Myth: The Temple Mount belongs only to the Palestinians. Jews only visit it to provoke Palestinians

The Temple Mount, known in Hebrew as Har Habayit, is where the Jewish Temples stood and is the holiest site in Judaism and a pilgrimage site. The First Temple was built by King Solomon in 990-931 BCE. The Second was built by King Herod in 515 BCE and stood for nearly 600 years before it was destroyed in 70 CE and the Jewish people were exiled by the Roman empire.    

The destruction of the Temples has become a core tenet in Jewish life and religion. Jews continue to mourn the destruction of the Temples on the fast day of Tisha B’Av and pray in the direction of where the temples stood. The destruction of the temples is also remembered in every Jewish wedding ceremony before the groom smashes a glass cup.    

Beyond the symbolism in Judaism, there is substantial evidence and numerous contemporaneous sources that verify the existence of the Temples, including by historians such as Berossus, Menander of Ephesus, Hecataeus of Abdera, Mnaseas of Patara, Diodorus of Sicily, Strabo, and many others who were not influenced by the Jewish or Christian tradition.   

While, due to today’s political climate, a full archaeological excavation on the Temple Mount has not been possible, there have been many archaeological discoveries in areas near the Temple that prove that the Temple Mount was indeed the site of the Jewish Temples. Many artifacts, such as coins and ritual baths, have been discovered during renovations or in archaeological excavations at surrounding sites.  

Further, the fact that the Al Aqsa Mosque was built on top of the ruins of the Temple Mount demonstrates the Arab colonialism in the land of Israel.