What do Texan red heifers have to do with Al-Aqsa and a Jewish temple?

Red heifers imported from the US feed at a farm in Hamadia, Israel, near the northern city of Beit Shean in April 2023 [File: Jack Guez/AFP]

They have come from halfway across the world and are kept under tight security and raised according to the strictest rules.

They are five pure red heifers without blemish who have never worked, given birth, been milked or worn a yoke.