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A rare and important find was exposed in an enforcement operation initiated by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Unit for the Prevention of Antiquities Robbery: a document written on papyrus and dating to the time of the First Temple (seventh century BCE) in which the name of the city of Jerusalem is clearly indicated. This is the earliest extra-biblical source to mention Jerusalem in Hebrew writing. The document, which was illicitly plundered from one of the Judaean Desert caves by a band of antiquities robbers and was seized in a complex operation by the IAA’s agents, was presented at a press...

ERRIADH, TUNISIA // In 586BC the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar laid waste to Jerusalem, inadvertently sowing seeds for a Jewish haven across the sea that has outlived his realm by 25 centuries and counting. Legend tells that refugees fled to the Tunisian island of Djerba, carrying a block from the ruined Temple of Solomon. Today it lies beneath the El Ghriba synagogue, the cornerstone of a thriving Jewish community. And after decades of Jewish exodus from Arab countries, that community is growing. For western holidaymakers, Djerba is a strip of lavish resorts along a sandy Mediterranean coast. For Tunisians, it also...

Among the many jewels in this interview, Islamic extremism is a Mossad plot.

JERUSALEM -- Archaeologists have unearthed a trove of artifacts dating back to the time of the biblical King David that they say closely correspond to the description of Solomon’s Temple found in the Book of Kings. Hebrew University archaeologist Yosef Garfinkel said the find “is extraordinary” first because it marks the first time that shrines from the time of the early Israelite kings were found. In addition, two small, well-preserved models discovered in the excavations closely resemble elements described in the Bible. The multiyear excavations took place at Khirbet Qeiyafa, a fortified city about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem, adjacent...

Leafing through a popular Palestinian tourist guidebook, Palestine: A Guide, by Mariam Shahin, I came across the following sentence concerning the Temple Mount compound (in Arabic, al-haram al-sharif, the noble sanctuary) on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem's Old City: "It is this whole area that fanatic Israelis want to destroy in order to 'rebuild' a temple, which they claim once stood there." Of course, there are a handful of Israeli "fanatics" who would like to destroy the compound's two Muslim mosques—the Dome of the Rock and al-Aksa—and rebuild the Jewish Temple on the site. The overwhelming majority of Israelis reject them...

Why is there no need for a Jewish Temple to replace the Muslim Dome-of-the-Rock? Well, first of all, the Dome is very pretty, and would make a nice Church some day. But secondly, the idea that a Jewish Temple must one day (soon) stand in the place of the Muslim Dome of the Rock is a pure superstition. It is founded upon a tradition of the Jews—infused with some imagination—and not upon any command of God’s Word. With all of the talk and Bible study concerning the Jewish Temple Mount, you would expect the Bible to have much to say...

Islamic Shrek "shrine" [EuroNews, what Islamization has gotten over you?] Dear EuroNews, Hello! Regarding your report on 23 February 2007: http://euronews.net/create_html.php?page=detail_info&article=405686&lng=1 Police and Palestinians clash at Islamic shrine in Jerusalem What an outrageous approach & language? What on earth has anti-israel fascism & gross lies gotten in to you? Even if you would like to appear as a radical Arabist, at least don't change historic facts. At first I thought it was a satire, "Islamic shrine" is What? the Jewish temple? Even in usual anti-Israel standards, this is pretty pathetic. Really scary, in fact. So you want to buy Islamic-Jihad...

JERUSALEM -- Israeli archaeologists, screening tons of rubble scooped out of this ancient city's sacred Temple Mount, have discovered hundreds of artifacts and coins, as well as jewelry, some with biblical links dating back more than three millennia. Most of the stones and earth originally were taken to an organic garbage dump in nearby Bethany, the New Testament town known in Arabic as Al-Azariya, and could not be retrieved. But a substantial portion was diverted to the Valley of Kidron, mentioned in the Old Testament and located just outside the Old City's massive walls. This ambitious archaeological project, known as...