Noah Feldman, Columnist

Virtual Reality and Dangerous Fantasy in Jerusalem

The once-radical idea of building the third temple has become mainstream, emboldening believers.

December 4, 2016 at 4:00 PM UTC

Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Harvard University, he is author, most recently, of “To Be a Jew Today: A New Guide to God, Israel, and the Jewish People."

The wall stands; attitudes shift.
Photographer: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

You never know what you’re going to get on a visit to Jerusalem. The latest addition to the Holy City is -- I kid you not -- a virtual-reality experience at the foot of the Western Wall. Tackiness aside, the virtual tour of an imaginatively reconstructed ancient Israelite temple does carry a worrisome message for the future of peace in the Middle East: The once-radical idea of rebuilding the temple on the site is gradually getting mainstreamed.

I was at first taken aback by the numerous signs advertising the virtual-reality tour near the heavily guarded entrances to the Western Wall plaza. As my VR-consultant (aka my 11-year old son) put it, “Isn’t it a little strange to have virtual reality when you’re actually at the real thing?”