A major event occurred in Israel this past weekend: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a special announcement on Nov. 1 calling on all Knesset members “to work to calm the situation on the issue of the Temple Mount and show responsibility and restraint.” The statement also said that Netanyahu had talked to Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and asked him to ''work with the Knesset members on the issue.''
Indeed, this is a tremendously important move in the days following the assassination attempt on Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem. Netanyahu did well in asking Edelstein to restrain politicians who use the Temple Mount to grab another headline and satisfy another Likud Party central committee member on the backs of residents whose city is in flames. Unfortunately, Netanyahu addressed the issue only after a Palestinian terrorist shot a Jew, thus signaling the start of a new hate and incitement wave. As these words are being written, Netanyahu has yet to ''work on the issue'' with his own Cabinet member, Housing Minister Uri Ariel. Ariel has made a public commitment that the status quo of the Temple Mount would change.