The front page of the Yated Ne’eman (Hebrew for “loyal commitment”) newspaper, which is associated with the Degel Hatorah faction led by MK Moshe Gafni, was devoted to a fierce attack on National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday morning.
The article was published after the controversial incident in which Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount on Tisha B’Av. The article’s headline read: “Temple Mount Desecrators Put Jewish Lives at Risk” and included a call from “rabbis and public figures” to reconsider the coalition partnership with Otzma Yehudit, which is headed by the minister. This is similar to a statement made by MK Gafni on Tuesday.
In an editorial, the newspaper wrote: “Padlocks Urgent for the Temple Mount.” The author, Israel Friedman, compared Jewish visits to the Temple Mount to “throwing a match into an oil well” and warned that the Temple Mount could turn into a volcano that would cover the entire Middle East with its ash and smoke.
The article also criticized Ben-Gvir, stating: “Whether he is a minister or not, we cannot allow some marginal figure to put us all in danger. This is not a game of cops and robbers; it is about human lives and strict prohibitions.”
Ultra-Orthodox parties demand action from Netanyahu
The resistance of ultra-Orthodox Christians to visiting the Temple Mount stems from a ban in Halacha that has been upheld by most rabbis, both present and past.
The newspaper also suggested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s treatment of Ben-Gvir could lead to increased bloodshed in the region. Instead of taking firm action against this “reckless behavior,” he merely criticized coalition members, especially Ben-Gvir’s group, for their behavior.
The newspaper suggested that the prime minister’s relative silence and inaction was problematic. Degel Hatorah MPs stated: “We will turn to the Sages of the Torah to obtain their decision.”
With their tough stance against Ben-Gvir, the ultra-Orthodox parties want to signal to the prime minister that they, both in the government and in the Knesset, are losing patience with Ben-Gvir’s behavior.
They expect Netanyahu to take more decisive action against him, especially since high-ranking figures from the ultra-Orthodox parties have repeatedly conveyed these messages to him in recent closed-door talks.
