Smooth Stone

By The Editors of OneJerusalem.org:

On the day that archaeologists announced discovering on the Temple Mount fragments of table vessels and animal bones dating back to Solomon’s Temple in the eight century B.C.E. — the former Mufti of Jerusalem and Fatah’s adviser on Jerusalem declared “There was never a Jewish Temple on al-Aqsa (The Temple Mount) and there is no proof that there ever was a temple. Because Allah is fair, he would not agree to make al-Aqsa if there were a temple there for others before hand.”

He went on to comment on the Western or Wailing Wall. He said, “The wall is not part of the Jewish temple. It is just the western wall of the mosque. There is not a single stone with any relation at all to the history of the Hebrews.”

These sentiments were echoed by a Waqf (Muslim Religious Authority) archaeologist.

These are the current opinions of the Muslims Israel is going to “negotiate” with at Annapolis. They do not recognize the existence of Jewish history in Jerusalem, and President Abbas agrees with them.

The Bush Administration and the Olmert government are legitimizing these people by talking to them.

Stop this madness.

Via INN:

The Antiquities Authority announced today that it has found the quarry that supplied the giant stones for the building of the Temple Mount. The quarry is located in what is now one of Jerusalem’s newest neighborhoods, Ramat Shlomo (also known as Reches Shuafat), between Ramot and French Hill. The quarry was found in the course of an archaeological rescue dig prior to the construction of a neighborhood school.

The ancient quarry is spread out over at least five dunams (1.25 acres), with rocks between three and eight meters long – the size of those that can still be seen today at the foundations of the Temple Mount and in the Western Wall – hewn out of the ground.

Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute in Jerusalem told Arutz-7 that the discovery of the quarry was both historically dramatic and spiritually exhilarating: “Precisely now, when the Moslems are trying to erase all vestiges of the presence of our Holy Temple, and when even among our own leaders there is a trend towards giving it away and viewing it as an unnecessary burden – precisely now, with this discovery, G-d is sending the Jewish People a kiss, as if to say, ‘Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten you; there are those who want to give it [the Temple Mount] away or take it away from you, but I still have big plans for both you and for the Holy Temple – and the Temple will yet become the focal point of the world once again.”

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky has ordered a halt to the school-building plans, budgeting 350,000 shekels ($86,500) for the archaeological work.

Jerusalem archaeologist Yuval Baruch told Arutz-7 that the ancient hewing was done in stages. First, deep and narrow trenches were dug around the four sides of what was to be the rock. Then, dozens of small specially-shaped picks were used to make holes underneath, at a distance of several centimeters from each other, until the rock was able to be separated from the ground. Archaeologists found one such pick in the area – a 15-centimeter (6-inch) long metallic object.

Gideon Charlap, a top Jerusalem architect and Temple Mount expert, told Arutz-7 that while rocks for the Temple may not be hewn with iron on the Temple Mount, iron may be used on the rocks before they reach the Mount. This, as opposed to stones used for the Temple’s altar, which are never permitted to be hewn with iron.

The rulers of ancient Jerusalem used top-quality, shining-white stone for their public buildings, of the type they called Malcha (from the word for royalty). Dozens of quarries have been discovered in and around Jerusalem over the years, Baruch said, “including some from the period of Herod, like this one. However, never before has one been found with such large rocks.”

The Shuafat mountain is some 80 meters higher than the Temple Mount. That, and its proximity to the main road to Jerusalem from the north, made this quarry a prime candidate to provide the rocks to be used in the city’s important buildings. Teams of oxen pulled the giant stones down the moderate incline towards the city. The rocks were then placed upon the bedrock, forming the foundation of the Temple Mount, and keeping it stable and firm without the use of concrete even up until today.

Coins and pottery were also found in the quarry, dating back 1,900 years – further evidence that this quarry was used during the height of construction in ancient Jerusalem.

Earlier this month, the Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of the City of David’s main drainage channel – later used by Jerusalem residents when they tried to flee from the Romans. The channel is located along the route from the Temple Mount to the Shiloah Pool, and apparently continues on to Nahal Kidron on its way to the Dead Sea. It drained the rainfall of ancient Jerusalem – the Jewish quarter, the western region of the City of David, and the Temple Mount. The excavations were jointly carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Elad Association.

The excavation directors wrote, “There is evidence in the writings of Josephus Flavius, the historian who described the revolt, the conquest and the destruction of Jerusalem, that numerous people took shelter in the channel and even lived in it for a period until they succeeded to flee the city through its southern end.”

Click here to read more, from FoxNews.

Renowned archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University and the Shalem Center answers JPost’s readers’ questions about the Mughrabi Gate dispute and the status of the Temple Mount in recent years. Of the hundreds of questions received, here are 20 which encompass the major issues at hand.

John, Hong Kong: The Muslims claim the Mughrabi dig is within their holy site. Israel says it’s nowhere near. Is it at all possible to answer this question with 100% reliability?

