Donald Trump is considering visiting the Temple Mount during his visit to Israel later this month, despite calls to ban him from visiting the country altogether.
According to reports, Mr Trump’s office are looking into the possibility of visiting the religious spot in Jerusalem, which is an area of massive contention between Jews and Muslims in Israel. Both religious groups view it as one of their holiest sites, and in recent months it has been the site of a slew of attacks.
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This development follows Mr Trump’s recent controversial statement that, if elected as President, he plans to prohibit Muslims from entering the United States.
Mr Trump said in a statement that he sought “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on”.
His words caused universal outrage and led to calls for the millionaire property mogul to drop his presidential bid.
In Israel, politicians spoke out against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to uphold his scheduled meeting with Mr Trump on 28 December.
MK Omer Bar-Lev tweeted: “As far as it depends on me, this racist Donald Trump should not be welcome in the Knesset.”
MK Ahmad Tibi, an Arab Israeli politician, also protested against his upcoming visit, tweeting: “I asked Yudi Edelstein [Knesset Speaker] to ban neo-Nazi Trump and all Trumps from entering the Knesset, though his statements are not strange to some racists in the Knesset.”
But according to a spokesperson from Netanyahu’s office, the prime minister will meet any US presidential candidate who visits Israel, even though he “does not agree with every statement by every candidate.”
This article was first published at JC, Jewish Chronicle, by Charlotte Oliver
Prime Minister Netanyahu rejects Donald Trump’s recent remarks about Muslims. “The State of Israel respects all religions and strictly guarantees the rights of all its citizens. At the same time, Israel is fighting against militant Islam that targets Muslims, Christians and Jews alike and threatens the entire world, “said the statement.
As for the meeting with Mr. Trump that was set some two weeks ago, the Prime Minister decided earlier this year on a uniform policy to agree to meet with all presidential candidates from either party who visit Israel and ask for a meeting.
“This policy does not represent an endorsement of any candidate or his or her views. Rather, it is an expression of the importance that Prime Minister Netanyahu attributes to the strong alliance between Israel and the United States.” statement concluded.
