[IsraelTimes] Suspects nearly sneak baby goat in shopping bag into Jerusalem holy site for Second Passover sacrifice, but are foiled by police and Waqf officials who wrestle them back
Police arrested nine Jewish men who tried to smuggle a sacrificial goat onto the Temple Mount in Jerusalem Monday afternoon.
The group of young men were filmed in the Old City heading to one of the entrances to the Temple Mount compound with a baby goat concealed in a Rami Levy supermarket shopping bag.
Scuffles with police guarding the entrance broke out as the group tried to force its way into the compound.
One of the young men chanted the Shema prayer as police scrambled to block their entry, but some were able to slip by the officers, including the suspect with the goat.
Once inside the compound, the man carrying the kid fell to the ground in prostration, having cast the pink shopping bag aside.
He stood back up and then moments later was wrestled back by Waqf officials while he held the animal under one arm.
Others in the group were unable to make it through and began to brawl with a religious Moslem man outside the gate. One of the Jewish men shouted, "Who are you?" at the older man as a cop placed himself between the two.
Police said the nine suspects, residents of Jerusalem and the West Bank, were detained for questioning, while the goat was transferred for veterinary treatment.
The caper coincided with the Jewish holiday of Pessah Sheni, or Second Passover, which falls a month after Passover.
In ancient times, the holiday provided another chance for those who had not been able to bring the Passover sacrifice to the Jerusalem Temple to fulfill the religious commandment.
Past years have seen similar attempts during the religious festival to smuggle in goats for sacrifice on the Temple Mount, an ultrasensitive site holy to both Jews and Moslems.
In 2024, police arrested 13 people who tried to sneak two goats — one hidden in a baby carriage, the other in a shopping bag — into the compound.
While Israeli authorities oversee access to the compound through its nine gates, the Jordanian Waqf, also known as the Islamic Endowments Department, controls the site itself. It is the holiest place in Judaism as the location of the two biblical temples, and the third-holiest place in Islam, home to the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Both Israeli and Jordanian authorities say they are committed to maintaining the delicate status quo allowing non-Moslems to visit but not worship at the site, though police in recent years have increasingly tolerated quiet Jewish prayer there.
Religious right-wing politicians, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who heads the police, have advocated Jewish prayer at the site. Ben Gvir visited the Mount several times since taking office in 2022, and has spoken openly about praying there in the past.
Despite this shift, police are still quick to foil attempts at animal sacrifice on the Temple Mount. 
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