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Research conducted by Ir Amim over the past year has uncovered the involvement of the Israeli government in helping to secure “red heifers” for ritual sacrifice, which according to Jewish law is required to rebuild the Jewish temple on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount (HAS/TM). The project to acquire this specific type of cow from the United States was spearheaded by the Temple Movements and an American Evangelical Christian group with the support of the state. According to Jewish law, the sacrifice of a red heifer (young female cow) would enable ritual purification necessary for mass Jewish ascent to the Mount and ultimately the construction of the third temple in place of the Dome of the Rock. The quest to find a “red heifer” has been long considered a fringe endeavor, yet the discovery of government involvement in such an initiative requires serious attention.
While Israel continues to pay lip service to the status quo on the Holy Esplanade, in practice, it dangerously acts to subvert it, which carries destructive ramifications on Jerusalem and the region. Ir Amim’s findings were aired primetime on a major Israeli TV network this past Saturday evening. Link here for the segment in Hebrew (translated version forthcoming).
Background – the Temple Movements and Erosion of the Status Quo
Enshrined in peace agreements with Jordan and upheld by consecutive Israeli governments since 1967, the status quo affords worship rights on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount (HAS/TM) to only Muslims, while affording worship rights at the Western Wall to exclusively Jews. Whereas non-Muslims – including Jews – are allowed to visit the HAS/TM, Palestinians are banned from the Western Wall and its surroundings. Over the past decade, the Temple Movements and their allies in successive Israeli governments have continued to work to dismantle the status quo. The “Temple Movements” is an umbrella term for various Jewish groups who are opposed to not only exclusive prayer rights of Muslims on the Holy Esplanade, but are also hostile to their very presence in the holy place. Their goal is to overturn the status quo and impose Jewish domination over the Mount. This includes achieving Jewish prayer rights, establishing a temporal and/or spatial division of the holy space, and ultimately destroying the Dome of Rock and replacing it with the third temple. In recent years, there has been a deterioration of the status quo, marked by daily incidents of the Israeli police permitting Jewish prayer and other ritual activity on the Mount, alongside collective entry restrictions imposed on Muslim worshipers.
Despite evidence of the ongoing erosion of the status quo, the Israeli government continues to dismiss such facts, while affirming their ostensible commitment to the accepted arrangements at the holy site. The “red heifer” project therefore not only further refutes such claims, but also underscores the government’s direct involvement in an initiative aimed at achieving far more than worship rights: explicitly rebuilding the temple, which has lethal implications on the region.
What is the “Red Heifer” Project?
For several years now, elements among the Temple Movements have been working to locate a cow in the United States that would comply with the “red heifer” regulations stipulated by Jewish law. Since there are no cows of the necessary breed and shade in Israel, the search for a “red heifer” has been focused on the US with the assistance and involvement of Evangelical Christians. Some Evangelicals view the “red heifer” initiative as essential for setting in motion an apocalyptic process, which would usher in Armageddon and ultimately the return of the Messiah. Last year, with the help of Israeli authorities, the Temple Institute and an Evangelical group by the name of Boneh Israel imported five cows to Israel from the US that they claim meet the definition of what constitutes a “red heifer.” Ir Amim's attention to the project began when it became evident that it was receiving government support. It should be noted that such government assistance began under the former Bennett-Lapid government, which branded itself as much more moderate.
According to ancient Jewish law, the ashes of a red heifer are required for ritual purification prior to ascent to specific areas on the Mount which are considered holy in Judaism. Due to the lack of such ritual purification, many religious Jews do not enter the Holy Esplanade, and even Temple activists will only walk on very small parts of the compound. However, acquiring a red heifer would solve this issue and therefore could dramatically increase the number of Jews not only entering the HAS/TM, but also visiting more areas of the Mount. Moreover, this move has been considered a prerequisite for construction of the third temple. Indeed, the Temple Movements explicitly say that their quest for the “red heifer” was carried out as part of their intent in building the temple “within years.”
Israeli Government Involvement
Ministry of Agriculture
According to Ir Amim’s findings, the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs, and Ministry of Heritage are all directly involved in the project. The Ministry of Agriculture assisted in circumventing regulatory protocols to import the red heifers from the United States. In a press release on behalf of the project that was published in several media outlets, it was written that “the import of live cows from the US is prohibited. We received permission. This was a very complicated procedure with the Ministry of Agriculture.”
