A group of religious Israelis has been photographed performing the ritual of the red heifer, a practice that signifies the construction of a new Jewish temple on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque. According to Jewish tradition, the ashes of a perfectly red heifer cow are required for the ritual purification necessary for building a third temple in Jerusalem. This temple, according to radical Jewish groups, must be erected on the elevated plateau in Jerusalem’s Old City known as the Temple Mount, where Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine currently stand.
Some believe this ritual will mark the arrival of the messiah and possibly even the end of the world. Journalist Yinon Magal posted a picture on Tuesday showing activists from the Temple Institute practicing the mitzvah (religious duty) of a red cow in front of the Temple Mount, which would enable the return of purity and the observance of all temple-related religious duties.
In 2022, five red heifers were transported to Israel from a ranch in Texas and are now housed in an archaeological park adjacent to Shilo, an unlawful Israeli settlement near the Palestinian city of Nablus. The Temple Institute imported these heifers with the intention of using them in a ritual after years of searching for blemish-free cows without any white or black hairs.
The eventual slaughter of these heifers on the Mount of Olives, advocates argue, will allow Jewish people to be purified so they can perform rites and worship on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque. A professor at Bar Ilan University estimated that the ashes from one cow could produce enough cleansing water for 660 billion purifications. The cow featured in Magal’s photograph (below) does not appear to be one of the five red heifers from Shilo, suggesting that the practice run was conducted within the Old City.
The traditional site for this ritual is the Mount of Olives, which can be seen in the background on the other side of Al-Aqsa Mosque. The current status quo in Jerusalem maintains that Jewish prayer is prohibited on the elevated plateau in occupied East Jerusalem. It is believed to be the location of two ancient Jewish temples, and Jews are allowed to pray at the Western Wall, which runs along one side of the hill and is regarded as the last remaining part of the Second Jewish Temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.
Non-Muslims have been restricted from entering Al-Aqsa Mosque since the Ottoman status quo designating Jerusalem’s holy sites to its sects was established in 1757. The Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem has also officially banned Jews from entering the Temple Mount since 1921, ruling that Jews are forbidden to enter the site unless “ritually clean,” which is impossible without the ashes of a red heifer.
Over the past century, religious Zionist groups – including the Temple Institute – have advocated for the return of Jewish prayer at Al-Aqsa Mosque, with some even calling for the demolition of the mosque and reconstruction of the temple.
