CPDATM – The Committee for the Prevention of the
Destruction of Antiquities on the TempleMount
IAA- Israeli Antiquities Association
PM – Prime Minster
Waqf – Moslem trust on the TempleMount
AG – Attorney General
10/08/09 The Official
CPDATM Website is Now Online
The CPDATM has established an
official website. For updated information regarding archaeological destruction
on the TempleMount see the new website at http://www.templemountdestruction.com/
Last Thursday, I gave a lecture and published an article in the annual New
Studies on Jerusalem conference of IngeborgRennertCenter
for Jerusalem Studies in Bar-IlanUniversity. See
abstract of the article.
1/11/07Archaeological Remains dated to the First Tempe Period have been
Discovered during the IAA Inspection
Very surprisingly, and contrary to
IAA policy so far, the IAA reported in a press release that a sealed occupation
level has been discovered on the Temple Mount dating to the First Temple period
in the course of the inspection that the IAA is conducting on the Waqf's trench
work.
So far, the IAA has refrained from admitting in public that it is indeed
performing archaeological inspection work at the site, since there was an
agreement with the Waqf that the Israeli inspection is not to be disclosed in
public.In this case, not only is there
an official press release admitting the existence of such inspection, but the
press release also describes an archaeological dig at the site performed by an
official body of the State of Israel.The press release was sent to the political affairs reporters of all
news outlets and not to the science reporters, as is usually done.It appears that the disclosure in this case
is motivated by primarily political considerations and is not the IAA's own
initiative.Rather, it appears that a
directive from the Prime Minister's Office is responsible for the press
release.In these very days, negotiations
with the Palestinians are taking place and the future of the TempleMount
is one of the main issues being negotiated.
As far as the release itself is
concerned, the artifacts that were discovered are very common finds in the
Sifting Project of Temple Mount dirt that is ongoing for three years now.The uniqueness of the find is that it is a
"clean" assemblage that is entirely from one specific period and was
taken out directly from the TempleMount.The IAA press release defined this to be a
sealed occupational level.The problem
is that in order to identify an occupational level we need complete vessels in
the assemblage as well as floor and walls to which the assemblage relates.According to the publicized photographs, only
tiny pottery shards smaller than the palm of the hand were discovered, and no
floor was reported to have been discovered.Even if there was a floor, it could only have been identified using a
true archaeological dig, whereas this dig appears to have been done in haste,
and apparently without measurements and record-keeping as is the norm in any
archaeological dig.Also, according to
one of the photographs, the dig may have been conducted at night.
The assemblage was discovered in the southern part of
the eastern flank of the trench, about 80 meters south of the
eastern stairs of the raised platform of the Dome of the Rock.According to Yuval Baruch, the Jerusalem
District archaeologist who dug the assemblage, this was a one meter long
stretch in the trench.In our survey of
the trench dig, we identified a clear terra rosa
stratum at this point in the trench's cross-section.Terra rosa earth is generally associated in Jerusalem with strata the predates the FirstTemple
destruction or just natural earth with no archaeological material in it.It is possible that this stratum represents
the Herodian fills that were brought from outside the city. These fills were
apparently disturbed by a cluster of earth of an Iron Age stratum that was
displaced from its original location on the Temple Mount as a result of Herod's
work on the Temple Mount.
20/9/08Supreme court tends to reject CPDATM petition
This morning, the supreme court dealt with a plea of
the CPDATM. Based on the judges who had been selected to deal with the
issue (Ayala Purcacha, Asher Gronis and Edna Arbel) there seemed to be a slight
chance for the plea's acceptance. Surprisingly, at the opening of the
discussion, it seemed that Judge Procaccia was sympathetic toward the
presentation of the committee, however, the State's attorneys managed to upset
the entire case by focusing the issue on the question of whether or not there
was archeological inspection while the trench-digging took place instead of
dealing with the question of why the digging was permitted without first
carrying out preliminary preventative, salvage excavation. Archeological
inspection is required where there is a question as to whether or not a site
contains antiquities, whereas in known archeological sites, salvage excavations
are carried out before allowing earth-moving or construction work. The
impression created in the court was that archeological inspection can be put on
a par with an actual dig during which scientific records are made of the
exposed antiquities and remnants found. Our situation here can be
compared to open heart surgery being carried out with an axe, while a
professional surgeon looks on.
