Jerusalem (TPS) – Yehuda Glick, an activist who promotes the right of Jews as well as other non-Muslims to pray on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, ascended the Temple Mount yesterday March 1, for the first time since September, 2014.

“It was very moving and exciting to return home,” Glick told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). “The Temple Mount is the origin of my life, the center and core of my whole existence, the origin of peace and light in the world, and I’m so happy to be back.”

Glick, who recovered from being shot by a Palestinian at point-blank range in late October, 2014, had been prevented by the police from going up to the Temple Mount due to an assault accusation made against him.

“A Muslim woman issued a complaint to the police against me last September claiming that I had attacked her on the Temple Mount and that I had broken her arm,” explained Glick. “It was then taken to court, and I was finally fully dismissed of any charges and claims a week ago after a year and a half. The whole story was a total lie.”

Glick said that he had been banned from the Temple Mount at the request of the police. “Evidently, when the complaint was issued, the police asked the court to ban me from going up to the Temple Mount,” Glick explained.

Although Glick may once again go up to the Temple Mount, the status quo forbidding Jews and other non-Muslims from praying at the site remains enforced by the Israel Police and the Muslim Waqf. Glick’s efforts to change the status quo have been strongly criticized by many political leaders worldwide who demand that it remain the same.

“I think it’s very surprising for the world to have anything against someone like me who supports tolerance, respect, and human rights for everyone,” argued Glick. “The Western world should support Western values and should support people like me who are human rights activists and there should be no reason in the world that I should not be allowed to go up to the Temple Mount.”

The status quo has often been vigorously maintained in the name of stability and order as well as to prevent incitement, but Glick completely dismissed that notion.

“Many people thought that Martin Luther King, who fought for black people to have civil rights, was challenging the status quo and causing riots throughout the world,” Glick remarked. “I think that anyone opposing a status quo that is based on injustice and on the violation of human rights is legitimate and that anybody who believes in democratic, Western, and Jewish values should stand up and object to such a status quo.”

Glick emphasized that he is not just fighting for his right and the right of other Jews to pray on the Temple Mount, but for the global community as well.

“The Temple Mount should be a house of prayer for all nations, a world center for peace and religious tolerance,” Glick stressed to TPS. “Anyone coming to the Temple Mount should know how to respect one another and anybody who supports peace, Jew or Muslim, should be more than welcome on the Temple Mount.”