Police and Jewish Activists in Legal Battle Over Shofar-Blowing
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem has become the center of an ongoing legal battle between the Jerusalem police and Israeli Jewish activists who wish to blow the shofar at the Eastern Gate of the Temple Mount in front of a Muslim cemetery. The legal contest is between Israel’s freedom of religious worship and the extent to which security can restrict that right. A Jerusalem judge recently sided with the activists upholding their right to blow the shofar anywhere along the Eastern Wall.
In the name of security, police are sacrificing basic Israeli law, kowtowing to the Palestinians out of fear. The police argue that the activists’ religious activities could ignite tensions with the Palestinians. However, Israel’s laws permit Jewish people to blow the shofar wherever they wish. And these same rights are even extended to Muslims and Christians in Israel to fulfill their religious obligations as well.
(Source: timesofisrael.com)
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