Behind closed doors, the state
presented evidence testifying to the fact that the earth-works were carried out
under archeological inspection. The committee and its lawyers could not respond
to testimony given behind closed doors and therefore the judges announced their
acceptance of the state's evidence that there had indeed been close
inspection. To finalize the matter, it was requested that the committee
present within 21 days an expert archeological opinion as to the criteria
according to which there should have been archeological inspection on The Mount
and following that a judgment will be given.
It must be
pointed out that, should the court accept the position of the government,
agreeing that archeological inspection is adequate and there is no need for a
salvage excavation, this will be a dangerous precedent. Any
contractor who wishes to build on a known archeological site where the
Antiquities Authority demands that he first finance and carry out a salvage
excavation, will be able to say that archeological inspection was deemed to be
adequate on the Temple Mount, all the more so at any other location in the
country.
30/8/07Architectural
Elements and Stratified Layers Were Seen in Several Spots in Trench
Cross-Sections
The trench had reached a length of about 400m, and extends all the way to
the Al-Aqsa mosque. Stratified layers, bedrock, wall remnants and a pavement were
observed in the trench cross-sections. Most interesting was a 7m long remnant of
a wall collapse that was seen in the trench cross-section south to the eastern
stairs of the raised platform. More details and a field report will be
published soon.
18/7/07Hershel Shanks, editor of
Biblical Archaeology Review, has published a very good article in the Wall Street Journal about the
recent destruction
11/7/07A Trench was dug with a tractor on Dome of the Rock raised platform
On Sunday (8/7/07) Waqf official used a JCB tractor to dig a trench on the
Dome of the Rock raised platform, in order to install new electricity lines.
The trench depth varies from 40 – 60 cm deep! Grey earth was removed from the
dig, which indicates it is archaeologically significant. In addition, signs of
ancient architecture was exposed beneath the current platform slabs!! It should
be mentioned that the bedrock level at this location is very close to the
current platform.
It is not clear who authorized such
a dig, but we do know it was authorized by Israeli officials. Even if there was
archaeological supervision, by any circumstances it doesn't justify such a dig
with heavy machinery at this location.
12/05/06 Summary of the past year’s
events
The Project of Sifting the Debris from the TempleMount
The project continues, and apparently will carry on for quite a long time,
thanks to Ir-David Foundation of
taking the project under its wing. The second season began on September 2005
and, based on successful experience gained during the first season, the project
orientation will be educational.Hundreds of groups from various institutions have already participated
in the project.Information regarding
participation in the project can be obtained by calling 972-2-6280342.
One of the surprising finds of the
first season’s work was a section froma marble pillar shaft (in the lower left picture).As already mentioned, Waqf workers sorted out
and removed the large architectural items from the earth heaps before they were
dumped outside.Finding such an item was
a totally surprise to the projects’ staff.Even more interesting is the fact that, among
a collection of pillar remnants assembled near the southern wall of the Temple
Mount, there are two similar segments of the same diameter and texture as the
one found in the sifting project (in the lower right picture).From this we can surmise that additional
marble pillars were also found in the large excavation carried out at the
entrance to “Solomon’s Stables” or from some other unknown
illicit excavation on the mount. These items are not typical contents of early
land-fill and therefore it is possible that they were dismantled from
architectural remnants that were destroyed by the illicit dig on Nov. 99.
As to the pillars, it may be
suggested that they are from buildings that were on the TempleMount
during the Late Roman or Byzantine period.It is possible that they were in secondary use during later periods.
