Ben-Gvir is igniting Jerusalem — and the entire region could catch fire

In the midst of Israel’s multifront war, at a time when it is walking a tightrope while carrying out, sometimes openly and sometimes covertly, targeted assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, thereby running the risk of escalating an already inflammatory situation, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the ultranationalist security minister, is doing his utmost to open a new (old) front in Jerusalem’s holy places.
Even a halfwit politician could understand that starting a religious war in Jerusalem is literally playing with fire, but Ben-Gvir is a well-known political pyromaniac who thrives on leaving scorched earth behind him. This is what paved his way to becoming a government minister in one of the most crucial and sensitive ministries, ironically the one responsible for law and order. Since he took over, his ministry has sown disruption, havoc, and confrontation among domestic political rivals, and between Israelis and Palestinians.
Ben-Gvir’s pet subject is that of allowing Jews to pray at the site known as Al-Haram Al-Sharif to Muslims and the Temple Mount to Jews, not because it is a great mitzvah, a religious duty, but because it is provocative, and nothing could be more provocative than to act in a manner that changes the long-standing status quo of this holy place. It further raises the suspicions of a Muslim world that is already witnessing Israel’s discrimination against Palestinians in Jerusalem as it encircles Palestinian neighborhoods with Jewish settlements, while the next step is to take over Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount completely.
With increasing frequency, whenever this publicity-hungry minister craves additional public attention, or seeks to consolidate his support base of violent settler allies or distinguish himself within his camp of far-right religious messianic extremists, he will visit Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount and pray there, surrounded by police and journalists. For Ben-Gvir the closer his antics are to the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, the better the provocation. Last month he made his latest trip to this flashpoint, on Jerusalem Day, and took the opportunity to call on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “not to fold” on a hostage deal with Hamas. Not that Netanyahu appears to be in any rush to reach a desperately needed ceasefire agreement in Gaza, but for Ben-Gvir, having a photo-op surrounded by police at Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount, and spitting his mindless hatred, while letting everyone know who is calling the shots in the current Israeli administration, is what it is is all about.
The insistence that Jews pray at Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount is a nationalistic demand that is not anchored in any shape or form in Halachic (Jewish jurisprudence) ruling. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel and many other rabbinic authorities prohibit Jews from visiting Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount for religious reasons pertaining to concerns about purity and desecration of the site’s sanctity. Ben-Gvir has built his political career not on being a scholar of any description, let alone Judaism, but on defiant thuggish behavior that he sells as restoring Jewish pride.

Like Dr. Frankenstein, Netanyahu has constructed this monster.

Yossi Mekelberg

The current status quo regarding Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount was established in 1967, only weeks after Israeli forces took the compound in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. Moshe Dayan, the defense minister, decreed that Israeli soldiers would vacate the area and hand over its supervision to the Jordan-appointed Waqf, a Muslim religious trust, recognizing the role of Jordan and, by extension, of the Arab world in charge of the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem.
Equally importantly, after consulting leading rabbis, Dayan also gave an order to prevent any Jewish worshippers from trying to pray at the site. Dayan’s ruling established the Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount’s status quo, which informally allows for Muslims to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, and for Jews to pray at the Western Wall, which according to Jewish tradition is the only remaining part of the Second Temple. What Dayan, then IDF chief of staff, understood about the delicate situation on Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount, Ben-Gvir — who due to the army’s deep concern at his extremist tendencies was not even drafted for military service — is incapable and most probably unwilling to comprehend.
Following his inflammatory visit to Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount, Ben-Gvir told the Israeli parliament: “They always tell me the ‘political leadership’ is against it. I am the political leadership. And the political leadership allows Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.” Evidently the arrogance of power has gone to his head, and on this occasion it immediately prompted Netanyahu’s office to release a statement declaring that “Israel’s policy of maintaining the status quo on Temple Mount has not changed and will not change.”
For Netanyahu it was particularly embarrassing, as this latest Ben-Gvir outburst took place while the prime minister was visiting the US in an attempt to reduce the friction with his country’s closest ally, and to be seen as in control of the situation and of his government. The far right and Ben-Gvir, with his infantile yet extremely dangerous behavior, are enjoying Netanyahu’s embarrassment as they flex their muscles, knowing the power they hold over a prime minister desperately hanging on to power.
But feel no pity for Netanyahu: He deserves none. He took Ben-Gvir and his incendiary accomplices from the fringes of Israeli society and politics and put them in charge of several of the country’s most influential ministries. In the case of Ben-Gvir, handing the Ministry of National Security, which controls the police, to someone with several criminal convictions, not to mention a record of almost 80 traffic violations, was itself a criminal act by Netanyahu, purely for the purpose of his own survival in office and avoiding jail time.
Ben-Gvir was also given the power to distribute 10,000 assault rifles to what might become his own militia. Just imagine the combination of his ideology, all based on confrontation with the Palestinians, with the region and with Muslims, with the arming of thousands of those who support this disturbing and dangerous demagogue. Like Dr. Frankenstein, Netanyahu has constructed this monster, and is equally incapable and reluctant to contain it.
For Ben-Gvir, Al-Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount is both a tool and a final destination. In his twisted thinking, igniting wars is the path by which Israel will achieve its “final victory,” some sort of Armageddon that will end with the Jewish state in full control of the Promised Land and the building of the Third Temple — under his premiership. A scary thought, but considering what is currently taking place in this conflicted region and elsewhere in the world, one we should be active in resisting, and not dismissing out of hand.

• Yossi Mekelberg is professor of international relations and an associate fellow of the MENA Program at Chatham House. X: @YMekelberg