In 2,000 Year First, Christians Publicly Rally in Jerusalem in Support of Jewish Sovereignty Over Temple Mount

October 8, 2015

3 min read

A crucial war is being waged over the Temple Mount and standing on the front line, allied with Israel and the nation of Israel, is Cry For Zion, a movement of Christian Zionists from all over the world who recently united in support of Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount.

On October 1, during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (Tabernacles), the organization held a demonstration at UN headquarters in Jerusalem overlooking Mount Zion. According to Cry for Zion, this was the first time in 2,000 years since Christians have publicly demonstrated in support of Jewish rights to the holy site.

Amidst international pressure to maintain the status quo on the Temple Mount, Cry for Zion is literally crying out to change it. The status quo, maintained since Israel re-conquered the Temple Mount and unified Jerusalem in 1967, grants authority over the holiest site in Judaism to the Muslim Waqf. Jews and Christians are permitted to visit the site but they are entirely forbidden from praying or displaying any religious symbols. Jews may not eat or drink on the Temple Mount since this would require them to say a blessing, which the Waqf guard forbids.

These religious restrictions are strictly enforced by the Israeli Police in an unsuccessful attempt to reduce Arab violence on the site, despite an Israeli Magistrate Court ruling and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which calls for freedom of religion.

Cry for Zion members visiting the Temple Mount. (Photo: Doron Keidar/ Cry for Zion)
Cry for Zion members visiting the Temple Mount. (Photo: Doron Keidar/ Cry for Zion)

Christians from countries all over the world came to show their support for Israel and the Jewish people. Lars Enarson, a Christian leader from Sweden and Cry For Zion co-founder, told those gathered, “Neither the UN in New York, nor the International Law centers of the Hague have any right to claim the role that belongs to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. ‘For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem’ (Isaiah 2:3–4).”

Such an unequivocal display of support for the Jew’s right to the site of their two Temples could not go uncontested. Muslim hecklers nearby and workers at the UN began chanting “Allahu Akbar”, with rally participants responding by resoundingly crying out the words of 1 Kings 18:39, “The Lord, He is God! the Lord, He is God!” and “Shema Israel!”

The Cry for Zion rally continued to show their support for the Jewish nation by marching in the annual Jerusalem March, but it is a sadly poignant sign of the times that the Jerusalem Municipality did not allow them to display their banner which read, “For Jewish Freedom on the Temple Mount”. It is, however, reassuring to note that until they furled their banner, it received cheers and accolades from the mostly-Christian participants at the parade.

The rally ended at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, where Rabbi Yehudah Glick, founder of the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation, addressed the assembled. Glick is a leading advocate for religious freedom on the Temple Mount and recipient of the 2015 Moskowitz Prize for Zionism.

The banned Cry for Zion parade banner. (Photo: Doron Keidar/ Cry for Zion)
The banned Cry for Zion parade banner. (Photo: Doron Keidar/ Cry for Zion)

“It is a wonderful Godly breakthrough that more and more non-Jews are understanding the urgent need to get involved and to stand up on behalf of the Temple Mount,” Glick told Breaking Israel News following the event.

John Enarson, Lars’ son and co-founder of the movement, told Breaking Israel News that the deteriorating situation surrounding the Temple Mount is really a “battle for truth.”

Rabbi Yehudah Glick at the Cry for Zion event. (Photo: Doron Keidar/ Cry for Zion)
Rabbi Yehudah Glick at the Cry for Zion event. (Photo: Doron Keidar/ Cry for Zion)

“This is really a battle for truth. Especially in Jerusalem, the truth is getting turned on its head. There are so many lies taking over the world that we need to guard the truth,” Enarson explained to Breaking Israel News. “To say one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter just isn’t true. The nations are looking to Israel for righteousness, truth and objectivity. We need Israel to be the light and we can see the light coming forth from Zion, from the people and even from the government.”

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