The Corner of the Ophel
The struggle of the CPDATM for the prevention of destruction of Temple-Mount
antiquities is continuing with its efforts to halt the expansion of the Moslem
cemetery located to the east of the Eastern wall, near the south eastern corner
of the Temple-Mount from extending into the Ophel corner.The committee has applied several appeals to
the Supreme Court but received only limited success because the police have not
implemented the instructions of the court.More information on this subject can be found in a collection of articles that have
appeared in the press.
Repairs to the Walls
The replacement work of the stones that were bulging out from the southern
and eastern walls has been completed.The new stones have a completely modern texture and are an esthetic
blemish to the structure of the walls of the TempleMount.
Work in “Solomon’s Stables”
In tandem with the repairs to the walls, reinforcements were made to the
structure of “Solomon’s Stables”.These works included the erecting of
scaffolding and drilling in ancient architectural remnants without any
archeological inspection.
Tractors on the Mountain
Occasional evidence of continued earthworks continues to show up in the
reports of tractors working on the Temple-Mount without any archeological
inspection.About three tractors of
different functions and sizes are permanently situated on the Mount.The CPDATM has long demanded their removal from
the compound so long as there is no archeological and professional inspection
over their work.Recently a medium-sized
tractor was photographed as it worked in the structure of
Solomon’s Stables”.
06/09/04: Court bars removal of TempleMount artifacts
22/8/04: The plan to remove tons of debris
is now frozen
Due to the public exposure of the plan to remove tons of debris from the TempleMount,
the Israeli authorities have frozen the permit given to the Waqf.
16/8/04: Tons of debris will be removed
from the Mount in coming days, for further construction
The Waqf plans to remove tones of debris out of the Mount in the coming
days. The plan iscoordinatedwith the police and the IAA, which will supervise the
debris once it is taken out of the Mount. This debris is lying at the eastern
area of the Mount for more than four years, since the illegal dig on November
1999. It is most probable that the debris contains many significant
archaeological artifacts that should be examined and preserved.
The purpose of this planed work is to make room for further construction at
the Eastern section of the Mount.
17/6/04: New diggings of a channel north
to the Dome of the Rock ramp
Yesterday a new channel was dug near the Dome of the Rock ramp, to its
north. The channel is about 30m long and 50cm deep. The purpose of the dig was
for installing a new electric wire. I’ve gone through the dirt taken out
from this dig, and saw many sherds, that had fresh broken facets. This means
that large peaces of pottery were broken during this dig. I did not notice any
archaeologist supervising the workers.
22/03/04: Updates of the ongoing illegal construction
In new pictures we have taken on the Mount it can be seen that more illegal
unsupervised construction is taking place on the Mount everyday. The main
construction these days is at the structure known as ‘Al-Aqsa
Library’, near the Iron Gate at the
Western wall. In addition, an old bulge in the Eastern wall has extended
outwards from the wall line as is now in an immediate collapse situation.
16/2/04: New debris has been evacuated from
the Mount, More digging
According to pictures recently taken by the Tenu'ah
LeChinun HaMikdash organization, it seems like work in the Islam museum
included a dig or an evacuation of ancient debris. The debris was taken out
from the mount by a truck. The pictures also show some maintenance digging that
was done with no archaeological inspection. See
pictures.
16/204: The police is using the Gate of the Chain for Non-Muslim visitors for
entering the Mount
Although some officers in the police seek for excuses to close the TempleMount,
it seems like there are directions from the government to keep the Mount open
at any case. Meanwhile, the latest Rambam Gate entrance collapse is being used
by extreme Islamic groups to escalate the struggle with the state of Israel. There
is no connection between the collapse and the latest constructions in the TempleMount.
It is a structure that is exterior to the Mount walls.
15/2/04: Collapse of a retaining wall of
the Rambam entrance to the Mount
Due to the snow over Jerusalem last night, a retaining wall of the Rambam
(Mugrabi) Gate to the Temple Mountcollapsed over the woman’s section of the western wall praying
court. Due to the danger of further collapses the police moved the
woman’s section further north. But instead of finding a solution for the TempleMount
visitors, they decided to completely close the TempleMount
for visitors until the entrance will be renovated. For some reason they forgot
that the TempleMount has many more entrances except the
Rambam gate.
