Jordan Shutters Gravesite Where Jewish Pilgrims Prayed

(JTA) – Jordan’s religion minister, Abed al Nasr abu Bassel, ordered a gravesite holy to Jews closed following prayers there.

The closure Friday of the presumed gravesite of Aharon the Cohen, a biblocal figure who according to the Torah had acted as an aide and spokesperson to Moses, followed a mass prayer there earlier this week by 500 pilgrims from Israel at the gravesite, located about 100 miles north of Eilat.

A statement by the ministry called the pilgrimage “illegal” and stated that the Jordanians responsible for allowing pilgrims access to the site will be “held accountable,” Ynet reported Friday.