The Likud lawmaker whose proposal to divide the Temple Mount angered the Palestinian Authority last month has now called on non-observant Jews to ascend the Mount for a moral lesson.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, MK Amit Halevi explained that Jews believe that the Ten Commandments would sit inside the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle - known as the Holy of Holies - and signify that morality is at the center of Jewish society.
'God's house is everyone's house'
"God's house is everyone's house," Halevi said. "Secular Jews are welcome. They should come and learn from the Temple Mount."
He said, "When God is at the center, we put aside our egos and personal issues…Just because you are a pilot, a doctor, a member of the worker's union, and you have power, you should not force your opinion [on society]. "This is against the moral principles of freedom, against our heritage."
Halevi was referring to Israeli military personnel who announced they would not participate in reserve duty and doctors across Israel that went on strike after the parliament voted 64-0 to pass into law a crucial part of the judicial overhaul earlier this week.
The comments came on the same day that the Post reported that some secular Israelis would fast on the Ninth of Av in mourning over judicial reform.
The lawmaker spoke to the Post while touring the mount. He said that he tries to ascend the Temple Mount five times yearly: on Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, Jerusalem Day and Tisha Be'Av.
Halevi made headlines last month when he shared a plan to dive the Temple Mount between Muslims and Jews with the Hebrew news website Zman Yisrael.
According to his plan, Muslims would control the southern end of the Mount where the Al-Aqsa mosque sits, while Jews would take ownership over the central and northern areas, including the Dome of the Rock. Jews believe that the Holy of Holies sat at the center of the Dome of the Rock, where the Foundation Stone is currently positioned.
His comments led to an uproar in the Palestinian Authority, including comments by Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, who incorrectly referee to the plan as a bill when he denounced it at a cabinet meeting.
Halevi was number 36 on the Likud list and has little effect on government policy.