Red Heifer Sacrifice Performed Today Near Al-Aqsa Mosque

 

A group of religious Israelis was recently observed practicing the red heifer ritual near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a controversial act that some believe is a step toward constructing a third Jewish temple. This ritual, rooted in Jewish tradition, involves the use of ashes from a flawless red heifer for ritual purification, which is seen as essential for the building of a new temple.

Radical Jewish groups assert that the third temple should be built on the Temple Mount, the elevated area in Jerusalem’s Old City where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine currently stand. Some within these groups believe that constructing the temple would signal the arrival of the messiah and possibly the end of the world.

The incident gained widespread attention after journalist Yinon Magal posted an image on Twitter showing activists from the Temple Institute engaging in the ritual. The Temple Institute, dedicated to preparing for the construction of the third temple, imported five red heifers from Texas in 2022. These cows were carefully selected after years of searching for animals without blemishes or stray white or black hairs. The heifers are reportedly housed at an archaeological park near Shilo, an illegal Israeli settlement near Nablus.

Proponents of the ritual argue that slaughtering the heifers on the Mount of Olives would purify Jewish worshippers, enabling them to conduct rites at the site of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. According to a professor from Bar Ilan University, the ashes from a single red heifer could produce enough purification water for up to 660 billion rituals.

However, the cow featured in Magal’s image appears to be a cutout rather than one of the actual red heifers from Shilo. The traditional site of the ritual, the Mount of Olives, can be seen in the background of the photo, suggesting that the practice run occurred within the Old City, in proximity to the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Temple Mount, also known as Haram al-Sharif in Islam, has been a focal point of religious tension. The longstanding status quo, established in 1757 during the Ottoman era, generally restricts non-Muslim worship on the site, although Jews are allowed to pray at the adjacent Western Wall. This wall is considered the last remaining part of the Second Jewish Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.

The recent ritual has reignited concerns about escalating religious tensions in the region, as the delicate balance maintained by the status quo in Jerusalem is once again called into question.