Dr. Mazar: The Mughrabi ramp is near the Western Wall of the compound, and it doesn’t risk it’s stability in any way. Moreover, it is of no risk whatsoever to the Al-Aksa Mosque, which stands about 100 meters to the east. There is no basis to the Muslims’ claims. We should pay attention to their claims, which they have repeated many times in the past whenever they sought to raise a provocation. The same claim has been made with regards to my excavation in the City of David — 200 meters south of the Al-Aksa Mosque — declaring that the purpose of the excavation is to dig a tunnel under the mosque. At this very spot, the height of the original Second Temple-period wall is about 25 meters high, while the Mughrabi Gate is only 3.5 meters above the Herodian construction. In any case, the ramp only leads towards that gate.

Zachary Lubwama, Kampala, Uganda: Do you think that the findings will resolve the long standing dispute as to who the owner of this place is? Do you see Muslims accepting it if the findings reveal that this was a site for the Holy Jewish temple before a mosque was put in its place? Do you see Israel wishing to rebuild a third temple in this place, and would this be possible?

Dr. Mazar: We have learned about the history of the Temple Mount compound from archaeological and historical sources. These facts do not influence the Waqf and the Israeli Islamic Movement (especially its northern wing), as they completely ignore the history and ancientness of the site. They declare that the site was built as a mosque “since the time of Adam and Eve” — unfortunately, there are no grounds for a scholarly discussion with them. Returning to academic and scientific research, excavations around the compound near the Mughrabi ramp will show that the original compound built at this place was the most impressive and ingenious construction of the Second Temple period.

Rudy Reichstadt, Paris: What can you say about the declarations of archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov, who said that one could be satisfied with “a simpler and less expensive solution”?

Dr. Mazar: The Mughrabi ramp was in dire need of significant restoration. It was in a terrible state for many years and no simple work can be done there. This archeologist has declared in the past that we should thank the Waqf and the Islamic Movement for their destructive activities on the mount. In his words, they were “cleaning the place.”

Brian Anderson, Jerusalem: In a desire for accuracy of information often lacking in news coverage, I would like to ask what efforts have been and are being made amidst the Mughrabi Gate project to 1) have necessary dialogue with Islamic officials regarding the impact of these efforts on the Temple Mount, its current condition and structures, and 2) plans/efforts in place on the part of the Antiquities Department (or other government agencies) to safeguard existing structures to help alleviate the concerns being expressed by many in the Islamic world?

Dr. Mazar: In recent years, the Waqf and the Israeli Islamic Movement were very active at the site, conducting a large-scale destruction of antiquities and continuing to do so without any dialogue. As far as I know, they were told and actually know the terrible condition of the Mughrabi ramp and how it needs a restoration, which is currently taking place. They also know that the Israeli Antiquities Authority is conducting a large excavation in order to document the antiquities as the ramp is strengthened to prepare for a more stable structure above it. The Antiquities Authority is conducting a regular archeological excavation at the this site, and the methods of excavation are well known and up to date, just as in any other excavation at such an important site.

Joseph Abraham, London: Is it true the Muslims built their Dome over the wrong rock? I understand that the Holy of Holies was built on a different rock on the Temple Mount.

Dr. Mazar: It’s not the wrong rock, because at present it is on the highest spot on Mount Moriah, which is probably the same spot where the temple stood. Muslims believe that Mohammad went to a place that is called “extreme,” and they relate this extreme place to be the location of the Al-Aksa Mosque, which was never claimed to be the spot of the temple itself.

Geoff Neilson, Cape Town, South Africa: Is there any specific location where the altar for sacrifices must be? Do we know the precise point of that location today?

Dr. Mazar: The location of the altar near the temple itself can be located in the most probable way — where we all locate the temple itself — but to pinpoint exactly where it stood is disputed. It’s unlikely that this dispute will be resolved as long as excavations are prohibited inside the Temple Mount compound.

Yosef Zahav, Miami: Why isn’t the Temple Mount symmetrical? It seems there are no two walls that are parallel. Isn’t that surprising for a monumental architectural structure?

Dr. Mazar: You are correct. It’s not really a square and not even a rectangle, but we need to understand that the compound as it appears today is an enlargement of a previous compound from the First Temple period. King Herod enlarged it by overcoming deep valleys that surrounded the ancient compound, which is very impressive and almost ingenious, but did not make it symmetrical.

Ezequiel Doiny, Buenos Aires: In 1996, Binyamin Netanyahu allowed the Muslims to build a third mosque in Solomon’s Stables. By doing this, did Israel give the Muslims the opportunity to destroy important archeological remains?

Dr. Mazar: This was a huge mistake which took place without any archeological supervision. We are certain that a vast amount of important data was lost, especially when the Muslims dug the huge 2,000-square-meter pit in front of the stables and dumped the “garbage” along with ancient antiquities. They loaded hundreds of trucks — and I am not exaggerating — so you can imagine the scale of the data that was lost from all periods (Muslim, Byzantine, Roman and Jewish).

