Outrage as Israeli Extremists Offer Cash for Animal Sacrifice at Mosque

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An Israeli religious extremist group has sparked criticism after they offered thousands of dollars to their followers who were arrested for trying to carry out an incendiary animal sacrifice ritual at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound during Passover.

This incident comes as the mosque, regarded as one of the holiest sites in Islam, is at the center of controversy once again after Israeli security forces stormed the building on April 5th, hours after they raided the mosque’s compound and arrested hundreds of Palestinians.

Israeli news outlet The Jerusalem Post reported that the 'Returning to the Mount' movement, an extremist messianic Jewish group, called for animal sacrifices at the Al-Aqsa Mosque to mark the beginning of Passover on April 5th. The group promised to give a handsome reward of 20,000 Israeli shekalim (equivalent to $5,557) to those who could do it.

The Temple Mount movement is notorious for provocations around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which incite violence and tension in the Middle East and fuel fears from the Palestinians that they would destroy the religious site. One of its reported main goals is to destroy the mosque and replace it with a Jewish temple.

This incident wouldn’t be the first time Israeli extremists have attempted to perform animal sacrifice rituals in the mosque. Situated in East Jerusalem, one of the most religiously sensitive areas in the world, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam, after the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina and the Al-Masjid Al-Ḥaram in Mecca, where the Kaaba is located.

The mosque had long been controversial since it stands on the spot known to Jews as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. The Temple Mount was also where the Second Temple once stood before the Romans destroyed it during a siege in 70 CE.

The Temple Mount movement’s call to carry out animal sacrifices in the area, despite a ban on such practice, would have further inflamed tensions in East Jerusalem and the West Bank as Palestinians continued to fight Israeli settlers and security forces in the area over the past few months, claiming the lives of over 90 Palestinians.

The group also posted online Arabic messages and pasted posters around the Old City in Jerusalem, containing promises of monetary reward to locals who could host sacrificial lambs during Passover.

These rituals were performed in the Second Temple. Many Jewish extremists attempted to perform animal sacrifices in the mosque, including in April last year, where around six people were arrested.

While non-Muslims, including Jews, may visit the Al-Aqsa Mosque, they are not allowed to pray or perform rituals there due to an agreement with Jordan, the caretaker of Jerusalem’s holy sites.

Before the raid by Israeli security forces this April, far-right Itamar Ben-Gvir caused controversy when he raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque last January.

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