Time to Build Third Temple, Says Israeli Lawmaker

Yet another Member of Knesset has expressed his desire not only for Jews to be able to freely visit and express their faith atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, but for the Third Temple to be build “in our days.”

Nissim Vaturi ranked 40th on the list of Likud candidates, which means he didn’t make it into the Knesset in the last national election. But, with several Likud MKs recently leaving the party ahead of the upcoming national election, Vaturi and several others are getting a chance to serve as lawmakers, even if only for a few months.

As one of his first official acts after being sworn in, Vaturi headed for the Temple Mount. A religious Jewish resident of the Golan Heights, it was Vaturi’s first ever visit to Judaism’s holiest site.

While there, he told an organization that advocates for building the Third Temple that “anyone who represents Israel cannot be disconnected from the Creator. We are all anticipating the Redemption.” Vaturi then openly recited the traditional Jewish prayer stating, “May we merit redeeming this place for the Shechina (holy presence) to dwell, and to build the Holy Temple quickly and in our days.”

Jews are typically barred from praying atop the Temple Mount, but police officers present at the time did not prevent Vaturi from doing so.

Gulf Arabs helping Israel build Temple?

Some Palestinians are accusing Israel’s new Gulf state allies of helping the Jewish state lay the groundwork for the Third Temple.

In an op-ed published over the weekend, Dr. Adnan Abu Amer, Dean of Political Science at the Umma Open University in Gaza, suggested that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could use its newfound influence on the Temple Mount to help the Jews gain a foothold there. “This raises the Palestinians’ fear that the next stage might signal the start of building the alleged synagogue with the contribution of the UAE authorities,” he continued.

Abu Amer noted that the UAE has no problem selling land to Jews, and that the Gulf state already hosts a synagogue, as well as a Hindu temple.