Hidden camera reveals: Why was a Christian activist expelled from Temple Mount?
A frequent visitor to the Temple Mount, Jane Kiel was apprehended at the site by Waqf officials.
By JEREMY SHARONUpdated: OCTOBER 29, 2015 15:58Danish Christian forced off Temple Mount
The Danish pro-Israel, Temple Mount activist Jane Kiel, also known as Jerusalem Jane, was removed from the Temple Mount by officials of the Jordanian Islamic Waqf that administers the site on Wednesday.Kiel came to Israel several years ago and says that since then “my destiny, my love, my heart has been here in Israel.”A frequent visitor to the Temple Mount, Kiel was apprehended at the site on Wednesday by the Waqf official who called out to her by her name Jane.She was told to leave the site and a colleague who was videoing her visit was told to stop recording and instructed to delete the video.The officials were clearly familiar with her pro-Israel activism from her online activity on her website and Facebook page.When Kiel asked why she was being removed, the Waqf official told her it was due to a video she had produced of herself singing the ‘Shema Yisrael” prayer just outside the Dome of the Rock shrine in September.According to the status quo arrangement for the Temple Mount, non-Muslims may visit the mount but are prohibited from praying there.According to Kiel, the Waqf official insisted that Jane and her companion delete their video and threatened to arrest them if they did not leave the Temple Mount immediately. He then told Jane he was taking her to the Israeli police, but instead brought her to a man he referred to as the Waqf “boss” of the Temple Mount, who ordered her to leave.This is the second time Jane has been expelled from the Temple Mount; on a previous visit Waqf officials took her phone and deleted all the videos and photos.The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. It is the site of the Second Temple and is also believed to have been the location of the First Temple. It is also a holy site in Islam, and al-Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine are located on the Mount.
The Supreme Court has in the past upheld the principle of the right for Jews to pray at the Temple Mount, although it has stated that the security services are permitted to take security considerations into account when deciding whether to allow non-Muslim prayer there.