The ministry's protocol for importing live meat specifies strict regulations for obtaining an import license, and this is only from a limited list of approved countries. The United States was not one of the approved countries when the Temple Movements began their search for an appropriate cow. Approval of a new country for the import of cattle involves a long and rigorous process, which requires a visit by a representative of the ministry to the country of origin to ensure inspection methods meet required standards.
Although Ir Amim was unable to locate an official announcement from the Ministry of Agriculture concerning completion of the procedure that would allow for the import of live cattle from the US, the ministry claims it has done so.
Thus, for the sake of importing red heifers to Israel for this project, the Ministry of Agriculture seemingly allocated its resources to carry out the long procedure required to add the US to the list of approved countries for the import of cattle.
Furthermore, it appears that the ministry likewise deviated from protocol by allowing the import of the cows without the required installation of a chip in their ears. Based on import rules of the Ministry of Agriculture, insertion of chips in the ears of imported cows is required to track their whereabouts for the purpose of preventing the spread of diseases. However, according to Jewish law, piercing the cow's body constitutes a deformity that disqualifies it from serving as a “red heifer” for ritual purification.
Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage
The Director General of the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage attended and delivered a speech at the ceremony to welcome the cows’ arrival to Ben Gurion airport in September 2022. There, he disclosed that the ministry has been funding development of the Mount of Olives area where the Temple Movements intend to hold the “red heifer ceremony.” While such collaboration was carried out under the previous Bennett-Lapid government, the ministry has continued its support for the project.
Under the current government, the Ministry of Heritage was split from the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs. The Ministry of Heritage now has authority over the Israel Antiquities Authority and close ties with the archeology department in the Civil Administration. This ministry is headed by Minister Amichai Eliyahu, a member of the Otzma Yehudit party, who are vocal supporters of the Temple Movements. The ministry's current involvement is demonstrated by the decision to transfer the cows they raise to a new visitor center and farm that will be established for this purpose at the Tel Shiloh archaeological site in the West Bank.
The thread between settler takeovers of Palestinian homes and rebuilding the Temple
According to Ir Amim’s research, the Jerusalem Development Authority under the Ministry of Jerusalem Affairs has been promoting a plan for the establishment of a promenade on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. This promenade is slated to lead to the precise area where the Temple Movements intend to hold the burning of the “red heifer” ceremony. In interviews given to Evangelical media, Tzachi Mamo, one of the leading figures involved in bringing the cows to Israel, detailed the goals of the “red heifer” initiative and its direct link to rebuilding the temple on the Mount. Mamo likewise described having gained control of an olive grove on the Mount of Olives, which will serve as the location for conducting the” red heifer” ceremony as “the first step towards building the Temple.”
It should be noted that Tzachi Mamo is a well-known and key player in the settler enterprise in and around the Old City and is deeply involved in efforts to seize Palestinian properties for Jewish settlement, including in Sheikh Jarrah. He is the driving force behind the Reshit Jerusalem settler organization which is working in close cooperation with the Jerusalem Affairs Ministry to develop the “Northern Trail project” — a touristic settlement initiative focused on the Palestinian neighborhoods north of the Old City.
Mamo’s central role in both the “red heifer” project and appropriation of Palestinian assets underscores the extent to which the religious Jewish takeover of the Old City Basin is inextricably linked and directed towards their dangerous ambitions on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif. According to Mamo and others involved in the project, this is not a spiritual vision with an unclear timeline and uncertain results, but rather a national plan of action that will be realized “in the coming years.”
Dangerous Implications
For years, Ir Amim has warned about the lethal ramifications of the far-reaching goals of the Temple Movements. Over the past decade, the Temple Movements have acted to destabilize the status quo and mainstream its agenda in order to garner more public support for their efforts. Cooperation between them and the Israeli police have also increased, leading to lax enforcement and hence more breaches of the status quo. These ongoing violations of the accepted arrangements have served to stoke Palestinian fears surrounding Israeli intent to impose Jewish sovereignty over the Mount and ultimately destroy the Dome of the Rock in order to build the third temple. As such, these incidents have repeatedly led to the outbreak of unrest, which has spread across Jerusalem and beyond.
Yet, despite repeated government repudiations of these concerns, the advancement of the “red heifer” initiative confirms these fears and underscores the direct involvement of the state in the actualization of a radical, religious vision that seeks to erase a 1300-year-old Muslim reality on the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount.
***Alert based on research published in Hebrew by Senior Ir Amim Field Researcher, Aviv Tatarsky
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