The destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities
In 1967, Jerusalem once again became a united city under Israel's
sovereignty. The Old City section fell under Israeli administration. Since then, every Israeli President and Prime Minister has
proclaimed the ever-lasting devotion of the Israeli people and government to
the holiest place, revered by Jews, Christians and Moslems.
For over 30 years Israel has in fact delegated almost all authority
over the Temple Mount to the Islamic Clerics. By doing this, Israel showed her
commitment to respect the rights of the Muslims.
Now, as incredible as it seems, the Islamic Clerics deny any
non-Moslem connection to the site. The Moslems also prevent archaeologists from
investigating the site, one of the world’s most prominent ancient treasures.
Israel has accepted its present inability to actively explore the Temple
Mount. However, It is one thing to prevent exploration, and quite another to
bulldoze through ancient structures without any archeological supervision.
In 1996 the Islamic Clerics changed the
accepted status quo that was kept for generations and converted two
ancient underground Second Temple Period structures into a new large mosque.
Both structures, known as Solomon’s stables and the Eastern Hulda Gate
passageway, were never mosques before. The new mosque extends over an area of
1.5 acres, thus being the largest mosque in Israel, able to accommodate 10,000
people.
In November 1999, the Islamic
Clerics opened what they called an “emergency exit” to the new mosque. Over 3
days and nights the exit has expanded into a gaping hole, 18,000 square feet in
size, and up to 36 feet deep. Thousands of tons of the ancient fills from the site,
subsequently found by Israeli archeologists to contain artifacts dating as
early as the First Temple Period, were dumped into the Kidron Valley.
Since the creation of the gaping
hole and up until now, without any archaeological supervision, thousands of
square-meters of the ancient surface level of the Temple Mount are dug up by
tractors, paved and announced as open mosques.
Moreover, in 1997 another
ancient underground Second Temple Period structure, known as the Western Hulda
Gate passageway, has been converted into another new mosque. Recently, in
February and March of 2001, an ancient arched structure built against the
Eastern Wall of the Temple Mount enclosure was razed by bulldozers in order to
enlarge further the “emergency gate” of the new mosque at the Stables of
Solomon.
During the last 15 months, somewhat
belatedly, public effort within Israel galvanized to demand a stop to the
modern construction and destruction on the Temple Mount. Urgent letters were
sent to the Prime Minister and ministers, warning about “a serious act of
irreparable vandalism and destruction carried out without supervision, while
abrogating the law.”
An open letter about the destruction, sent
to the Prime Minister, was signed by numerous highly-respected individuals
including former mayor Teddy Kollek and current mayor Ehud Olmert, authors Amos
Oz and Haim Gouri, and by 82 members of Israel Knesset. Indeed, it should not
be surprising that Israelis are appalled that the law requiring the
preservation of all holy places is brazenly ignored on the Temple Mount, the
most holy place to more people than any other site around the world.
Furthermore, the destruction of antiquities
on the Temple Mount goes hand in hand with the Israeli policy illegally
preventing the press from visiting the area. The claim that “security concerns” require Israeli indulgence is not only
disputed by former and current security officials, but also by the outside
world, who look upon this sacred place being demolished while Israeli
authorities indifferently stand by.
The Committee for the
Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount, founded in
January 2000, is an a-political volunteer group, made up of well-known Israeli
public figures, archaeologists, writers, lawyers, justices and members of the
Security Services.
The committee was formed in
order to preserve the antiquities on the Temple Mount irrespective of
political, national or religious affiliation.
The committee demands from the
Israeli government:
1.
To
stop the destruction on the Temple Mount
2.
To
open the Temple Mount to Israeli and international media.
3.
To
enable the Antiquities Authority to fulfill its duties and guard the
antiquities in the State of Israel.
4.
To
see that the status quo on the Temple Mount is kept and otherwise all
changes should be deeply considered and undertaken in a way that would not
destroy ancient remains.
Still, until today, (June, 2001) brutal destruction occurs along the
eastern wall of the Temple Mount enclosure. Modern construction continues to
destroy ancient structures of the Temple Mount. Tractors are continuing
construction work without any archaeological supervision, and a large stone saw
there works non-stop, cutting dozens of ancient stones into slabs used for the
new paving and construction on the Temple Mount.