10/2/04: More
unsupervised renovations in several ancient structure on Temple Mount
The wall near the IslamMuseum that collapsed
several months ago has been reconstructed again. Near by, there is some unclear
paving constructed with no clear destination.
The northern section of the IslamMuseum is going through a
comprehensive renovation that will change the interior of the structure
completely. All the exhibits were taken out.
The progress of the reconstruction work of the southern wall is very slow,
although many construction blocks that were seen near the Solomon’s stables
entrance are missing, and were probably used for other purposes than the
reconstruction of the Southern Wall.
In a structure near the Iron Gate of the
western wall, named “Al-Aqsa Library” is also being renovated from
inside, and it seems like debris was taken out of it.
New pictures will be published soon on the website.
10/12/03: New
unsupervised construction near the Dome of the Rock ramp
On an occasional visit today, we surprisingly noticed that a JCB tractor was
digging a channel near the western entrance to the Dome of the Rock ramp. The
purpose of the dig was to exchange a sewage channel. We asked the police to
stop the work, because it is illegal to do so with out archaeological
inspection. They said that they are supervising it, and one of the policemen
claimed that he is an archaeologist. After asking him a few questions I
realized he was lying and knows nothing about archaeology.
25/09/03: A wall of a structure near the
Islam museum in the TempleMount compound has
collapsed
From new pictures from the Temple Mount it
seems that the scale of the destruction in the recent years is larger that we
thought. Many piles of ancient stones were seen, and it seems like many
architectural remains were dismantled. The major Waqf construction these days
is replacing a paving near the Islamic museum, which is authorized by the
police. Unauthorized construction attempts that involve ancient structures were
prevented by the police inspection on the Mount. It seems like the new police
Minister, Zachi Hanegbi, really made a change in the police attitude.
12/8/03: New pictures
taken by Yair Shalev from a visit 3 weeks show that many piles of rubble still
exist on the Mount. See
Shalev’s website.
9/7/03: An IAA committeeof experts has reached the conclusion that the
“Johash tablet” is a forgery.
1/6/03: There are evidence
of new construction materials and heavy machinery that entered the mount
Some new construction materials and heavy machinery were recently
seen entering the Mount. It seems that it has nothing to do with the renovation
at the southern wall. A new construction location (mainly paving) is seen near
the IslamMuseum.
24-3-03: The Jordanian delegation
has begun renovating the southern wall
This work mainly consists of replacing the stones at the
area of the bulge. There is a fear that the Waqf will take advantage of the
permits given to the Jordanian delegation, in order to smuggle in other construction
materials for illegal construction.
13-11-02 Researchers
hail dramatic FirstTempleperiod finding. See Article from Haaretz.
11-11-02: The Jordanian
delegation: The Southern wall should be rebuilt
Haaretz correspondent, Nadav Shragai, has revealed this
morning that the Jordanian engineers delegation has concluded that the upper
section of the Southern Wall (The medieval courses – not the Herodian
section) should be rebuild with modern construction techniques. In spite of
that, they concluded that the wall is in no danger of collapse. The conclusion
report was kept confidential, and for this reason it was not published in the
media till now.
11-11-02:Ramadan Begins – Probability of Southern Wall
collapse increases
Last Friday, 150,000 Muslims worshipers accented the mount
for first Ramadan’s Friday prayers. The police hasn’t put any
restrictions or limitations on the entrance of the worshipers, in spite of the
danger of Southern Wall collapse. From conversations I had with some Muslim who
participated the Friday’s prayers, the new ‘Marwani’ mosque
in Solomon’s Stables was crowded with worshipers. They mentioned that no
one fears from the collapse, because it is a great privilege to die in such a
location, and in such circumstances.
13-10-02: A new bulge in the Western Wall
According to Jerusalem Post correspondent, E. Lefkovitz, a
side section of the mount's western wall that shows signs of dampness has begun
to protrude as well, and a 10m wide bulge has appeared just right to the Rambam
(Mugrabi) Gate (Near the wailing wall). See
Article.