David Flug, Hillcrest, New York: How likely is it that the truckloads of material carted away by the Waqf in a previous construction project contained archaeologically significant material?

Dr. Mazar: We need to remember that the Temple Mount compound is very ancient and all the periods starting from the First Temple period were part of it. Although we know some remains were destroyed, others were left inside — maybe for secondary use, but nonetheless, they are there and can be revealed one day when proper excavations are allowed. Destruction took place mainly in the eastern part of the compound, and we should see to it that no further destruction is allowed there. Regrettably, there is no proper supervision. The east part is destroyed forever.

Regarding the construction and restoration of the previous path of the Mughrabis, the excavations — as they are currently being conducted on a large scale — should continue in order to stabilize the pathway and allow the public to approach the Temple Mount compound. This is the only gate through which tourists can visit the compound, and there is urgent need for it to be stable and convenient.

Inside the Temple Mount compound, excavations have been forbidden for centuries. Muslims do not allow anyone to excavate. It was tentatively agreed to leave the site as-is as long as no one made any changes. However, this is not the case. The Waqf and the Israeli Islamic Movement are conducting significant changes in order to convert the entire site into a built-up mosque.

Mary Ellen Marks Highland Lakes: Is it true that the Ark of the Covenant is buried under the mount?

Dr. Mazar: There is a very high probability that the most important ancient remains are inside the compound in the massive underground halls. This includes the Ark of the Covenant.

Saul Mishaan, Brooklyn, New York: I know that digging on the Temple Mount is a non-starter, but is there any research involving the use of aerial infrared photography or sonar to assist in determining the layout of the Second Temple compound?

Dr. Mazar: I know that research using these methods had been conducted from outside of the compound in order to trace hollow spaces. There were very interesting results, such as the finding that the ancient walls of the compound are very thick, and that behind them are many massive underground halls.

Thomas Crispin, Phoenix, Arizona: What is the most exciting thing you’ve discovered in your career so far?

Dr. Mazar: My most exciting find was a personal seal impression one centimeter in diameter from the First Temple period that had the name of a minister who was part of the government of Zedekaya. I found it last year during my excavation in the City of David. His name is mentioned in the book of Jeremiah — he was the one who asked King Zedekaya to kill the prophet Jeremiah because he was telling the people of Jerusalem to surrender to the Babylonians. This is astonishing because it is a direct connection between an archeological find and a biblical document. It reinforces our understanding and appreciation of the bible as an historical source of great authenticity.

Abe Sender, Cambridge, MA: What do we know about the two chambers the Waqf claims are underneath the mount?

Dr. Mazar: These are chambers that were documented already in the 19th century. One of them served as a water cistern, and the other was used as a pathway during the Second Temple period and then most probably as a synagogue in the 11th century CE before finally being turned into a mosque in a later period.

Lee Safran, San Jose, California: What do you know about the construction/destruction at Solomon’s Stables? Why wasn’t Israel able to create an international outcry about this? It seems a much more significant destruction than the work at the Mughrabi Gate. Why didn’t Israel petition the UN world heritage site committee or some other similar body? Or raise the issue with Jordan? Is this construction continuing as we speak, or has it finished?

Dr. Mazar: Israel made a big mistake by keeping mum about the illegal activities of destruction and conversion carried out inside the stables and around them. The Israeli government doesn’t really understand that by turning a blind eye to the illegal actions undertaken by the Waqf and the Islamic Movement, it does not achieve the true quiet it seeks, since it only increases the appetite of the Muslim side, which notices that its acts go without punishment. This is still going on.

Dave Abernathy, Columbia: The JP published an article last week stating that a cistern was found recently that proves that the Second Temple existed, and that it’s located more southwesterly than previously thought. Does this mean that a third Temple could be built without disrupting the current mosques on the Temple Mount?

Dr. Mazar: Prof. Joseph Patrich only suggested that he could locate the very spot where the altar stood near the Temple as he relates it to one of the underground cisterns at the site. It does twist the location of the temple a bit, and it is an interesting suggestion. I don’t know how much it holds for the time being. Even if this is the case, there are no facts that will convince the Muslim side to allow any construction at the compound, except their own. As we are witnessing with the Mughrabi path row, the facts themselves mean nothing to them.

Dan Morman, Miami Beach: Since 1967, after custodial arrangements of the Temple Mount were implemented, who has performed more digging and construction work in the area — Israel or Muslims?

Dr. Mazar: On the Temple Mount itself, Israel has not conducted any work, since the Muslim side does not allow it. Around the mount, Israel has conducted large-scale excavations and cleared space for tourists and visitors to reach the Western Wall. Other areas in the northern and northwestern parts have been left as before [1967]. On the other hand, the Muslim side has never stopped digging and building inside the compound for its own purposes.

