Read the Israel National News report on the countrywide celebrations that start tonight:
Jerusalem Reunification Day – the day marking Israel’s return to the Temple Mount, the Old City , Mt. of Olives, and the areas that became Ramat Eshkol, Gilo and more during the Six Day War in 1967 – is increasingly being celebrated not only in Jerusalem. In fact, over 80 cities around the country will mark the occasion with marches and otherwise, this Tuesday night and Wednesday.
These nationwide commemorations – the first time, in most cities – are being organized and coordinated by theMerimim et HaDegel(Raising the Flag) movement, in a campaign named, “We are All Jerusalem: Celebrating Jerusalem Throughout the Country.”
This report by Matti Friedman of the Associated Press, has been widely published today:
JERUSALEM – Underneath the crowded alleys and holy sites of old Jerusalem, hundreds of people are snaking at any given moment through tunnels, vaulted medieval chambers and Roman sewers in a rapidly expanding subterranean city invisible from the streets above.
At street level, the walled Old City is an energetic and fractious enclave with a physical landscape that is predominantly Islamic and a population that is mainly Arab.
Underground Jerusalem is different: Here the noise recedes, the fierce Middle Eastern sun disappears, and light comes from fluorescent bulbs. There is a smell of earth and mildew, and the geography recalls a Jewish city that existed 2,000 years ago.
Archaeological digs under the disputed Old City are a matter of immense sensitivity. For Israel, the tunnels are proof of the depth of Jewish roots here, and this has made the tunnels one of Jerusalem’s main tourist draws: The number of visitors, mostly Jews and Christians, has risen dramatically in recent years to more than a million visitors in 2010.
But many Palestinians, who reject Israel’s sovereignty in the city, see them as a threat to their own claims to Jerusalem. And some critics say they put an exaggerated focus on Jewish history.
A new underground link is opening within two months, and when it does, there will be more than a mile (two kilometers) of pathways beneath the city. Officials say at least one other major project is in the works. Soon, anyone so inclined will be able to spend much of their time in Jerusalem without seeing the sky.
Other tunnels are mentioned also, such as Hezekiah’s Tunnel, the Canaanite Tunnel and Zedekiah’s Cave, also known as Solomon’s Quarries near the Damascus Gate.
The next major project, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority, will follow the course of one of the city’s main Roman-era streets underneath the prayer plaza at the Western Wall. This route, scheduled for completion in three years, will link up with the Western Wall tunnel.
Although most of these tunnels and underground areas have been known for a long time, it is interesting to see that they have become a new underground tourist attraction.
The report then continues to describe the political impact that these underground excavations and tunnels have on the local population. You can read the whole report here.
In a previous post, we reported on State Comptroller’s report on the illegal activities by the Waqf on the Temple Mount. According to the website of the Temple Mount Faithful:
“The goal of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement is the building of the Third Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in our lifetime in accordance with the Word of G-d and all the Hebrew prophets and the liberation of the Temple Mount from Arab (Islamic) occupation so that it may be consecrated to the Name of G-d.”
The Jerusalem Post reports that this group, led by Gershon Salomon, has petitioned the High Court to have the full report published:
Fearing mass-scale destruction of holy artifacts under the Temple Mount, the Temple Mount Faithful, a group that calls for the Jewish takeover of the site, petitioned the High Court on Thursday to order the full publication of the secret State Comptroller’s Report on excavation works being conducted at one of the holiest places in the world.
Citing “harm to Israel’s national security and possible harm to its foreign relations”, the High Court has so far refused to publish the complete report.
A few years ago, the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem was renamed the Kenyon Institute, after the late Dame Kathleen Kenyon who is best known for her excavations in Jericho and Jerusalem. The school’s website states its purpose:
The Kenyon Institute is proud to present cutting-edge research in the humanities and social sciences in the form of lectures and seminars throughout the year. The Lecture Series is an opportunity for Visiting Research Fellows and other researchers, both on CBRL-funded and non-affiliated projects, to present preliminary results on their work in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
A look at their lecture series, however, shows that their involvement with politics has taken over from their stated objective:
Tuesday 3 May 2011, 5pm (World Press Freedom Day) Journalism in the time of Revolution: How do journalists deal with the challenges of covering conflict and rapid political and social change? Dr Ehab Bessaiso, Media Expert and Lecturer, Cardiff University (via Skype); Nick Pelham, Correspondent, The Economist; Nasser Atta, Journalist, ABC; Khalil Assali, Chairman, Jerusalem Press Club; Sa’id Ghazali, Blogger, hankashtika.blogspot.com
Tuesday 24 May 2011, 5pm Democracy from below: Lessons from the revolutions
Dr Samir Awad, Professor of International Studies, Birzeit University; Omar Shweiki, Acting Director and Research Scholar, Kenyon Institute, Council for British Research in the Levant
Tuesday 31 May 2011 Rock-cut Tombs in Petra and Jerusalem: some similarities and differences
Dr Lucy Wadeson (CBRL Fellow and University of Oxford)
Stephen Rosenberg, who posted the Bible and Interpretation‘s “Archaeology in Israel Update – April 2011”, advises the following:
The lectures now current both fail to serve British scholarship or to serve the original purpose of the School, the promotion of archaeology in the region. We trust that the CBRL and the Amman School will take the appropriate action to correct the position.
