The British website “Middle East Eye” reported that a group of Israeli religious extremists was filmed practicing the rituals of sacrificing a red heifer, a ceremony believed by them to herald the construction of a new Jewish temple on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The red heifer is a significant religious ritual in Judaism, as it is believed that its ashes are essential for purification from the impurity of death. This is achieved by sprinkling water mixed with the ashes of the red heifer, which must be completely red in color, free from blemishes, and never have been used for any form of labor.
The report indicates that obtaining the ashes of the red heifer is considered a fundamental prerequisite for building a third Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Extremist Jewish groups believe that this temple must be built on the elevated plateau in Old Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located.
The report added that the red heifer being trained on is not necessarily one of the five red calves from the Shiloh settlement but is similar to them.
It noted that the traditional site for performing these rituals, the Mount of Olives, appears in the background on the opposite side of Al-Aqsa Mosque, indicating that these training sessions took place within the Old City.
In 2022, five red heifers arrived in the Israeli-occupied territory from a ranch in Texas. They are currently kept in an archaeological park near the illegal Shiloh settlement in the occupied West Bank, close to the Palestinian city of Nablus.
According to the British site, the “Temple Institute” imported these calves for use in religious rituals, after a years-long search for them. The heifers must be free from blemishes and without any white or black hair.
One professor from Bar-Ilan University estimated that the ashes of a single red heifer could produce purification water sufficient for around 600 billion purification ceremonies.
Over the past century, Zionist religious groups, including the “Temple Institute,” have continued to call for Jewish prayers to be held on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, with some even advocating for the demolition of the mosque and the reconstruction of the temple.
According to Jewish belief, the performance of this religious ritual is thought to signal the return of the awaited Messiah and possibly even the end of the world.
It’s worth noting that the term “Messiah” or “Mashiach” in Hebrew, which means the anointed one, is regarded in Jewish faith as a perfect human descendant of King David, who is believed to bring about the end of the world and the salvation of the Jewish people.