Donna Diorio, Dallas: I have been reading a lot about the Mughrabi ramp repairs, but not much about the announced new construction of a 5th minaret on the Temple Mount. When the plan was first announced in 2004, you are quoted as saying that archeological supervision must be resumed at the site before any changes. If this is a good thing for Israel to observe at the Mughrabi ramp, why isn’t this call also being voiced regarding the Jordanian minaret plans?

Dr. Mazar: I was surprised to see that the Jordanians adopted the radical view that claims the construction of the Mughrabi ramp is destroying the Al-Aksa Mosque, despite the fact that they know all too well that there is no truth to this. Building a new structure like the minaret, the fifth one, is completely out of place in light of the status-quo situation of the site, which should have been maintained unless open options were submitted to all sides. Unfortunately, the Israeli government refrains from demanding that the site be under supervision so that its preservation is safeguarded. I want to remind you that the Jordanians did not once raise their voices regarding the destruction carried out by the Muslim side.

The main thing to remember is that the mount is an extremely important historical site that needs to be preserved for the millions of people worldwide who are interested in it. It is sad to see how cheaply the site is treated.

Margaret, Sydney, Australia: Why is the site important to the Christians?

Dr. Mazar: The Temple Mount is of extreme value to the Christians as well, as it was the very spot where the Temple stood, at which Jesus himself arrived and became infuriated when he saw that it was being desecrated by so many people. He said that this was the holy place that the people must respect, and then he overturned the tables in fury. I see many Christians near the Temple Mount, standing on the stairs leading into one of its gates and praying. I urge the Christian world to raise its voice in order to help us preserve this magnificent site, which is part of Christian heritage, as well.

As a member of the Public Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities for the past seven years, I feel that we do not have enough support from the millions of people all over the world who we assume care about the site. We need more support! People should write/call/email/fax the prime minister and the media, demanding to open the site.

Andrew, Boston: What can be seen at the site at present?

Dr. Mazar: The public is now allowed to enter site for a few hours only, but is not allowed to enter the mosques or any of the underground structures in which magnificent remains from the original Second Temple are located. These structures were converted in recent years to new mosques, after never being used as mosques before, and are now closed to the non-Muslim public.

© 1995 – 2007 The Jerusalem Post. All rights reserved.

This is beneath contempt and an abomination. Islam is truly diseased. Via WND:

The official radio network of a major terror organization has been exclusively broadcasting daily from the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, WND has learned.

The radio network regularly features Iranian and anti-Semitic propaganda and death threats against Jews.

The Al-Quds network, the official radio station of the Islamic Jihad terror group, has been exclusively broadcasting special nightly Ramadan prayers from the Mount’s Al Aqsa Mosque since last week. The station also is broadcasting the Tarawih prayers, special Sunni Muslim prayers recited at night during Ramadan.

Islamic Jihad, together with Fatah’s Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, took responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the last three years. Islamic Jihad also carried out scores of deadly rocket and shooting attacks and is one of the most active Palestinian terrorist organizations.

According to Palestinian leaders in the Gaza Strip, the nightly prayer broadcast on Islamic Jihad’s station is currently the most popular radio program in the Palestinian territories. The broadcast affords Palestinians isolated to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank the opportunity to listen to the Tarawih prayers live from the Al Aqsa Mosque, widely called the third holiest site
in Islam.

The last few days the special broadcasts, sampled by WND, have been preceded and followed by Islamic Jihad speeches featuring anti-Israel propaganda, such as calling for the destruction of the Jewish state and advocating Palestinian solidarity with Iran.

It was unclear whether Islamic Jihad had official permission from Israel or from the Waqf Islamic custodians of the Temple Mount to broadcast from the holy site, located in Jerusalem and jointly administered by the Waqf and Israeli police.

A spokesman for Israel’s Police Authority did not return phone calls before press time.

According to Palestinian security sources speaking to WND, Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds radio has been using technicians from the Voice of Palestine, the official radio network of the Palestinian Authority, to facilitate the Temple Mount broadcasts, even though the program is not aired on PA radio.

The sources said the Waqf as well as the PA is “well aware” Islamic Jihad is broadcasting from the Mount.

The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed
from Babylonian captivity. It was expanded by King Herod in 19 B.C. shortly before the birth of Jesus. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.

The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies,
which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God’s “presence” dwelt. The Dome of the Rock now sits on the site and the Al Aqsa Mosque is adjacent.

The temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays.

The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact.

The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark where Muslims came to believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven.

Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from “a sacred mosque” – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to “the farthest mosque” and from a rock there ascended to heaven.

The farthest mosque later became associated with Jerusalem, through twisted lies, murder, and Muslim mayhem.

