The Palestinian Authority has branded the shofar a “dangerous tool” used by Israel to assert authority ahead of the High Holy Day season.
The Jewish tradition of sounding the ram’s horn throughout the Hebrew month of Elul is “no longer a passing religious ritual, but has become one of the most dangerous tools of the occupation to impose its alleged sovereignty”, according to the PA’s Jerusalem Governorate.
Used in Jewish rituals for thousands of years, the shofar is closely associated with the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which are this year marked on 22 to 24 September and 1 to 2 October, respectively.
Its blasts are intended as a call to repentance and spiritual renewal. In many Jewish communities, it is also sounded during weekday morning prayers in the month of Elul, which precedes the High Holiday season.
In a statement released yesterday, the governorate condemned attempts by Jewish activist groups to sound the shofar on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, claiming such activity is tantamount to a “direct assault” on the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israel’s government is “fully responsible for repercussions”, it claimed.
According to Ramallah, the shofar-blowing carries “deep political symbolism in the Jewish faith, as it has historically been linked to declaring victory and control”. It accused Israel of seeking to transform Al-Aqsa Mosque into a “centre for Talmudic ritual”.
The governorate concluded its statement by urging the United Nations to take immediate steps to “halt these attacks and provide international protection for Islamic and Christian holy sites” in Judaism’s holiest city.
In a separate statement cited by the Jordan News Agency, a spokesman for Jordan’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as “provocations, including blowing the shofar,” at the holy site.
Ministry spokesperson Sufian Qudah complained of what he called “ongoing breaches” by “extremists with the approval and facilitation of the Israeli occupation authorities,” denouncing it as a “dangerous sign of the extremist Israeli government’s gambles against the stability and security of the region.”
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