We, the undersigned, are concerned about the increasing threats by extremist and messianic groups to attack the mosques on the Temple Mount, and the disastrous results that such an attack would bring.

An attack on the Islamic holy sites would likely lead to all-out war and unleash destructive forces that would imperil Israel's existence.

The fear that a political arrangement will be achieved, the calls by rabbis that are liable to be interpreted as permission to attack the mosques on the Temple Mount, the explicit urging of Temple lovers to "destroy the mosques," and the desire to revenge the death of Rabbi Binyamin Kahane, all make the mosques on the Temple Mount a principal target of attacks by Jews.

As Keshev's report on the Temple Mount shows, more than ten organizations of Temple lovers, uniting ten of thousands of people, are involved in promoting the practical realization of the idea of establishing a third Temple. Each of these entities is involved in its own unique area, all of them share the general ideology of Temple lovers based on the theory of stages, beginning with the study and reinstituting Temple practices and rituals and subsequently establishing the Temple on the site of the mosques on the Temple Mount. Many of the activists in these groups have a record of violent nationalistic criminal offenses, among them members of Kach and the Jewish underground. Joining them is an extensive support group including organizations, halachic groups, political entities, rabbis, and communal leaders.

We urge the government of Israel to be attentive to the growing threats to the Temple Mount and to take every action within its power to thwart them.

Carmi Gilon, Former Director of the General Security Service
Assaf Hefetz, Former Police Commissioner
Prof. Yirmyahu Yovel, Hebrew University
Prof. Avishai Margalit, Hebrew University
David Grosman, Writer
Slomo lahat ('Chitch'), Former mayor of Tel Aviv
Aluf Har Even, Amutat 'Sikui'