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Israeli judge upholds ban on Jewish prayer at Al-Aqsa compound
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JERUSALEM, 09 October 2021, (TON): An Israeli court on Friday upheld a ban on Jewish prayer at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, overturning a lower court's decision that had sparked fury among Palestinians and the Muslim world.
Aryeh Lippo, an Israeli rabbi, was slapped with a two-week ban from the compound last month after praying there, but a Jerusalem court struck down the move, saying Lippo's whispered prayer did "not violate police instructions".
Jews are allowed to visit the site but may not overtly pray or engage in rituals there.
Israeli police appealed the decision, and Jerusalem District Court judge Aryeh Romanoff on Friday upheld the ban, saying officers had acted "within reason".
"The fact that there was someone who observed [Lippo] pray is evidence that his prayer was overt," Romanoff wrote. "I restore the decision of the police commander."
Palestinians, as well as officials in Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia had condemned the lower court's decision.
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