The flow of people on the Temple Mount has shifted in a way that would have been unthinkable only a few years ago. Jewish presence is rising steadily, openly, and visibly, while Arab attendance is declining. According to Tzfat Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, the number of Arabs ascending the Temple Mount has dropped by roughly half, even as Jewish ascent has surged to record levels.

Rabbi Eliyahu addressed the issue publicly, grounding his comments in both observed reality and a striking conversation relayed to him from the Temple Mount itself. According to the rabbi, a friend of his spoke with a senior Arab official on the Mount and asked directly why fewer Arabs were coming. The answer was blunt and revealing.

“The reason is that you started bowing on the ground to the Holy One, Blessed Be He. When we see you bowing, we are afraid of you, because you humble yourselves before God. If you humble yourselves before G-d, who can stand against you. So, we don’t come anymore.”

It should be noted that the Torah commands Jews to prostrate themselves on the Temple Mount, and it is strictly forbidden for a Jew to prostrate himself in prayer in any other location.

This mitzvah (commandment) is an essential element that will reappear in the times of the Messiah.

And on that day, a great shofar shall be sounded; and the strayed who are in the land of Assyria and the expelled who are in the land of Egypt shall come and worship Hashem on the holy mount, in Yerushalayim. Isaiah 27:13

The word וְהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ (v’hishtachavu) is translated here as ‘worship,’ but the more accurate translation would be ‘they will prostrate themselves.’

Rabbi Eliyahu emphasized that this fear was not of Jewish force or police presence, but of Jewish submission to Heaven. The act of Jews bowing fully on the Mount, something forbidden for decades and still heavily restricted, is being interpreted by Arabs on the Mount as a sign of spiritual confidence and divine alignment. In Rabbi Eliyahu’s telling, that sight alone has altered the atmosphere.

The rabbi linked this development to a broader historical process now underway. In a statement circulated by Beyadenu, he described what he called a dramatic and measurable return of the Jewish people to their holiest site. 

The statement declares that a historic change is taking place and that the people of Israel are returning to the Temple Mount. Over the past year, approximately 70,000 Jews ascended the holiest place to the Jewish people, with a stated goal of reaching 100,000 annually. Despite this growth, access remains sharply limited, with only a few hours in the morning and early afternoon, repeated closures due to Muslim holidays, and practical barriers that prevent working people and families from ascending. Beyadenu calls on the prime minister and the minister of national security to open the Mount in the afternoon and evening and to ensure year-round access for Jews, declaring that the Temple Mount is not a closed security zone but the heart of the Jewish people.

Rabbi Eliyahu framed the Arab retreat from the Mount as a response foretold in the Bible. He pointed to the verse, “For from Zion shall go forth the teaching of the Lord, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). The Sages explain that when Israel acts מתוך yirat Shamayim, awe of Heaven, its strength does not depend on numbers or weapons. It flows from submission to God, not dominance over man.

What is happening on the Temple Mount now reflects that principle in real time. Jewish ascent has not increased because Arabs were pushed out. It has increased because Jews are returning as Jews, praying, bowing, and openly acknowledging the Holy One, Blessed Be He, on the place He chose. According to Rabbi Eliyahu’s account, that posture alone has altered Arab behavior more effectively than any police directive.

The significance of this moment should not be diluted. The Temple Mount is where Jewish sovereignty, faith, and destiny converge. When Jews bow there in humility before G-d, even Israel’s adversaries understand what that signals. The retreat of Arab presence alongside the return of Jewish worship is not coincidence. It is a declaration, visible on the stones themselves, that the heart of the Jewish people is beating again in the place where it always belonged.