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A right-wing extremist Jewish group, working to demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque and build the "Third Temple" on its ruins, was founded by Gershon Solomon, an officer in the Israeli occupation army. It is one of 40 extreme Zionist Jewish organizations led by rabbis.
The "Temple Trustees" group believes that the Jews are required to build the Temple in preparation for the return of Christ, and considers the establishment of Israel with Jerusalem as its capital to be the beginning of the salvation of the entire world. Since its founding, it has been known for organizing incursions into Al-Aqsa, and has tried many times to lay the foundation stone for the alleged Temple, but the Jerusalemites have confronted it.
Origin and establishment
Israeli occupation army officer Gershon Solomon founded the “Temple Mount Trustees” group after the June 1967 war. He said in a speech to his followers, “Climb the Temple Mount and demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher to establish the Third Temple in its place and create the conditions for the coming of Christ the Savior.”
The group is one of the oldest extremist Jewish organizations active in the storming of Al-Aqsa. It attempted more than once to lay the foundation stone for the alleged “Temple of Solomon,” and organizes prayers next to Al-Aqsa Mosque while awaiting prayers in the Temple.
She raised the slogan, "The Temple Mount is the national and religious center of the people and the Land of Israel."
Headquarters
It was officially recognized in 1982, and it was headquartered in the city of Jerusalem. It has a branch in the United States of America, where it is supported politically and financially by Christians who support the Zionist movement, especially from California.
Objectives
The Old Testament stipulates 3 conditions for Christ’s return to earth and the salvation of the people of Israel:
The migration of all Jews to the "Holy Lands".
The establishment of the State of Israel on the land that they claim that God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Rebuilding the Third Temple on the Holy Mosque.
Based on this biblical conviction, the members of the group defined their goals since its founding in 1967, and swore to “wage a holy war until the liberation of the Temple Mount,” and to build the Temple on the ruins of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
The movement considers that the first condition has been met.
Near-term goals
Strengthening the group organizationally in Jerusalem to achieve its long-term goals.
Conduct an awareness campaign for the people of Israel to understand “God’s plan” regarding the salvation of Israel.
Disseminating the group’s message and principles through the media and holding conferences, next to the Temple Mount.
Expelling Arabs and Muslims from Jerusalem, especially what it calls “Biblical Jerusalem,” and removing Islamic holy sites there.
Long term goals
Liberating the Temple Mount (demolishing Al-Aqsa), and moving Islamic shrines to the city of Mecca.
Building the alleged Third Temple on the Temple Mount (which includes the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock) to be a house of worship and the spiritual center for the people of Israel and all nations.
The establishment of the biblical “Israel” from the Euphrates to the Nile.
Complete settlement of ancient Jerusalem.
Based on the above, the “Temple Mount Trustees” group rejects any settlement with the Palestinians, and sees in it the reason for the division of “Israel” and the breaking of God’s promise and “the covenant between God and His people.”
Membership
One of its most prominent members is its founder, Gershon Solomon, who combines military and academic historical training, as he was part of the paratroopers unit that occupied Jerusalem in 1967.
Before that, he was a member of the extremist Jewish Defense League, which was established by Meir Kahane, and was involved in massacres against Palestinians.
He specialized in Middle Eastern studies, specifically in the history of the Kurdish national movement, and took advantage of this training to strengthen the ranks of his movement.
Several researches and media reports have confirmed that the group’s members number in the hundreds, most of whom are extremist rabbis, the most prominent of whom is Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a former member of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), who led settlers’ raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque many times, and sought to change Israeli law in order to allow Jews to perform prayers. In the courtyard of the mosque, he declares that “the Temple Mount is the source of his life and his source of livelihood as well.”
Since its founding in 1967 AD, the members of the group have sworn to wage a holy war until the liberation of the “Temple Mount” and the construction of the “Third Temple” on the ruins of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, and Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Palestinian researchers say that the Israeli occupation authorities are recruiting and training members of the movement militarily, and they are the ones who lead the raids into the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and commit violations with its protection and support from its security services.
The group's influence goes beyond the size of its members, as it now has a large media presence in the Israeli scene, seeking to empower its convictions and discourse among Israeli public opinion.
The group, which many researchers believe is an umbrella for other organizations, has also been able to enter the Knesset since the 1980s.
Extremist settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque with the protection of the occupation police (Al-Jazeera)
After the law prevented her from running, members of the group came forward under the umbrella of the Likud Party - which is supported by most of the movement’s members - and translated their movement’s convictions into the party’s program by pledging to “find a solution that allows freedom of worship for Jews on the Temple Mount.”
