![Morris with her husband and daughter at the Temple Mount. [photo credit: Courtesy]](http://www.vinnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ShowImage-2.jpg "ShowImage (2)")
Jerusalem – “If we continued to hide our heads, we would be like the Jews in exile who are afraid of non Jews,” says the 20-year-old who has received death threats.
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After rioting engulfed the Temple Mount on Sunday, the Ninth of Av, a traditional day of mourning in Judaism, some have said the riots were instigated by a Jewish visitor to the Temple Mount who was shown on camera saying “Mohammad is a pig.” What would drive someone to make a statement like this?
In a video that has gone viral in the Arab media, 20-year-old Avia Morris is shown with her husband and child as they made their way Thursday through the Old City in Jerusalem following a visit to the Temple Mount while a group of women wearing hijabs taunt the group nonstop in Arabic.
Watch below where Avia called Mohamded a Pig
Morris spoke with The Jerusalem Post to explain in her own words what happened.
“For the entire 40 minute walk through the Old City to the Temple Mount, a group of Arab women followed us yelling Allah Akbar and Itbach al-Yahud [Kill the Jews in Arabic], as well as a number of curse words,” she said. “We asked the police to keep them further away but they did not stop them. Instead, they let the women continue insult the Jewish faith and the Jewish people in our holiest place in the world.”
Morris knew that she would be arrested immediately if she said anything while on the Temple Mount itself, so she remained stoic along with the rest in the group. However, the same group of women returned as soon as the group left the Temple Mount. Morris said she could no longer stay quiet as they continued their taunts and even made the symbol of Islamic State.
“By that point, I felt if I continued to stay quiet and if we continue to hide our heads, we would be like the Jews in exile who are afraid of non Jews and that aren’t able to fight back. So I decided that it would be a disgrace to not say something back so I said ‘Muhammad is a pig’… and after that, they were finally moved away from us.”
On Friday afternoon, the day after the incident, police showed up at Morris’s home and arrested her, only hours before the beginning of Shabbat, for allegedly inciting violence and for making an insult to a religious sentiment. She was released on the condition that she maintain a certain distance from the Old City for a week.
Following the incident and the posting of the video, commenters on Facebook went wild, supporting the taunting Muslim women and worst of all, called for Morris and her one-year-old daughter to be murdered. She said that police have not arrested nor taken action against any of these people.
Morris attempted to file a complaint with police following the death threats, but was told she cannot since it must be filed at the police station located in the Old City, from which she is forbidden to enter for the next week. Morris said police brushed off the matter. “They told me ‘Fine, so next week [you’ll file the complaint].” And in the meantime, while I wasn’t able to filed a complaint, a complaint was filed against me and they arrested me.”
“So this is not discrimination on the Temple Mount? That the Arab women can do whatever they want and we can’t even whisper under our breath or respond in any sort of way? And the police aren’t even letting me file a complaint over people threatening murder?”
Morris went on to say that she does not encourage others to get arrested and therefore did not recommend that others copy what she did, though there was already a copycat. However, she said that the police and the entire nation needs to hear her message. She added that her response was minor compared to the discrimination that Jews go through at the Temple Mount and “the desecration that is going on at the location of the Temple.”
“The state and the Jewish people are the ones that need to stand up. I think that it is very frightening that Jews are not responding to this discrimination and desecration to God’s name that is taking place. But the main fault lies with the police.”
On previous occasions, Morris said, the groups of Arab women that regularly taunt Jewish groups mainly left them alone and past visits have been quiet. Still, she noted that small responses like hers are unlikely to change the situation, though noted that the subject continues to become part of the public awareness the more it is covered in the media.
Talking about future visits, she said that she hopes things will be different next time.
“I hope that I will not have to hide my head, that Jews will not continue to be degraded and that the place of the Temple will not continue to be degraded. I hope there will be another solution that is more effective. The Jewish people need to set things straight and remove rioters from the Temple Mount.
Sick woman, she need prof help asap
Mrs. Morris should read history and she’ll see he wasn’t technically a pig, he was a child molester.
Perhaps ms morris’ heart is in the right place, but she definitely has yet much to learn. A goo dstart would rather be to join a jewish ulpan or midrasha and learn somthing about authentic judaism, rather than trying to set her own standards.
Bibi is weak
Nebech to what we have succumbed to ;
That this is referred to as :
“No more staying silent ” …
Here they ( the ismaelites ) make inroads at every step they set foot to
Nothing gets in their way , israeli guards defending them at everystep
Making sure they themselves are covered with armor so not to be killed
By the militants ( not arab terrorists c”v ) while we must excersize and uphold their rights for freedom and expression , molotov coktails , rocks
And what knifes ,and what not ,
Yet an israeli says the word offensive
To them
And what happens ? Of course she gets arrested , but thats the norm these treacherous times , and is expected of the feminized western cohorts , but what takes us to a new level , is where the citizen , where the every day person on the street , who has not been trapped in the gubernatorial cesspool and therefore use to see the Reality as is ,
Where as now and even us are falling subject to its trap . And that is by saying i could no more stay silent
As if this is a response ?
