Raphael Morris

Raphael Morris (born 1996) is an Israeli Jewish activist who leads the "Returning to the Mount" group, which advocates for Jewish prayer at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Activism

Raphael Morris was a Hilltop Youth, a group religious hardliners who set up outposts without an Israeli legal basis in the West Bank. Through this, he met future Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir.[1] He arrived in Ahiya as a 13-year-old in 2009 with ten other teenagers to set up an outpost there.[2]

Morris described the mission of the Returning to the Mount group as "reconquering the Temple Mount." To get around the prohibition against non-Muslim prayer at the Temple Mount, Morris and his fellow activists have passed as Muslims, including by wearing traditional Muslim garb, coloring his beard, and even learning some Arabic. While on the Temple Mount, Morris would secretly engage in Jewish prayer.[3]

Israeli Police have temporarily barred Morris and colleagues from the Old City of Jerusalem multiple times, mostly around the occurrence of major Jewish holidays.[4][5] He has been arrested more than 50 times, including in 2023 before the Jewish holiday of Passover under suspicion that he and his fellow activists were planning to conduct a Passover sacrifice of a lamb on the Temple Mount in violation of police orders.[6] For many of his arrests, Morris has been represented by Ben-Gvir.

Personal life

Morris and his wife Aviya Morris live in the Israeli outpost of Ahiya in the West Bank. The Washington Post termed Aviya Morris "the fresh new face of Jewish extremism" for her incendiary rhetoric against Muslims.[7]

See also

References
  1. Rubin, Shira (2023-02-22). "Itamar Ben Gvir: How an extremist settler became a powerful Israeli minister". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  2. Rubin, Shira (2015-08-12). "The Growing Danger of Israeli Teens Waging Jewish Jihad". Daily Beast. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  3. "The Jews dressing as Muslims to get around a prayer ban". BBC. 2022-02-08. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  4. Arutz Sheva staff (2021-12-05). "Temple Mount activists banned from Old City of Jerusalem". Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  5. Abu Toameh, Khaled (2022-04-13). "Palestinians warn against Jewish 'provocations' on Temple Mount". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  6. Hasson, Nir (2017-04-09). "Seven Far-right Jews Arrested on Suspicion of Planning Passover Sacrifice on Temple Mount". Haaretz. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  7. Booth, William (2015-08-10). "Meet the Israeli mom who called Muhammad a pig — at al-Aqsa mosque". Washington Post. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
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