Via DailyAlert, from Group Petitions Court to Stop Muslim Dig on Temple Mount:

Members of the Committee to Prevent the Destruction of Temple Mount Antiquities petitioned the High Court of Justice on Sunday, seeking to stop an excavation by the Waqf, or Muslim religious trust, on the Temple Mount. Waqf officials say the digging of the trench, 500 meters long and 1.5 meters deep, is necessary to replace 40-year-old electric cables. But the petitioners say the work “is causing irreversible damage to antiquities and archaeological artifacts of the greatest importance, and is being carried out illegally, without the requisite authorizations.”

The petition maintains that Temple courtyards were located where the dig is taking place, and that some 400 tons of dirt removed in the process contain priceless archaeological artifacts from various periods. The petition stated: “Massive digging to a depth of a meter and a half entails damage to ground layers, some of which may have been in place since the First Temple stood there 3,000 years ago.”

The petition was signed by author A. B. Yehoshua; former Tel Aviv mayor Shlomo Lahat; Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations; prominent archaeologists Ephraim Stern, Amihay Mazar, Ehud Netzer, Israel Finkelstein, Moshe Kochavi, Gabriel Barkai and Eilat Mazar; retired Israel Defense Forces generals Zvi Zamir, Yitzhak Hofi and Giora Eiland; attorney Shmuel Berkovitz; and the Jerusalem Post, which also claimed that the Mount is closed to media coverage.

Via DailyAlert, from Why Is the Temple Mount So Important?:

Dr. Gabriel Barkay, a professor of biblical archaeology at Bar-Ilan University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, explained in an interview the Jewish and Christian connections to the Temple Mount and why it is vital to stop the destruction of Jewish antiquities on the Temple Mount currently being carried out by Muslim religious authorities who are digging a trench at the site:

The Temple Mount is the heart, soul, and spirit of the Jewish people. It is the only holy place that Jews have and it is the place chosen by the Almighty which is mentioned in Deuteronomy. This is the place believed to be the site of the binding of Isaac. This is the place where David built the altar on the threshing floor of Aravna the Jebusite to stop the plague. This is the place where the First Temple was built and the Second followed it, built by the returnees to Zion from Babylonian captivity. This is also the place of the third edifice built on the site by King Herod the Great – the building so frequently mentioned in the New Testament.

The Temple Mount occupies about 1/6th of the total area of the old city of Jerusalem and this is one of the most important cornerstones of Western civilization. It is at the moment the focus of a political battle that embodies within it the crux of the Near Eastern conflict, as both parties claim to have historical linkage to the site.

The Temple Mount represents the Near Eastern conflict in a nutshell and whatever happens to the Temple Mount will happen to the rest of the country. If the Temple Mount is under Palestinian rule and there is no accessibility for Jews to the Temple Mount and no control on the antiquities discovered there, that means that the legitimacy of Jews in the entire country is questioned.

The gigantic stones of the Temple Mount are mentioned in the New Testament: Jesus was brought to the Temple Mount as an infant, and later in his career he chased away the money changers from the Temple Mount. There are approximately twenty references to the Temple Mount in the New Testament and beyond any doubt the Temple Mount is an integral part of the Christian heritage. It should be sacred and important to any civilized person all around the world.

I am amazed that there was a world outcry concerning the blowing up of the statues of Buddha in the Bamiyan Valley by the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan, while the destruction on the Temple Mount didn’t hit the media and there was no outrage expressed.

Well, that is their goal, folks; it is the goal of Muslims to deny to the world any evidence that Jews did indeed build and live within and next to their religious holy sites. Why do Muslims do that? So as to confound and confuse the rest of the world into believing the mendacious premise that only arabs lived in Israel, and that Jews were just invaders. From Archaeologists: Muslim Dig Damaged Temple Wall:

A month-old Islamic dig on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount to replace faulty electrical cables has damaged an ancient wall that is likely a remnant of the Second Temple, Israeli archaeologists said Thursday. Among the antiquities that have been damaged are a 7-meter-wide wall that apparently dates back to Second-Temple times and was likely part of the Temple courts, according to Israeli archaeologists from the nonpartisan Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount. Hebrew University archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar said that the Temple Mount had become “one big construction site.”

From WSJ:

Within the last few days, a trench two-feet deep — starting from the northern end of the platform where Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock sits — has begun working its way toward the southern end of the Temple Mount. The work is being done without any regard for the archaeological information or treasures that may lie below.

Destruction is particularly great in places where bedrock is no deeper than the trench. Some of the digging is being done with mechanical equipment, instead of by hand as a professional archaeological excavation would be conducted.

I don’t know who are worse: the Muslim religious authorities digging up Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, or the Israeli authorities who are allowing it to happen.