This is called “fighiting back “????
Thaey come with bombs
And we come with an offensive title ?
How are we to win
When we fight fire with jellybeans !
Truth is most of the world’s man made problems are made at the hands of followers of mohammad. That can’t be denied. Sunis might blame shias who might blame ISIS or al Qaeda. But in the end, if there were no Moslems our only problem would be worrying about world poverty. Until then our biggest problem is the world’s Moslems
The truth is, that We are all still in Exile.
Since we were sent out of Jerusalem and the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed, we are in Exile.
Mrs. Moris, that is the fact. The only way to go out from Exile is, “Tsuvah” and pray to Hashem.
Only Hashem can take us back to a real Home. The real “Geulah Shleime” will be only by Hashem. Not by the Army of the Zionist Government. Not by the Extrimists. All those who claim to fight with Arabs and say that Israel today is our Home land before the time that Hashem does it, is wrong.
These right wing settlers are causing us much antisemitism!!
Maybe she figured since she’s מחייב כרת for going on הר הבית, she might add well open her big fat trap and get it done asap?
Disgusting.
Truth is,its not her fault its the Zionist ideology.She was raised by inciters it is people like her who fuel the Arab hate towards Jews.
We Jews until the coming of Moshiach have zero claim of an Israel and zero claim of the Temple Mount.
We just sat on the floor on Tisha B’av crying how we were kicked out of Eretz Yisroel and sent into exile becuase we weren’t listening to the Torah.
Lets all repeat: we were not sent into exile becuase we had a weak army.We were kicked out by the almighty becuase we didn’t listen to his words. This is not a Satmar thing but it is what we say every day in our tefiloes
I honestly don’t understand you. this woman was provoked by these animals into saying something back – no one was stopping them. Meanwhile, SHE is arrested? For what? For responding to constant verbal abuse?
She was brave, knowing the police would support the animals. Whether she was right or wrong going to the Temple Mount is irrelevant, these attacks happened before and after the visit. I give her a lot of credit, and to you posters I donate a barrel full of Arab donkey waste.
Can someone please explain the heter to go waking on har habayis since we’re all tomei mas? These people like like religious Jews.
Read the report.
She was being followed by this bunch of intimidating Arab women – she didn’t chicken out as so many of the commentators would have.
Sh suffered provocation and insults and threats – Kill the Jews is not a friendly greeting, by the way.
She finally said something – in a so-called democracy there is supposed to be freedom of speech, she gave one sentence in kind after getting garbage pails of insults – she is not a shmatte.
Even if she was not judicious in her words, she is a gutsy lady – and we can be proud of her.
She is clearly a religious person, so the comment of going to a midrasha was uncalled for and downright nasty.
As for the going up on Har Habayit there are different opinions, so don’t be sanctimonious.
Shame on the cops – their mollycoddling of these wild people will come back to bite them – big time.
May more Jews stand up straight and refuse to be cowed by those descendants of Yishmael – garesh et ha’ama hazot v’et bnah was said to Avraham and clearly applies to today.
AM YISRAEL CHAI
Katl al yehud, means kill the jew. Why weren’t those women arrested at that time? They get paid to provoke and curse jews that wish to walk on the temple mount Why are they allowed to do that.?
.History tells us and all who know history , that jews used to ascend har habayis .The moslems paid them to kindle the oil lamps in al aqsa. Rabbi Akieba saw a fox running out from the place of the holy of holies, now a fox is a small animal, so he had to be on the har habayis to notice it. and on and on
The woman is a dope. What seminary dis she go to? Stay away from it!
She must take this tape and sue the police for arresting her for making a comment aftershave go her life threatened by the vermin shouting “kill the Jews!” Why weren’t those Arab choker as arrested?! They were issuing threats while all she did was say Muhammad was a pig! Where’s the freedom of speech? What the arabs did was incitement to violence!
I agree #1 7 8 9 ! She is nuts and she just loves fight. She is an instigator. She puts us israelis to shame
I fell very sorry for this woman. She is now marked for arrest or even worse at the hands of the Muslims. And yes, Muhammed was not a pig, he was a pederast. At best. All the world’s “hot ” wars currently involve Muslims in some way. The are true Pereh Adam and can only be stopped with brute force that keeps them down. They are inherent cowards, so force will keep them in line. The British knew this. I agree 100% with her right to go on the Temple Mount. Muslims can only be controlled in one way, brute force.