The lecture on the rock-cut tombs in Petra, however, appears to deal with archaeological similarities and differences with tombs found in Jerusalem, but I fail to see what journalism and revolutions have to do with archaeology, as it appears to serve a particular political agenda.
There are some beautifully decorated rock-cut tombs in Jerusalem, which certainly have some similarities with those in Petra. We believe to have identified the Tomb of Annas the High Priest, an elaborately decorated tomb in the Hinnom Valley. Gustav Dalman, who, together with his son Olaf, investigated this tomb in 1925, called this tomb the most beautifully decorated rock-cut tomb between the Mediterranean and Petra:
The Mughrabi Gate, located just above the Western Wall in Jerusalem, is the only entrance to the Temple Mount for non-Muslim tourists. After the collapse of the earthern ramp in 2004, a wooden bridge was erected as a temporary solution until a new and safer bridge could be built to replace the old dirt ramp. We reported on this problem in previous posts here, here, here and here.
The Jerusalem City Engineer sent a strongly worded letter to the Western Wall Heritage Fund on Sunday, stating that the temporary bridge to the Mughrabi Gate must be destroyed within two weeks, or the city will tear it down.
His reasons were that the structure had become “hazardous due to deteriorating physical conditions”. The fragility of the temporary bridge is evident from this picture:
“The municipality said that since the [Western wall] heritage fund received the necessary permits in March to build a replacement bridge, there is no reason to continue using the old bridge.”
The political ramifications, however, are such that nothing will probably done for a long time to come, which is good news for the many tourists that visit the Temple Mount every day.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, the society has invited Prof. Ami Mazar to lecture on: “Archaeology in Israel: Achievements and the current state of research”. The lecture will take place at the Stevenson Lecture Theatre in the British Museum, London at 6.00 pm on Monday, June 27th.
The Anglo-Israel Archaeological Society (AIAS) was founded in 1961 by Professor Yigal Yadin, Dr Alec Lerner, Leon Shalit and Dr Richard Barnett. The aims of the society are to:
Make recent developments in the archaeology of Israel and neighbouring countries more widely known in the UK
Provide a series of illustrated public presentations explaining and informing on recent archaeological findings and new theories
Regularly publish Strata, an internationally respected journal consisting of original research papers
Provide grants for students of Middle Eastern Archaeology
Ami is one of Israel’s most outstanding archaeologists, with an impressive record of research and excavations. He has been a good friend since 1973, when we participated in an IDF archaeological survey of the Bashan region, southeast of Mount Hermon. After producing publication plans of his excavations at Tel Qasileh, I worked as surveyor for Ami at Tel Batash (Timnah of the Philstines) from 1978 till 1989.
His lecture will be of great interest to lovers of Israel and its history.
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This new website offers virtual tours of archaeological sites and is worth visiting.
The Virtual World Project is designed for educational purposes, with teachers and students in mind. The project offers two modes for viewing the archaeological sites (Tour and Presentation mode). See the help screens for further information on using the project. Audio commentary is being added to many of the sites (see Herodium, Dan, Qasr Bshir, and Ramm, among others).
The project is continually being updated. Find out what is new in the project by visiting the project’s Blog. Click on the “Project Blog” link here or below. The project should be linked and accessed through its own domain at www.virtualworldproject.org
From December 15 – 17, 2011, a symposium on “Jesus and the Temple” is planned to take place in Boca Raton, Florida.
Focal Question: How significantly and in what ways did the Temple and its cult help define the social and spiritual life of early Jews, including Jesus and his earliest followers?
Purpose: To correct the popular impression that Jesus despised the Temple and its cult because he attacked the money changers and was apparently condemned by the leading high priests [the historicity of each event must be discussed]. To raise questions which are focused on pre-70 Jews, Jesus, his followers and the Temple and to seek a new consensus on the grid questions.
My topic will be “Imagining the Temple Early Jews Knew”.
Good to see this book on Jerusalem (see previous post) in the list of Sunday Times (UK) bestsellers – for 15 weeks already! And it’s due for more exposure on Sunday, May 5th, when Montefiore speaks at the Hay Festival near us here, in the Brecon Beacons, Wales, UK.