That the Waqf, the Muslim religious trust that serves as custodian of the site, should wish to install new electric and telephone lines is understandable — provided that the necessary trench is first dug as a professional archaeological excavation. That is the required procedure everywhere in Israel before work can be undertaken at sites with archaeological significance. At the Temple Mount, even more care is required. This is the holiest site in the world to Jews, where the deeply religious fear to tread lest they step on the Holy of Holies: Solomon’s Temple and the Second Temple built by Herod the Great once stood on this site. The site is sacred to Muslims as well: Known in Arabic as the Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary, it is presently graced with the magnificent Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The Waqf is not acting illegally. According to one report, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has quietly granted permission for this destructive dig (otherwise the excavation would be a clear violation of Israeli law). The Israel Antiquities Authority, when queried about the matter, replied: “No comment.” So the dig is proceeding without interference from Israeli authorities. Perhaps their attitude is a product of fear; otherwise, it is inexplicable. Significant remains — pottery, tesserae from ancient mosaics, tiles and even architectural fragments — have already been observed in the soil from the excavated part of the trench.

As they have in the past, Palestinian leaders claim that neither Solomon’s Temple nor Herod’s Temple ever existed on the site. In a recent interview, Palestinian Justice Minister Taysir Tamimi stated: “About these so-called two temples, they never existed, certainly not on the Haram al-Sharif.”

The Waqf has a long history of ignoring Israel’s antiquities laws, and Israel has a long history of ignoring these violations. As early as 1970, the Waqf excavated a pit without supervision that exposed a 16-foot-long, six-foot-thick wall that scholars believe may well be the eastern wall of the Herodian Temple complex. An inspector from the antiquities department saw it and composed a handwritten report (still unpublished) before the wall was dismantled, destroyed and covered up.

Presiding over a lawsuit against Israel’s government and the Waqf to prevent such depredations, Israel’s Supreme Court found in 1993 that the Waqf had violated Israel’s antiquities laws on 35 occasions, many involving irreversible destruction of important archaeological remains. The court declined to enter an injunction, however, expressing its confidence that in the future Israeli authorities would correct their past errors. This confidence has proved unfounded.

In 1999, to accommodate a major expansion of an underground mosque into what is known popularly as Solomon’s Stables in the southeastern part of the Temple Mount, the Waqf dug an enormous stairway down to the mosque. Hundreds of truckloads of archaeologically rich dirt were dug with mechanical equipment and then dumped into the adjacent Kidron Valley. When archaeology student Zachi Zweig began to explore the mounds of dirt for antiquities, he was arrested at the behest of the Israel Antiquities Authority — for excavating without a permit.

For over two years Prof. Gabriel Barkay of Bar Ilan University (together with Mr. Zweig) has been engaged in a major sifting operation of this dirt, after he obtained a permit from the Antiquities Authority. Finds have included thousands of artifacts from all periods going back more than 3,000 years. They include a seal impression of a probable brother of someone mentioned in the Bible, Babylonian arrowheads dating to the destruction of Jerusalem in the 6th century B.C. (as well as other arrowheads from battles on the Temple Mount), thousands of coins (many dating to the Great Revolt against Rome), beautiful jewelry and even an ancient Egyptian scarab.

Protests against these Waqf excavations have been lodged by prominent Israelis from every point on the political spectrum, including from the late mayor Teddy Kollek, author Amos Oz, archaeologists Ephraim Stern (currently head of Israel’s Archaeological Council), Ehud Netzer (who recently discovered the tomb of Herod the Great), Eilat Mazar (who is excavating what may be King David’s palace in Jerusalem), Prof. Barkay (who, in a long career, discovered the oldest Biblical text, dating to about 600 B.C.) and the nonpolitical Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount — all to no effect.

The international community must be mobilized to stop this demolition of history. While the Waqf would never allow a professional archaeological dig on the site, its own destructive excavations continue unabated.

Mr. Shanks is editor of Biblical Archaeology Review and author of the forthcoming “Jerusalem’s Temple Mount — From Solomon to the Golden Dome”

From Biblical Destruction:

That the Waqf, the Muslim religious trust that serves as custodian of the Temple Mount, should wish to install new electric and telephone lines is understandable – provided that the necessary trench is first dug as a professional archaeological excavation. That is the required procedure everywhere in Israel before work can be undertaken at sites with archaeological significance. At the Temple Mount, even more care is required. This is the holiest site in the world to Jews: Solomon’s Temple and the Second Temple built by Herod once stood on this site. Significant remains – pottery, parts of ancient mosaics, tiles and even architectural fragments – have already been observed in the soil from the excavated part of the trench.

The Waqf has a long history of ignoring Israel’s antiquities laws. In 1970, the Waqf excavated a pit without supervision that exposed a 16-foot-long, six-foot-thick wall that scholars believe may well be the eastern wall of the Herodian Temple complex. The wall was dismantled, destroyed, and covered up. Israel’s Supreme Court found in 1993 that the Waqf had violated Israel’s antiquities laws on 35 occasions, many involving irreversible destruction of important archaeological remains.

