Amshinov Rebbe's Controversial Temple Mount Ruling Sparks 20% Surge in Visitors

Sunday Expected to Bring Mass Ascent

The Mount was closed to Jewish visitors Wednesday night through Saturday due to a Muslim holiday. When it reopens Sunday, organizers are anticipating a large wave of worshippers, many coming to pray for the recovery of the renowned Kabbalist, Rabbi Dov Kook of Tiberias, who recently declared that "it is a great mitzvah today to ascend the Temple Mount in purity, to Judaize the place and thereby restore the Divine Presence to Zion."

The Panicked Tweet That Backfired

As the story gained traction, certain parties scrambled to contain the damage. One social media figure posted what he claimed was an "official response" from the Rebbe's son, Rabbi Moshe Milikovsky, alleging that Kikar HaShabbat had taken the Rebbe's words out of context, describing them as a private internal discussion from a year ago, published in an internal bulletin, and "intended only for those who understand the nature of the Rebbe's responses."

The reaction across Haredi and Chassidic media circles was swift and withering.

Observers pointed out several glaring problems with the tweet:

• Protocol breach: In Chassidic court culture, clarifications of this magnitude are issued exclusively through official channels, senior rabbinical figures or official spokesmen, never through social media posts.
• The facts don't hold up: The original newsletter contains no indication whatsoever that the discussion was "internal," held a year ago, or intended for a limited audience. The words appear as a straightforward halachic ruling.
• The words were quoted exactly: Kikar HaShabbat published the Rebbe's statement word-for-word as printed in the official Chassidic bulletin, black on white, with no editorializing.

Adding further irony: the Rebbe is widely known for his exceptional personal piety, a man so careful about sanctity that he avoids inserting even his fingers between the stones of the Western Wall. That such a figure would issue a permissive Temple Mount ruling made the original report all the more significant, and the attempted denial all the more suspicious.

Pressure Behind the Scenes

Sources familiar with the matter told Kikar HaShabbat that behind the Twitter account lay a heavy pressure campaign applied to the Rebbe's son, aimed at extracting any statement that could help "put out the fire."

Kikar HaShabbat itself was clear in reaffirming its editorial position: the publication firmly upholds the rulings of the overwhelming majority of leading halachic authorities who prohibit ascending the Temple Mount. However, the outlet stressed that accurately reporting what was printed in an official Chassidic publication is a matter of journalistic integrity and no amount of pressure or social media spin changes what is written in black and white.