“Our hearts go out to the victims, but here is the warning to the rulers of China,” Glick says. “Repent until it is too late. We pray that God will give you wisdom and courage to change your ways.”
By ROSSELLA TERCATIN
Temple Mount activist and former Likud MK Rabbi Yehuda Glick released a video on Thursday sending his solidarity and prayers to the Chinese people in the light of the coronavirus outbreak, but also chastising its leaders over their human rights abuses and stating a connection between the two.
“Dear brothers and sisters in China, I’m here now on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. God Almighty promised that this mountain will become the house of prayers for all nations. God has commanded the Jews to pray here for all of the world and today, on behalf of all of Israel, we are here to pray for you, for the Chinese people,” Glick said in the video, released on the YouTube channel of the Jerusalem Foundation which he heads.
In the video, Glick speaks on several different locations on the Temple Mount, and often the Dome of the Rock stands prominent in the background.
“We cry to heaven, asking Father God to stop the virus,” Glick added, mentioning the terrible suffering it has caused, and expressing the hope that God would send wisdom to medical professionals who are fighting it.
However, Glick also reserved harsh words to Chinese leaders, implying that the outbreak might represent divine punishment in retribution for their human rights abuses, including persecution of believers in the Bible and political opponents.
“Our hearts go out to the victims, but here is the warning to the rulers of China,” he said.
“Stop persecuting believers in Bible, stop using forced labor, stop harvesting organs for transplant from political prisoners. This is abomination. This is the terrible evil in God’s eyes and God says He will punish all the evildoers. Repent until it is too late. We pray that God will give you wisdom and courage to change your ways. We pray that you will stop bringing God’s wrath on your country,” Glick added.
The Temple Mount, referred to in Hebrew as Har Habayit (Mount of the House) and in Arabic as Haram esh-Sharif, is considered holy by both Judaism and Islam. However, an agreement was reached after Israel conquered the Old City in 1967, allowing Jordan to maintain civil administration over the area and restricting Jewish access to it: Jews and non-Muslims are allowed to visit the Temple Mount during limited hours and days, but they are not allowed to pray there.
In recent years, a movement calling for the right of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount has become more vocal and groups or individuals have ascended the area to pray more frequently.
Glick is one of the most prominent voices within the movement. In 2014, he was critically injured by a terrorist attack that targeted him.
Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/International/Yehuda-Glick-suggests-coronavirus-outbreak-stems-from-human-rights-abuse-616840?fbclid=IwAR1wZRp6n8NFfADTq6DBjZy36oBwzTnjnk6ayjrzmwvYJ6Ol6c3e7hd6TEE.