In 1999, the Waqf dug an enormous stairway to accommodate a major expansion of an underground mosque in the southeastern part of the Temple Mount. Hundreds of truckloads of archaeologically rich dirt were dug with mechanical equipment and then dumped into the adjacent Kidron Valley. For over two years Prof. Gabriel Barkay of Bar-Ilan University has been engaged in a major sifting operation of this dirt, finding thousands of artifacts going back more than 3,000 years.

By Yair Sheleg, via Ha’aretz:

“The laxity with which the Israeli public, even certain parts of the religious public, regards the land stems from the fact that they do not understand the value of the land’s sanctity. That is why it is important to have an attachment to the Temple Mount, which is the focal point of this sanctity.” That is how Rabbi Zefania Drori, the chief rabbi of Kiryat Shmona, explains his decision last week to sign a call for people to visit the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem. Other well-known figures from the central stream of religious Zionism also joined in this call, including Rabbi Haim Druckman and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. This was a historic event in terms of the attitude of halakha (Jewish traditional law) to the Temple Mount. Since the Six-Day War, 40 years ago, the council of the chief rabbinate, supported by an overwhelming majority of the country’s rabbis, has forbidden Jews from setting foot on the mount.

The reasoning for the prohibition, from a halakhic point of view, is that it cannot be established where on the mount the Temple, and most specifically its innermost sanctum, the Holy of Holies, were situated, and these areas cannot be entered when one is ritually impure. This all-embracing prohibition was imposed on the assumption that every Jew in our time has been ritually defiled (after all, everyone has stood beside a grave at one time or another), and over the years, only a small handful of members of the Temple Mount Faithful movement have dared to violate it. The latter relied on a small number of rabbis who claimed that they could define the location of the Temple, and that anyway it was possible to set foot on the rest of the mount.

And now, after 40 years, some of the central rabbis of [missing.... ..] thinking. Drori, for his part, has reservations, but says that he agreed to sign the call “because the text is aimed only at those who are pure when they go to the mount” (that is to say, those people who observe the halakhic instructions that restrict the areas where it is possible to go on the mount and who cleanse themselves in a mikveh, the ritual bath, before ascending to the mount). In any event, it is clear that 10 or 20 years ago he would not have signed a letter of this kind either.

And if this were not enough, a group of several dozen rabbis from among those who signed the declaration actually went so far as to go to the mount on Sunday as a group. Most members of the group had actually been to the mount before, but not as a delegation of rabbis, which made some of them express the feeling that it was a historic moment.

“It is the public that has had an influence on the rabbis,” says Yehuda Etzion, a former activist of the Jewish terror underground, who was involved in a plot to blow up the Dome of the Rock more than 25 years ago. “What led to this was a prolonged educational process that the religious public underwent: children who were asked in kindergarten to draw the Temple – something which I did not do when I was a child – turned into adults who ask themselves what they do about the issue, especially those of them who became rabbis. Only after there was an awakening on this subject among the religious public did the rabbis start to deal with it, at least some of them.”

Response to a crisis

The rabbis who signed the statement speak of a prolonged process that led to their decision to join in the call to visit the mount. Drori says the reason is the laxity in the ties people feel for the land. “This is a crisis that is taking place now not only among the secular public. The decrease in the importance of Jerusalem Day also stems from this. That is why we must return to the Temple Mount – to strengthen the feeling of sanctity from which we draw [our strength].”

Rabbi Avi Gisser, the rabbi of Ofra and one of the moderate rabbis in the territories, says: “For me, it started when the big mosque was built in Solomon’s Stables and with the destruction of the important archaeological artifacts on the Temple Mount. That gave me the feeling that I could not remain apathetic to harm being done to one of the most important symbols of Jewish identity. This is in no way a political matter. The right to pray at the Temple Mount has to be given to every Jew, without any connection to regime or occupation.”

They do not attribute the timing of the call this week to a desire to exploit the government’s political weakness but rather to a combination of facts – that awareness of the issue has reached a peak, and the symbolic date of 40 years of Israeli control of the mount. “This is an attempt to introduce contemporary significance to the declaration that ‘the Temple Mount is in our hands,’” Gisser says.

Does the call to go to the mount also indicate regret and anger vis-a-vis the chief rabbinate, which for the past four decades has forbade Jews from going there? Gisser is convinced that this is so. “The rabbinate should have, from the start, found the courage and the right way to create a prayer site at the most holy place for the
Jewish people, instead of allowing successive Israeli governments to hide behind ultra-Orthodox decisions. After all, it is no coincidence that this is the only subject about which the governments were so fond of a decision by the rabbinate, even though a responsible view of halakha would have made it clear that there are areas on the mount that could serve as a prayer site for the Jewish people.”

Drori is more cautious. “I can understand the decisions of the past,” he says. “The rabbis did not believe that the masses would indeed be able to observe the necessary halakhic conditions. But in retrospect, it seems that these decisions were too all-encompassing. Today there is a broad public that understands the conditions and knows how to uphold them, and one must say more precise things.”