13-10-02: Jordanian
engineers began surveying the southern wall
Jordanian engineers last week drilled into
the bulge in the southern wall of TempleMount to take a sample for inspection
after an informal agreement was reached between Israel and the Waqf, to let the
Jordanians do the work. A sample from the drill will be handed to the IAA.
28-08-02: Following a CPDATM public letter to the PM, the issue
of the Southern Wall bulge has reached the Government and media agenda
Earlier this week the CPDATM has sent an urgent letter to
the PM requesting him to allow the appropriate authorities to take care of the
on growing bulge in the TempleMount southern wall.
Neglecting such action may risk the lives of thousands of Muslim worshipers
that attend the place every Friday morning. Surprisingly, the IAA has joined
this call and criticized the government of preventing them from entering the
mount and surveying the wall. The IAA, which is a governmental institution
rarely protests against the Government.
The government has
tried to negotiate with the Waqf authorities, but it abject any involvement of
Israeli municipalities in issues regarding the TempleMount.The PM is afraid to enforce any the Israeli
sovereignty on the Mount, and the issue is neglected, and may result in a
disaster, that will eventually put the blame on the State of Israel. Since the
bulge is getting bigger every day and the a collapse of the wall may occur
every day, the PM has got to a crucial point where he has to make a choice
regarding the Israeli sovereignty of the Mount. See Jpost editorial article.
25-08-02: A massive Muslim youth incitement demonstration on the
Mount – Waqf raise funds for work resume
On the last Saturday the Israeli Muslem movement has
arranged a massive youth gathering on the Mount for an event, that was defined
as the Koran quiz. The massive gathering turned into a brutal incitement
demonstration, in which the Muslim Sheikhs were heard screaming through the
speakers demanding to expel all Jews from Israel. Many small kids were seen
wearing homicide terrorist costumes. The main objective of this event was to
raise funds for continuing the Waqf construction in the Mount. It is most
likely that in the near days we’ll be getting reports about the Waqf
resuming the work on the mount that was recessed in the last months.
26-04-02: The TempleMount is still closed to
non-Muslims
For the last 20 months the Government of Israel is
preventing non-Muslims to visit the TempleMount. Since then, no
archaeologists were allowed to visit the mount, in order to examine any further
destruction. This is due to the Waqf demand that no religious Jews or Israeli
politicians will be allowed to ascent the Mount. This demand came after opposition
leader, Ariel Sharon (Today’s PM), has ascended to Mount against the Waqf’s
will. According to Israeli law, only the to Muslim structures (Dome of the Rock
and Al-Aqsa) on the Mount are considered holy shrines, in which the Waqf has
the control. The rest of the Mount is a public area. Lately, the Muslim have
begun to refer to the whole area as Al-Aqsa Mosque. Unfortunately, since then,
the government of Israel has
decided to totally give up the enforcement of the Israeli laws on the TempleMount,
in order not to have any conflicts with the Jerusalem Muslim population. In
other words, IN ISRAEL VIOLENCE PAYS OFF, and this is the main reason
why our country suffers, so much, from Terrorism.
08-02-02: Another truck seen entering the TempleMount
Yesterday, another truck was seen entering the TempleMount.
In the last two months more than 10 trucks were counted entering the TempleMount.
The CPDATM has information that cement was recently smuggled into the Mount.
14-01-02: Hundreds encircle the mount in renewing an old
tradition
Hundreds of Jews encircled the Mount last night in renewing an
old medieval tradition of citing psalms songs at the gates of the TempleMount.
The event was a protest against the ban of Jews from entering the mount and
against the daily antiquities destruction. This custom began to take place
three months ago, in every first day on the Hebrew month. Last month more than
1500 people participated in the event!!!
14-01-02: A Bulldozer was seen working near
“Solomon’s Stables”
Yesterday a Bulldozer was seen working near the new
‘monumental entrance’ north to the ‘Solomon’s
Stables’ substructure. This event is a sharp contraction to the Police
announcements that no more construction, not to speak about heavy machinery,
will be allowed to take place on the Mount.
