Israelis from the Left and Right, religious and secular, collectively sighed with relief and overwhelmingly rejoiced in Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris to assume the presidency after a devastating year of war. In honor of his inauguration, nothing could be more Jewish than giving thanks to God in Judaism’s most sacred site, the Temple Mount.
I quickly called a few friends and organized an impromptu prayer service – a unique gathering of Jews and Christians that is uncommon here in Israel. Moreover, under the so-called “status quo” agreement that grants exclusive prayer rights to Muslims, it was actually illegal for Jews and Christians to pray on the Temple Mount.
Defying these restrictions felt particularly meaningful as we ushered in a new era and celebrated Trump’s win. But that wasn’t even the most significant aspect of the unprecedented event.
The most important aspect of our prayer service was that it came on the heels of the ceasefire in Gaza, perhaps the end of Israel’s longest war. While the IDF named this war the “Swords of Iron Operation,” Hamas, who planned their attack years ago, gave it a different and much more appropriate name: “The Al-Aqsa Flood,” referencing the mosque that now stands on the Temple Mount.
For Hamas and their supporters, the war’s objective was unambiguous: pushing the Jews out not just from the river to the sea, but specifically from the very site that gives us our legitimacy here. Their explicit goal was to “liberate Al-Aqsa” from the “infidel” Jews.
Early in the war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a goal of “total victory” against Hamas. Recent images from Gaza since the ceasefire show Hamas remains strong despite infrastructure damage, challenging claims of Israeli victory. But our enemy’s name for this operation points to where true victory must be achieved: not in Gaza, but on the Temple Mount.
In recent months, a telling anecdote spread about an IDF soldier returning from Gaza. When his relieved mother asked what he wanted to do first, he said he needed to buy a picture of the Beit Hamikdash (Temple) for his bedroom. Surprised, she asked if he wouldn’t prefer a shower or his favorite food.
The soldier responded, “You don’t understand. In Gaza, every home, government office, and school displays a picture of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
Judaism’s two temples stood in Jerusalem for nearly 1,000 years. Since the Second Temple’s destruction nearly 2,000 years ago, Jews have prayed in the direction of the Temple Mount, reciting, “open our eyes to the return to Zion in mercy.” If Israel is the body of the Jewish people, Jerusalem is its heart, and the Temple Mount is the heart of that heart.
Without control of the Temple Mount, the Jews’ modern claim to the State of Israel is tenuous at best, or, as Israeli poet Uri Zvi Greenberg (1896-1981) quipped, “Whoever controls the Mount, controls the Land.”
Seeds of conflict
The seeds of our conflict with the Palestinians go back to the 1967 Six-Day War. Despite the incredible total victory of the IDF and capturing Jerusalem – with jubilant cries of “Har Habayit Beyadenu!” (The Temple Mount is in our hands!) – Israel capitulated and ceded sovereignty of its holiest site back to the aggressor.
The Jordanian Waqf quickly imposed discriminatory Sharia policies prohibiting Jewish and Christian prayer at the site.
As the Muslim world radicalized in recent decades, Hamas steadily infiltrated the Waqf and grew bolder, culminating in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack on October 7, 2023 – an eruption of unprecedented violence against Jews, the worst devastation since the Holocaust.
Israel faced a six-front war yet was spared full engagement from Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies due to a blessed, fortuitous lack of coordination.
Though American pressure and weapon delays created challenges and emboldened Hamas supporters worldwide, God did not forsake His people. Just as the world seemed like it was about to be engulfed in flames, an unlikely turn resulted in a great course correction.
On the other side of the ocean, the Trump campaign faced unprecedented challenges: a hostile justice system, assassination attempts, media censorship, and severe funding limitations. Yet despite these obstacles, Trump emerged victorious.
As he said in his inauguration speech: “An assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”
Indeed, Trump was overwhelmingly elected to save the United States from decline and to protect Israel from surging anti-Zionism and delegitimization in international courts and global public opinion.
At the prayer service, our diverse group – Americans, Israelis, Europeans, hassidic, secular, and religious Jews – joined together to recite the traditional presidential prayer I used to lead each Shabbat as a rabbi in America: “He who grants salvation to kings and dominion to rulers, whose kingdom is a kingdom spanning all eternity, who releases David, his servant, from the evil sword, who places a road in the sea and a path in the mighty waters, may He bless President Donald J. Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and all the officials of the United States government.
“The King who reigns over kings, in His mercy may He protect them from every trouble, woe, and injury. May He rescue them and put into their hearts and into the hearts of all their councilors compassion to do good with us and with all Israel, our brethren. In their days and in ours, may Judah be saved, and may Israel dwell securely, and may the redeemer come to Zion. So may it be his will, and let us say: Amen.”
Our Temple Mount prayer service that brought together Jews and gentiles who worship the God of Israel was no mere photo opportunity but a sincere expression of gratitude – for Trump’s victory and a prayer for Israel’s ultimate total victory in the Al-Aqsa Flood war: the return of Jewish sovereignty to the Temple Mount.
The writer is the founder of Israel365 and the director of Israel365 Action, a party running for election in the World Zionist Congress advocating for sovereignty over the entire Land of Israel, Judea and Samaria, and the Temple Mount.