Do they expect that their call to Jews to ascend to the mount will change the existing conditions and agreements? Etzion is doubtful. “We must be honest: This is too little, too late. A move of this kind should have happened on the day after the Six-Day War and in a much more comprehensive and forceful way. After all, even now, they went there under the aegis of the Waqf [the Muslim religious trust that administers the mount], in effect, and according to the humiliating conditions laid down by the Waqf, including a prohibition, imposed only on Jews, on uttering even a single word of prayer. We have paid, and we shall continue to pay, a heavy price for being so tardy in our awareness.”

Drori too does not believe that visiting the mount will pave the way for Jews being able to pray there – something that is today forbidden [by the police] – but he supports visits for educational reasons. “I see people who have gone to the mount and I feel that it has changed their spiritual world. Their connection with the land, the people, the issues of sanctity and purity, start to become deeper. This is a spiritual elevation that leaves its mark on people for a long time, not merely for a few days.”

Only Gisser believes that “if the public gives vent to a widespread statement of closeness to the Temple Mount, something will have to be changed there too. After all, the humiliating situation whereby Christians can pray on the mount without restriction and only a Jew who prays there is considered to be disturbing the public peace is indeed intolerable. “

What in fact do those who go to the mount envisage – the evacuation of the mosques? The possibility they will be able to pray there? The establishment of a synagogue? Etzion, who is the most radical, says: “I have no expectations from the leadership of this country. I do not believe in democracy, but according to their democratic system, after all, they should have created equality that would have made it possible for Jews too to pray on the mount, just as Jews and Muslims both pray at the Tomb of the Patriarchs [in Hebron]. That is why my only demand is of ourselves, that we establish an alternative that changes the situation on the mount and in the country in general.”

Gisser would like a synagogue. “It does not have to be a building with a roof, but at least a permanent place for prayer and study, as an expression of the desires of thousands of years, seems to me to be a just and worthy thing.” Drori, on the other hand, would make do with the possibility of praying on the mount, even if there is no permanent setting for it. He believes that by granting an opening of this kind, violent trends toward the Temple Mount can be neutralized. “The present humiliating situation is one of the things that encourages violent urges and the desire to change it with force,” he says. “If the Jews are given legitimate channels of expression on the mount, that will restrain the violence.”

Idolaters

The rabbis’ call, and their visit to the Temple Mount, gave rise to harsh criticism in the religious world. Bluntly worded articles were published in the ultra-Orthodox press describing the rabbis who had visited the site as “idolaters” who had sold out the halakha, which opposes visiting the Temple Mount in principle, in return for the “golden calf” of the Zionists. Nati Grossman, who has a column in Yated Ne’eman that is considered the guardian of the Lithuanian ideological line, told Haaretz this week that “there is a quotation from the Steipler [Rabbi Yaakov Kanyevesky, one of the greatest Torah sages of the last generation], who said after the Six-Day War that perhaps it would have been even better if the Western Wall were not in our hands, so that people would not be tempted to visit the Temple Mount.” And Yitzhak Roth, one of the editors of Yated Ne’eman, recalled that “when Rabbi [Eliezer] Shach’s grandchildren cameto tell him with joy that Jerusalem had been liberated, he said that he was certainly happy about the liberation of the Western Wall but that he was afraid that people would want to set foot on the Temple Mount and desecrate it.”

Another ultra-Orthodox public figure said this week: “Maybe one good thing will come out of this – a sharpening of the differences between us and the religious Zionists. If there was a fear of closeness after the disengagement, now it will be understood that this is something else. They do things that in our eyes are taboo.”

But there are also important rabbis within the religious-Zionist stream who oppose setting foot on the Temple Mount. This includes those from the religious-Zionist Merkaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem, and pupils of its founder, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook. Thus, for example, Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, a disciple of the latter’s son, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, says: “In the opinion of the Rabbis Kook – both the father and the son – there is a clear distinction between our holding all of the Land of Israel and our holding the Temple Mount. We hold the entire land by virtue of a Zionist act – settlement, army, building. But the Temple Mount is a matter of divine inspiration. One need not wait for the holy spirit to descend from the heavens, but in order to visit the Temple Mount, one must be purified and there is still a long way to go – in education, in morals, in improving the family and the Sabbath and kashrut.” Rabbi Shmuel Zafrani, the secretary to Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, who is considered one of the most extreme right-wing rabbis, says: “Rabbi Eliyahu forbids visiting the Temple Mount totally, because it is impossible to know exactly where it is permitted to set foot and where it is forbidden. It is true that this is likely to strengthen the Muslim hold on the mount, but that is not an argument that holds water in the face of a divine promise of punishment.”

Gisser, who is also a graduate of Merkaz Harav, says that according to Rabbi Kook there are various interpretations, and “I am not obliged to accept the interpretation of Rabbi Aviner on matters of the Temple Mount.”