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The Truth about Jerusalem's City of David - The Lies about Silwan

(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Nadav Shragai - The ancient Pilgrimage Road in the City of David is one of the most sensational archaeological discoveries to be made in Jerusalem since Israel's establishment. On this road, remarkably preserved under the ashes of the Roman destruction, many thousands of Jews in Second Temple times, after a ritual bath in the Shiloah Pool, walked about 700 meters up the hill to the Temple Mount. The site was first excavated more than a hundred years ago by French, British, and American archaeologists, at a time when the State of Israel did not exist and Jerusalem was under Muslim rule. The City of David, which is under archaeological examination, covers about 15 acres - or about 6 percent of the Arab Silwan neighborhood. The Israeli Supreme Court has rebuffed claims that the digging endangers the homes of Silwan residents and has clarified that it is done under strict engineering supervision and in line with professional standards. Hundreds of Arab residents of Silwan have been employed in the excavations under the houses of the village - so much so that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority threatened them and forced them to leave their jobs. The excavations are being done in the vicinity of the Temple Mount and not under it. That has been true of all the excavations Israel has carried out over the years in other parts of the Old City and the Temple Mount vicinity. Al-Aqsa is not in danger; what is in danger is the freedom of scientific archaeological research in this area. The writer, an Israeli journalist and expert on Jerusalem issues, is a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center.
2019-07-12 00:00:00
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