Temple Mount

Israel rejects mixed-gender prayer at Western Wall - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Israel's government has rejected a plan to allow mixed-gender services at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem. The decision Sunday was condemned by Reform and Conservative Jewish groups worldwide and the Jewish Agency, which one day later canceled a gala event planned for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a statement Monday, the prime minister's office said a new compromise would be sought."

Comment: When was the last time the Temple Mount was in the news? Well, I suppose that if you live in Israel and depending on the publications you read, the Temple Mount may well be in the news every day. However, for the rest of us, it is rare that events on the Temple Mount break into the major news-of-the-day. Outside of Israel we tend to forget that the Mount remains very controversial and such issues as who can pray there and when they can pray are treated with great political and religious sensitivity and have the potential to erupt into controversy or violence at any moment.  It is the expectation of many observers that the Temple Mount will only increase in importance and controversy as time goes on.