Responding to a lawsuit before the High Court by groups demanding the right to perform the Passover Sacrifice on the Temple Mount, the State said Sunday that giving a permit for the sacrifice to take place would be a "major threat to public safety and order, especially at this time."
The lawsuit was filed last week by a number of groups, including the Land of Israel Committee. In the lawsuit, the groups say that the Sacrifice is a Torah commandment that is at the bedrock of Jewish observance, and that it would take place on the Temple Mount in an area that would not interfere with Muslim worship at the mosques on the Mount.
The State Prosecutor’s Office asked the High Court to reject an appeal made by SOS Israel seeking to carry out the mitzvah of making sacrificing a Passover offering on the Temple Mount.
In response, the State Prosecutor wrote, "Holding the ceremony on the Temple Mount will seriously damage public safety, security, and public order, especially in the current time period." The Prosecutor’s response also claimed, "This issue does not need to be before the court, but before the legislature."