A group of religious Israelis have been photographed practicing the ritual of the red heifer, a religious ceremony believed by some to herald the construction of a third Jewish temple on the site currently occupied by Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
According to Jewish tradition, the ashes of a perfectly red heifer are required for ritual purification, which would allow the building of a new temple on the Temple Mount, a site sacred to both Jews and Muslims. This location, known in Jewish tradition as the site of two ancient temples, is where Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine stand today.
Some radical Jewish groups believe that constructing the temple on this site will herald the coming of the Messiah and potentially signal the end of the world.
“Temple worshipers are now practicing the mitzvah [religious duty] of a red cow in front of the Temple Mount, which will enable the return of purity and the observance of all the temple mitzvahs,” journalist Yinon Magal posted on social media, accompanied by a picture of activists from the Temple Institute performing the ritual.
In 2022, five red heifers, believed to be free of any blemishes, were imported from a Texas ranch to Israel. They are currently kept in an archaeological park near Shilo, an Israeli settlement close to the Palestinian city of Nablus. The Temple Institute, which imported the heifers, has been searching for years for such cows to use in this significant ritual.
The traditional site for this ritual is the Mount of Olives, which is visible from the other side of Al-Aqsa Mosque, suggesting that this practice run was conducted within the Old City of Jerusalem.
The status quo in Jerusalem, in place since the Ottoman era, has long prohibited Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, reserving the site for Muslim worship. Jews are allowed to pray at the Western Wall, which is adjacent to the Temple Mount and is believed to be the last remaining part of the Second Jewish Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.
Since 1921, the Chief Rabbinate of Jerusalem has banned Jews from entering the Temple Mount unless they are “ritually clean,” a condition that, according to tradition, can only be met through the use of the ashes of a red heifer.
Despite these restrictions, religious Zionist groups, including the Temple Institute, have increasingly advocated for the return of Jewish prayer at Al-Aqsa, with some groups even calling for the demolition of the mosque to reconstruct the Jewish temple.