10-01-02: Police commander summoned to minister for clarifications
Police Minister, Uzi Landau, summoned the Police commander
of the Old city of Jerusalem,
for clarification regarding his reports on the Waqf construction on the Mount.
This is due to the major discrepancies between his reports and the CPDATM claims.
See 05-08-01 update.
01-01-02: Police Minister, Uzi Landau, directed police to
dismantle the new paving north to the Dome of the Rock ramp.
Jerusalem
police forced the Waqf authorities to dismantle the new paving near the Dome of
the Rock Ramp. This is a precedent action in the Israeli government – Waqf
relations in which the Israeli authorities manage to reverse actions done by
the Waqf authorities.
12-01-02: Last month the
CPDATM has sent a detailed
letter to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in which he is accused of
neglecting the most important site in the history of Israel. The letter is signed by
some prominent Israeli public figures.
27-12-01: New pictures prove police claims to be false
06-09-01:
The Police have stopped a Waqf attempt to
construct some more scaffolding outside the southern wall.
The Waqf tried to install scaffolding outside the
walls at the foot of the southern wall. The police stopped the Waqf after two hours
of work. It has been told that the IAA gave them permission to treat this wall.
It is obvious that the primitive activity of cementing the swollen wall imply
on the unserious attitude of the Israeli government allowing the Waqf to take
care of such a serious engineering problem. Prime minister Sharon forgets that
whenever this massive wall will fall on people’s head he will be the only
one to be blamed. See Pictures.
In the
last week new construction took place in an ancient cistern (W2/G30), which is
located in the northeastern part of the Dome of the rock platform. Above the
entrance of this cistern some metal scaffolding was constructed in which an
engine and a cable are attached to it. The Waqf is probably using this
equipment to elevate buckets and other construction materials to the cistern.
This is large cistern cut in the bedrock and measure 20m in length, 12m in
width, and 14m deep. It is reported to be partly full of water. We have no idea
what the Waqf is constructing inside the cistern, but it may be related to the
recent underground work done in the Golden Gate.
The police is not denying the existence of this construction. See pictures. See also Aruz7 report.
28-08-01:Construction renewed on/in the TempleMount
In the
last two weeks many new paving stones where entered to the mount. New Pictures
will be published soon.
05-08-01:The
chief of the Jerusalem Old City police station, Nisan Shaham, is concealing
information about what is happening on the TempleMount
The website
editor has been told that the substantial discrepancies between the information
reaching the archeological committee, and the claims of the police, result from
the policy of OldCity police chief, Nisan
Shaham. Shaham was recently appointed to his current position after serving for
some considerable time as the police officer responsible for the TempleMount.
Shaham's policy is to maintain peace on the Temple Mount as far as possible,
even if this involves failing to enforce the law. In other words, peace is more
important to him than the law. For this reason he does not supply his superiors
with all the information in his possession regarding what is happening on the
Mount. He also provides a distorted interpretation of the archeological damage
caused by the work and completely ignores violations of the municipal planning
and building laws. This also explains why Shaham is frequently to be seen
hugging and kissing the Waqf personnel when he enters the TempleMount
area.
05-08-01:The southern wall of the TempleMount
is in danger of collapse.
As a result
of the work in Solomon's Stables, work performed not only in the absence of
archeological inspection, but also without any inspection by or authorization
from the building and inspection branch of the JerusalemMunicipality,
a convex protuberance has appeared in the southern wall. This protuberance has
become more serious recently and presents a danger of collapse. The building
engineers employed by the Moslem Waqf are attempting to find solutions and have
commenced work aimed at preventing the collapse of the wall in the future.
29-07-01 (9th
of Av): Construction and Destruction continues inside the mount
In contrast to the directions given by Interior security
Minister, volunteer workers of the Islamic movement continue to arrive to the TempleMount
every Saturday. The last Saturday 60 workers were doing construction work in
the underground chambers of the Golden gate. The police keeps out of that area
and has no idea of the amount of destruction there.
