The Commentary Magazine Podcast
Episode: Praying in Jerusalem and Minneapolis
Date: January 30, 2026

Overview of Main Theme

This episode of The Commentary Magazine Podcast delves into two major themes: the historic shift allowing Jewish prayer on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, and the controversy surrounding Don Lemon’s indictment after protests disrupted a Minneapolis church service. The hosts explore the religious, political, and legal implications of both stories, underscoring evolving religious freedoms and the limitations of protest within houses of worship, while examining the broader dynamics of American public life post–October 7th.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jewish Prayer Rights on the Temple Mount (Starting at 02:00)

• Significance of Change: For the first time since 1967, Israeli police now permit Jewish visitors to pray openly and carry printed prayer materials onto the Temple Mount, challenging a decades-long status quo meant to maintain civil peace with Muslim authorities.
  • Host Jon Podhoretz explains the area's sacredness, noting:

    “The only place on the planet Earth that Jews agree they should be legally enjoined from praying is the site of the Temple that was destroyed in 70 BC.” (05:26)

• Historical Context:
  • Moshe Dayan’s controversial decision post-1967 Six Day War to cede control of the Temple Mount to Muslim authorities is dissected as a symbol of secular arrogance that later fueled political revolution in Israel. (12:00)
  • The gravity of allowing Jews to pray at their holiest site is likened to addressing a historical injustice.
• Personal Experience and Description (06:49–10:00)
  • Seth Mandel’s account of his recent visit highlights the shift:

    "The mood among the Israeli soldiers is totally different up there now. The mood is as if it has been accepted for a long time to pray.” (08:41)

  • Mandel describes the area’s vastness, tranquility, and spiritual intensity, emphasizing how non-controversial and non-threatening Jewish prayer is in practice.
  • He also points out the logistical issue—previously, only Orthodox Jews who had prayers memorized could participate, while the change now enables all Jews to pray with printed materials. (18:29)
• Egalitarian Development
  • The post–October 7th climate has seen increased interest among non-Orthodox Jews to visit and pray at the Temple Mount.

    "Interest in Jewish practice… all that stuff has increased in Israel and in the Diaspora." (19:30)

  • Allowing printed materials democratizes access, bridging divides between secular, non-Orthodox, and Orthodox Jews.
• Neglect of Jewish Heritage
  • Mandel details seeing ancient, biblical-era cedar wood from Solomon’s Temple exposed to the elements on the Temple Mount under WAQF control:

    “This is how Jewish artifacts are treated when they are not in Jewish hands.” (21:50)

2. The Minneapolis Church Protest and Don Lemon’s Indictment (From 26:30)

• Event Recap: A group of activists forcibly disrupted a prayer service at City Church, Minneapolis, targeting the pastor owing to his link to ICE. Don Lemon, formerly of CNN, was present—supposedly as a journalist, but was later indicted for his role.
  • Eliana Johnson gives details on the legal process:

    “A magistrate judge… rejected the federal government’s efforts to indict him… the grand jury has indicted Lemon.” (27:27)

• Journalistic Role and Legal Questions
  • Debate over Lemon’s defense that he was present as a journalist.
  • Christine Rosen raises First Amendment questions:

    “What they're going to have to prove is that he was working with the agitators who stormed the church in advance of his effort to report.” (31:23)

  • Evidence suggests Lemon was actively coordinating, not just documenting, citing his pre-protest interactions and conduct once inside. (33:21)
• First Amendment Tensions
  • The group discusses the limits of protest, legally and ethically, especially inside houses of worship.
    • Jon Podhoretz argues:

      "Nothing in the First Amendment privileges speech over the right to free assembly or the free exercise of religion." (34:27)

  • They compare the situation to civil rights era sit-ins, noting that civil disobedience entails accepting consequences to highlight injustice, not demanding immunity. (37:59)
• Double Standards and Media Reaction
  • The hosts note that if a similar disruption targeted a mosque, coverage and outrage would differ.

    “Pretty sure there would be some law enforcement reaction to that. And the First Amendment arguments would probably not be given as much praise by the mainstream media.” (44:26 – Christine Rosen)

  • There’s discussion of the FACE Act (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances), which protects both houses of worship and abortion clinics, observing that left-wing activists and media selectively view its enforcement.
  • Seth Mandel offers a broader analysis:

    “Politics has become their religion, and they have houses of worship. They're just not places where you worship.” (46:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Temple Mount’s spiritual magnitude:
  “Praying on the Temple Mount was an extraordinarily unusual spiritual experience because of how close you are to…the holy of holies. And…you feel it up there, but also it's…serene…You feel like you've stepped back in time.”
  — Seth Mandel (09:52)

• On status quo and social change in Israel:
  “It was the kind of airy dismissal of things important to people…that created the social conditions under which people in Israel said, ‘We gotta get these guys out. They don't understand us. They don't care about Judaism…’”
  — Jon Podhoretz (13:19)

• On First Amendment priorities:
  “Why does his right to free speech trump the people in the church's right to the free exercise of religion? It doesn't.”
  — Jon Podhoretz (34:27)

• On the media’s selective focus:
  “Where are the profiles of all the church congregants who had their…Sunday service disrupted, and of the children who…were so traumatized by watching this horrible thing happen?”
  — Eliana Johnson (45:52)

• On the performative nature of modern protest:
  “The purpose for Don Lemon was content. He was creating content for his personal brand.”
  — Christine Rosen (42:13)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:00 — Introduction of the topic: Jewish prayer allowed on the Temple Mount
• 06:49 — Seth Mandel’s personal Temple Mount story
• 12:00 — Moshe Dayan, history of post-1967 status quo
• 18:29 — Discussion of change fostering egalitarianism
• 21:50 — Ancient temple wood anecdote
• 26:30 — Shift to Minneapolis church protest and Don Lemon controversy
• 27:27 — Legal development in Don Lemon case
• 31:23 — Media privilege and legal speculation
• 34:27 — Dissecting First Amendment clashes
• 37:59 — Civil disobedience analogy
• 42:13 — The motivation behind disruptive protest
• 44:26 — Double standards for religious targets
• 45:52 — Media’s selective empathy for victims
• 46:29 — The religious dimension of political protest

Final Thoughts & Recommendations

The episode winds down with a discussion of the societal and legal precedents set by both Jerusalem and Minneapolis events. It closes on pop culture, with Jon Podhoretz recommending the new Marvel show “Wonder Man” for its unexpectedly witty and human take on the superhero genre.

Hosts: Jon Podhoretz (B), Abe Greenwald (C), Christine Rosen (C), Eliana Johnson (D), Seth Mandel (E)
Tone: Engaged, thoughtful, sometimes wry, consistently opinionated
Suitable For: Listeners interested in the intersection of religion, politics, law, and media treatment of sensitive issues.

End of summary.