(JNS) During 2022, 51,483 Jews visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, up from 34,651 in 2021 and 20,684 in 2020, according to statistics compiled by Beyadenu, an NGO dedicated to strengthening the Jewish connection to the holy site.
Throughout 2022, 30 pre-military academies and three schools toured the site, considered the holiest in Judaism. In the last quarter of 2022, 61 grooms, 20 brides and 19 bar and bat mitzvahs visited.
However, Beyadenu CEO Tom Nisani also noted an accompanying negative trend.
“We are also witnessing arrests, bans and detentions of hundreds of Jewish visitors to the Mount, not because they acted violently or illegally but for absurd reasons like praying, waving the Israeli flag, or trying to eat sufganiyot [jelly donuts—a treat associated with Hanukkah] on the Mount. This must change in 2023.”
Fifty-one Jewish visitors to the site were arrested this past year, while 90 Jewish worshipers were detained. Fifty-two Temple Mount visitors were banned by police order.
