Jerusalem District Court Judge Alexander Ron on Tuesday morning accepted the appeal of attorney Menashe Yado of the Honenu legal aid society regarding an activist of the Hozrim La’har (Heb: returning to the mountain) who was restricted from entering the Old City of Jerusalem for 30 days, after praying near the Temple Mount gates.
Israel Police argued before the judge that this is the case of a dominant activist who comes frequently to pray at the Old City, but the judge refused to accept this as a point to be considered. The same judge earlier on Tuesday ruled similarly in the case of three young women who prayed near the gates of Temple Mount.
Police requested a delay in carrying out the ruling to give them time to appeal it before the Supreme Court.
Attorney Yado thanked the court in a statement for making it legal once again for Jews to pray in the Muslim quarter of the Old City, noting that “the police should reflect and protect the Jewish sensibilities of the public, thus fulfilling the Jewish character of the State of Israel and its democratic principles.”