The restrictions imposed on Jews on the Temple Mount are as intolerable as they are inexcusable, and given the key role the site played in the Hanukkah miracle, now is the perfect time to change them. Indeed, isn't it painfully ironic that while the Maccabees fought to free the Temple Mount from foreign control, Israel allows the Palestinian Muslim Wakf and Jordan to dictate what happens there?
According to the First Book of Maccabees 2:6-8, at the very start of the Hasmonean revolt, Matityahu bemoaned the fate of our people's holiest site: "Why was I born to see these terrible things, the ruin of my people and of the holy city? Must I sit here helpless while the city is surrendered to enemies and the Temple falls into the hands of foreigners? The Temple is like someone without honor."
Sadly, the same could be said now, when Jews ascending the Mount are barred from bringing a prayer book or a Bible, or even uttering a few words of prayer, all in the name of "security."
The Temple and the liberation of the Mount on which it stood are fundamental elements of the Hanukkah story. After all, it was there, on the Temple Mount, that the little flask of pure oil miraculously continued to burn.
So when you light the Hanukkah candles each night with your family, and watch the flames atop them reach heavenward, consider the following: we owe it to ourselves and to our Maccabean forbears to once again set the Temple Mount free and make it accessible to Jews.
(full article online)
The Maccabees, the Mount and modern Israel