Settlers discussed building the Third Temple in a settlement near Nablus and brought red cows from Texas

London - The Middle East Eye website published a report prepared by Daniel Hilton in which he said that settlers in the Shiloh settlement in the West Bank are raising red cows to mark the construction of the Third Temple. He said that the plan to raise red calves raised concerns in the Arab world, and was even linked to the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

 He said: “On the top of a hill in the occupied West Bank, five Red Angus cows were munching on some hay, and around them was a group of Israelis looking at them expectantly.” If things go as planned, it will be the beginning of the end for the world as we know it. According to Jewish tradition, the bright red ashes of a cow are necessary for a purification ritual that will allow the construction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.

Jewish groups say that this temple should be built on the high plateau in ancient Jerusalem, which the Jews call the Temple Mount, and where the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock are located today. Some Jews believe that the construction of the Temple will be a sign of the coming of the Savior.

Location: Abu Ubaida gave a speech in which he said that there is a direct relationship between the Hamas movement and the activists of the Third Temple and their import of livestock.

On Wednesday, a conference was held in the illegal settlement of Shilo near Nablus to discuss the importance and necessity of raising red calves , and to take a look at them as well.

Settler Haim (38 years old) said: “This is a new moment in Jewish history.”

For years, members of the Third Temple congregation, led by the Jerusalem-based Temple Institute, which organized the conference in Shiloh, have been searching for a red heifer that fits the description used in the Torah for purification. The ideal cow must not be defective, or have black or white hair, and must not be put under a yoke or work.

Yehuda Singer (71 years old), from the Mitzpe Yerehu settlement, and translator of a booklet about red cows, said that they came specifically from Texas, and his wife Edna (69 years old) added: “One cannot even lean on them,” and “You cannot desecrate them by putting your jacket on their back.” “.

The perfect red cow has not been found for 2,000 years, not even since the Romans destroyed the Second Temple. That is why some American Jewish activists and Christian evangelicals who believe that the construction of the Third Temple will prompt the second appearance of Christ and the decisive battle, Armageddon, have tried to raise their ideal red cow.

In 2022, five promising, bright gray cows from Texas arrived in Israel, amid a festive atmosphere. You can now find it in an archaeological garden separated from the ancient ruins and the flowering lavender with a steel terrarium.

On the one hand, the Red Cows Conference focused on religious aspects, as scholars and rabbis presented details from the Torah, while attendees shook their heads under dim light. But the occasion was strange, in that the first two speakers stood on the lecture stage, carrying combat rifles on their shoulders. Kobi Mamo, head of the Shiloh archaeological site, said in his opening remarks: “Hezbollah discovered the occasion and was talking about it on Telegram.” The writer or website was unable to obtain evidence that the Lebanese Hezbollah had discovered information about the conference, or chatter on social media platforms such as Telegram.

But the conference aroused the interest of Arab social media users. A user from Libya wrote sarcastically that the red calf (the laughing cow) is the emblem of the soft cheese triangle, and said: “Have you asked yourself why the color of the laughing cow is red?”

Others wrote that there were plans to slaughter a red cow on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where land had been purchased for this purpose. Rabbi Yitzchak Mamo, of the Third Temple group Oniv Jerusalem, told the Christian Broadcasting Network that the slaughter party was tailored for the Festival of Lights in April this year.

The talk about cattle sparked Hamas, the Palestinian movement. In November, a Palestinian source in contact with the movement told the website that the group was closely monitoring efforts to secure a permanent Jewish presence at Al-Aqsa Mosque. The source said, “The only thing left is the slaughter of cows, which were imported from the United States, and if they did this, it would be a sign of rebuilding the Third Temple.”

Location: Some American Jewish activists and Christian evangelicals who believe that the construction of the Third Temple will prompt the second appearance of Christ and the decisive battle have tried to raise their red cow.

 In January, Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman, Abu Ubaida, gave a speech on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the October 7 attack, in which he said that there was a direct relationship between the Hamas movement and the activists of the Third Temple and their import of livestock, which he said was “An attack on the feelings of the entire nation.”

Yakov, a student from Los Angeles, said he came to Shiloh to look at the cows: “I've been hearing about the red cows and the First and Second Temple all my life, and I'm excited to see one today.” Yaakov understands the controversy over building the temple in the place of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, “but I do not think” that it will be controversial. He said: “There was a church once, then a mosque, and it was originally a Jewish temple, and it must be done again,” and “it must not be violent.”

Baruch Fishman, a longtime member of the Third Temple movement, said there was a long way to go between slaughtering the calf and building the temple. He talked about 13 problems that must be solved before construction begins, including Knesset legislation on the plan, and “here I can help with the political aspect.”

After Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, the government maintained the restrictions dating back to the Ottoman era by restricting the entry of Jews to the Temple Mount. Jews were prevented from entering it according to an order from the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, and since 1921, Jews were forbidden from entering the place except in a “state of purity,” which is impossible without the ashes of the red cow.

With the shift of Israeli politics and society to the right, the entry of settlers into the Temple Mount has become regulated, which is why the Temple community hopes that the slaughter of the cow will purify them so that they can practice rituals and prayers on the precincts of the mosque.

Research conducted by professors at Hebrew University estimated that the ashes of one cow could be converted into disinfection water, enough water for 660 billion purifications.

 “One of the main issues is the endowment,” Fishman says, referring to Jordanian custodianship of Al-Aqsa. “The endowment receives a lot of money from Jordan, and it does not want to give it up.” According to Fishman, small steps must be taken in order to secure a presence in the mosque courtyard: “The Muslim community is suffering a lot now, and we must be sensitive,” and “All we want is a small altar.” Rabbis and activists in the Temple Mount tried to slaughter a cow on Hanukkah, but soldiers prevented them.

“Of course no one can bring anything to sacrifice, as it would be a bloodbath,” Fishman says. But I believe that there is a difference between what the endowment says publicly and in private conversations, and it can be convinced.”

In response to his statements, Firas Al-Debs, spokesman for the Islamic Endowment in Jerusalem, said: “Let them say what they say in their conference. The Endowment has always affirmed, in its statements, its firm opinion that Al-Aqsa Mosque belongs to Muslims, and does not accept partnership or division in it. He added: “What is said in these conferences does not matter, as long as they are unofficial.”