Since the 2003 elections, the representation of the various Temple groups in the parliamentary institution has become clear, and it increased in each election until the number of its seats exceeded 15% of the total seats in the Knesset.
These groups - including the Temple Mount Trustees - were also able to assume many ministerial portfolios, especially in the governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and they become a difficult number in the Israeli mini-ministerial council.
Finance
The Temple Trustees group relies on the self-financing of its members and the support of American associations, especially in California, where it enjoys significant support from evangelical Christians who support the Zionist movement in the United States, led by Pastor John Hagee. Among its most prominent supporters is former US President Donald Trump.
They all believe in the prophecy of the “Armageddon” war in Palestine, and the construction of the alleged Third Temple as a reason for the return of Christ.
The Israeli government supports the so-called Temple groups with large sums of money through ministerial sectors. The Israeli Ministry of Culture, Science and Sports and the Ministry of Education supported them between 2008 and 2011 with about 107 thousand dollars a year, and in 2012 the Ministry of Education provided an additional 50 thousand dollars to the Temple Institute.
There is another, more serious, intellectual support that works to empower the idea of building the Temple in the minds and souls of the rising generations, as the Department of Religious Education has included this in its curriculum and recommends a tour of the Temple Institute.
A number of researchers and scholars consider the Temple Mount Trustees and other Temple groups the executive tool of the Israeli occupation to change the reality at Al-Aqsa, and they say that it has the support of 60% of the Israelis.
Notable stations
Since its founding in 1967, the group began its work by digging under Arab homes, schools, and mosques surrounding the Sanctuary under the pretext of searching for the Temple of Solomon. In 1968, the excavation extended under Al-Aqsa Mosque itself, and it dug a deep and long tunnel under the Sanctuary and established a Jewish synagogue inside it.
It organized individual and group incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque, and attempted numerous times to lay the foundation stone for the Third Temple inside the mosque, but it did not succeed.
Her attempt on October 8, 1990, on the occasion of the Jewish Throne Day, caused a massacre in Al-Aqsa Mosque, after thousands of worshipers and stationed people confronted her to prevent them, and the occupation army intervened forcefully, leaving 21 Palestinian martyrs, more than 200 injured, and more than 207 detainees.
The group compensated for its failure in its repeated attempts by organizing its followers before the Jewish holidays, marches and demonstrations around Old Jerusalem at the entrance to the Mughrabi Gate, and holding prayers at the Buraq Wall (the Wailing Wall), and they do this with permission from the Supreme Court and protection from the Israeli police.
In this context, on July 29, 2001, the “Temple Mount Trustees” group obtained a judicial decision allowing it to lay the foundation stone for the Temple at the Mughrabi Gate in Jerusalem.
The frequency of raids and the size of their participants have increased since 2006, and the group’s attackers were allowed to perform public Talmudic prayers and what is known as “epic prostration” in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, as they called for the demolition of Al-Aqsa Mosque and rejected the division of Jerusalem.
The year 2006 was full of events and situations related to the plans of the Israeli occupation and the Temple groups against Al-Aqsa Mosque, as Sheikh Raed Salah revealed in a press conference on March 3, 2006, the existence of a Jewish synagogue beneath Al-Aqsa Mosque and new rooms.
A month later, the Israeli Ministry of Education and the Jewish Agency distributed thousands of copies of maps of the Old City of Jerusalem to Jewish children in dozens of schools, bearing a picture of the Third Temple in place of the Dome of the Rock in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
On June 13, 2006, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced, in a speech before the British Parliament, that he would not give up in negotiating with the Palestinians about the “Temple Mount.”
In the following month of the same year, Sheikh Raed Salah revealed that Israel had conducted new excavations under the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, which he considered to be the most dangerous to the future of the mosque.
The matter developed in 2012 to the Likud Party’s approval of a project to establish a Jewish synagogue within the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque, intended to be established in the area extending from the north of the Bab al-Rahma prayer hall to the Marwani prayer hall.
On September 20, 2022, the Magistrate Court in occupied Jerusalem allowed the trumpet to be blown and prayers to be held at the Eastern Wall.
The attempts and movements of the “Temple Trustees” and other groups increased after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7, 2023, the Israeli aggression and the comprehensive and unprecedented war on the Gaza Strip.
Abdullah Marouf, a specialist in Al-Aqsa Mosque affairs and professor of Jerusalem studies, said that these groups are a cornerstone of Netanyahu’s government, and they believe that the war is their war, and that the government’s victory means its ability to build the temple and accelerate salvation and the coming of the Messiah.
Source: Al Jazeera + websites