Archaeologist: Jewish Relics Endangered

AP/Newsday ^ | 2-3-2004 | Peter Enav

[blam]

Archaeologist: Jewish Relics Endangered

By PETER ENAV
Associated Press Writer

February 3, 2004, 6:43 AM EST

JERUSALEM -- An Israeli archaeologist charged that Muslim authorities are excavating a disputed holy site in Jerusalem in a way that endangers what she says may be remains of the biblical Jewish Temples.

The charges were denied Tuesday by the Islamic Trust, or Waqf, which administers the holy site. "This is about politics and nothing else because of the sensitivity of Jerusalem," said Waqf director Adnan Al-Husseini.

Israel's Antiquities Authority declined comment on the archaeologist's claims.

The sacred hilltop in the Old City of Jerusalem is known to Jews as the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism. Today, it houses the Al Aqsa Mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site. Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary.

Both Israel and the Palestinians claim the site, and the conflict has torpedoed several rounds of peace talks. The current round of Palestinian-Israeli violence erupted after Ariel Sharon, now Israel's prime minister, visited the site in September 2000.

An Israeli photographer said he secretly took pictures two weeks ago in an underground area that has been renovated by the Islamic Trust and turned into a mosque. The area is off limits to visitors. The photographer said that on the ground, next to a large red carpet, he saw two large stones with a grape leaf design.

Hebrew University archaeologist Eilat Mazar said the design was unique to the Second Temple period. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.

[blam]

Newsday articles must be excerpted

[blam]

Ping.

[2banana]

Islamic Strategy for dominating other religions.

Build mosques on top of other religion's holy shrines. That way they can never be turned back over to their rightful owners...ever...

Because, now they are Muslim Holy Shrines.

[veracious]

Just another form of thrashing the Israelis, take this
important holy site and do whatever they want. There is
no accountability for this Islamic oversight organization.
They obviously are in a position to damage things, and
probably are...

[Cicero]

Muslims have been digging under the Temple Mount and destroying archaeological objects--or sacred relics, if you prefer--for many years. Nothing new about it, I'm afraid. Barak was happy to let them do it, and Sharon is reluctant to raise the issue, especially since Muslims and their apologists blame the Intifada on his (authorized) visit to the Temple Mount some years ago.

One foundation wall is bulging and cracked, and some sources have suggested that it might be in danger of collapsing, bringing down the Dome of the Rock with it. If that happened, no doubt Muslims would blame it on the Jews, and we'd see the Intifada get even worse.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[lobo59]

What a piece of trashy biased reporting. Truth In Reporting must be put on alert. Did you notice how the article starts as "a disputed holy site" and does not mention that this is the Temple Mount. AP is so busy kissing moslem donkeys (by another name) and pandering to the followers of the false god allah that they are only another propaganda wing of the murderous moslems. Any reporting by AP must be regarded as a lie and worthless.

[MarcoPolo]

Um...I think that the Second Temple was destroyed prior to that time. If I'm not mistaken, the Second Temple was built under the supervision of Zerubbabel in the 500s and 400s B.C. It was destroyed some time later, and a Third Temple was constructed in the last century B.C. by King Herod "the Great." It was this temple which was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 under the rule of Emperor Flavius Vespasianus.

[Remole]

Technically, you are correct. But in common usage, the term "Second Temple" refers roughly to the period of time just before/ during / and after the reign of Herod as ruler of Roman Judea. You can check any book that deals with the history and/or literature of that period, e.g., Larry R. Helyer. Exploring Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period. InterVarsity Press, 2002.

[farmfriend]

Gods, Graves, Glyphs
List for articles regarding early civilizations , life of all forms, - dinosaurs - etc.

Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this ping list.

[Lurking Libertarian]

I think that the Second Temple was destroyed prior to that time. If I'm not mistaken, the Second Temple was built under the supervision of Zerubbabel in the 500s and 400s B.C. It was destroyed some time later, and a Third Temple was constructed in the last century B.C. by King Herod "the Great." It was this temple which was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70 under the rule of Emperor Flavius Vespasianus.

The Second Temple was still standing in the time of Herod, who expanded and improved it. So it was the Second Temple which was destroyed by the Romans.

[MarcoPolo]

Oh. Thanks guys! :)

To be honest that whole thing has always confused me because some sources say that there were three temples and some say only two. It's easy to get confused.

[concentric circles]

A little unvarnished background:

Arutz Sheva 2/1/04
Thousands Visit Temple Mount in Five Months
Over 10,000 Jews have ascended the Temple Mount in the past five months, since the site was reopened to non-Muslim visitors.

The site had been off-limits to non-Muslims for nearly three years due to security concerns and because it is under Arab control. The daily administration of the Temple Mount is in the hands of two Waqfs – one appointed by Jordan and one appointed by Yasser Arafat. They are at odds with each other and both are at odds with the Jews. Over the past several years, there has been a campaign by Islam to utterly destroy – erase and eradicate – any vestige of Jewish presence on the Temple Mount.

“It is an effort to re-write history,” said Assistant Director of The Temple Center Rabbi Hayim Richman in an interview published on the Israel Hasbara Committee website (www.infoisrael.net). “The official position of Islam is that there never was a Temple on the Temple Mount.” The Arabs, under the auspices of the Waqfs, have destroyed much of the archeological evidence that there was a Temple; the Arabs have even used bulldozers.

The Temple Mount is the Jews’ holiest site; the word Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Koran even once. It is mentioned over 700 times in the Jewish canon.

[SunkenCiv]

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