The Temple Institute

The Temple Institute ( – "") is a museum, research institute and education center in Old City of Jerusalem. It was established in 1987 by Rabbi Yisrael Ariel. The institute is dedicated to the two Temples in Jerusalem (called the First and Second Temples). Rabbi Ariel plans to rebuild the Second Temple on the man-made plateau the Jews call the Temple Mount. The site is currently occupied by an Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock. The institute has collected tens of thousands of dollars, mostly from Jews in the United States. This is in spite of the fact that rebuilding the temple of Herod, destroyed by the Romans in 79 AD, would almost certainly cause a major war. In 2014, the government of Jordan sent a letter to the State of Israel warning them to guard against any attacks by extremist groups against the Temple Mount.