafni is so bothered by the desecration and wants PM Netanyahu to put an end to it, why does he not also demand the end of the desecration of the place by the Arabs? If he is just worried about protecting Jews from kareis, so he doesnt care about the divine punishment the Arabs will get from their presence and behavior there, but he doesnt say that this is his concern. he is concerned about the desecration of the place (along with the diplomatic/security fallout). If he is concerned over the desecration, at least request shutting it down to everybody forever.

Gafni also must realize what an order from Netanyahu will effect - Ben Gvir, already teetering on the edge of the coalition, would create such a ruckus over an order to stop them from ascending. Gafni must know Netanyahu will not respond positively to this because of the ramifications that would have. This letter is for show, and nothing more.

In an attempt to calm the situation, and especially the angry foreign countries like Jordan, Egypt and others, PM Netanyahu said, after explaining what happened and how Israel responded carefully in order to allow prayers to continue and Muslim worshippers to be able to pray, "Israel is committed to safeguarding the freedom of worship, the free access for all religions and the status quo on Har Habayit, and will not allow violent extremists to change that".

I am in favor of his attempt to calm things down but I do find it ironic for him to talk publicly about free access to all religions, freedom of worship, and all that jazz the same day they have been arresting Jewish activists for trying to worship the Pesach holiday on Har Habayit the way the Torah mandates. And of course the regular prevention of Jews ascending Har Habayit to pray or do any noticeably religious activity..

Itamar Ben Gvir, before he became Minister of National Security, used to promote, encourage and demand the right too go on Har Habayit for Pesach and sacrifice a lamb for the korban pesach.

Today in an interview with Keren Marciano, Minister Ben Gvir said that people should not try to sacrifice the korban pesach, but he does encourage all Jews to got o Har Habayit, but not with a korban pesach

What you see form here is not what you see from there.

Let's see how he blames this on the leftists and the Supreme Court...

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First we will start with the tweet by MK Almog Cohen (Otzma Yehudit) that narrowly missed the TotD award:

היתד הזה לא נאמן למדינת ישראל.

— אלמוג כהן Almog cohen (@almog_cohen08) January 4, 2023

in response to a "scathing" editorial by the Yated Neeman, the newspaper of Haredi Jewry affiliated with the Degel Hatorah faction of UTJ, criticizng Itamar Ben Gvir for going up to Har Habayit, fellow member of Otzma Yehudit MK Almog Cohen tweeted a play on words saying The Yated is not faithful (neeman) to the State of Israel

nice but Ben Gvir's response to the editorial and more specifically to MK Moshe Gafni's (UTJ) tweet to him was better 

Ben Gvir tweeted in response to Gafni:

Rav Gafni, I greatly value and appreciate you but think that it is less appropriate for a party that does not want to be in the government in order to not bear responsibility for the State to preach to me. Har Habayit is not just a religious issue (and our rabbonim have decided it is a mitzva to go up!), but it is also a symbol of sovereignty and governance, and the enemy judges us on our actions there. On our watch Israel will not give in to Hamas.