22-07-01: Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) introduces the TempleMount Preservation Act
It is a Legislation that would stop American taxpayer sponsorship of the
erosion of Judeo-Christian heritage in Jerusalem.
Click here for more details.
13-07-01: Internal Security Minister directed the
police not to permit any kind of construction on the Mount
Member
of the CPDATM met on Friday morning with internal security minister Uzi Landau.
They showed him new aerial pictures in which tractors are seen in work. Landau
told them he gave directions to stop any kind of construction on the Mount.
Lets just hope these directions will really take place.
06-07-01: The
CPDATM has published new
pictures proofing destruction continuing in the last months.
In
contrast to the claims of the Prime Minister office and the police, which say
that in the last two month there is no construction on the TempleMount,
the CPDATM pictures proof otherwise. The pictures show a huge stone saw that in
the last months has being constantly working and destroying ancient stones. IAA
Jerusalem district archaeologist J. Seligman said to the Jerusalem Post that "These
are not stones from the Byzantine period, but stones that have been lying
around”. This response puts in question the policy of the IAA to the
whole issue. Not only the CPDATM is doing the IAA work in monitoring the
construction and altering the Government and the public, but the IAA has
constantly been minimizing the claims of the CPDATM. This is done while the IAA
has no archaeological inspection on the TempleMount.
How can Seligman know from which period are these stones are? What kind of
claim is it that says these are just stones that are lying around. All stones
on the Mount have a very long history.
05-07-01: Waqf has begun "cleaning" ancient
cisterns
The
newspaper of the Islamic movement reported that the Waqf has begun a new
project of "cleaning" the ancient cisterns on the Mount. The Palestine Exploration Fund
in the 19th century surveyed these cisterns and various scholars dated many of
them to the SecondTemple period. Some of
them are thought to be rituals baths or water reservations. These cisterns
contain ancient debris that has accumulated in them. If this debris will be
removed without archaeological inspection we will never be able to date these
cisterns in the future.
01-07-01: In The last two month the
construction on the mount has been done on a small scale. This is due to heavy
pressure and restrictions that the Government of Israel has put on the Waqf
authorities.
14-06-01: A large stone saw is cutting ancient stones
Tractors
are continuing construction work without any archaeological inspection, 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 TempleMount.
This probably indicates a new policy of the Waqf’s authority as a
responds to the fact the police prevents the entrance of construction materials
to the Mount. See pictures.
08-05-01: Listen to CJAM
91.5 FM on Thursday morning
On Thursday CJAM (Windsor,
Ont. Canada) radio station
will have a special show at 8AM-9AM regarding the TempleMount
and the Archaeological destruction. For those of you that are not in Windsor or Detroit
area it can be heard via the net at http://www.uwindsor.ca/cjam/live.ram
27-04-01: Israel cancels UNESCO tour to the TempleMount
According to New York Post correspondent pirates are
brazenly digging up Jewish artifacts from the holy TempleMount
site and trying to sell them on the black market for as much as $1 million.
Among them are two ostrakons (pottery shards with ink inscriptions) that date
from around 700 B.C.E. One of them mentions the name "Jerusalem," and refers to a struggle
over it. The other mentions Ein Rogel, a small hill within the city limits
where the Jewish kings of Judea were crowned.
Read more about this in Uri
Dan’s article.
17-04-01: The Author of
this website is being put on trial following a political vendetta by the
Antiquities Authority
The Trial will begin this Sunday (22/4/01) in which I am
charged in damaging an archaeological site. These charges come after an
investigation done by the IAA, in which many different means where used in
order to bring me to court. It began immediately after an annual conference of
the IngeborgRennertCenter for Jerusalem Studies
at Bar-IlanUniversity,
in which I first published an account of the archaeological destruction on the TempleMount
(see The Story behind the
survey). Following this, my flat was raided and searched by the IAA theft
unit, and I was taken to the police station for inquiry. I was charged with
illegally collecting archaeological artifacts from archaeological sites (The
Kidron Valley and a cave near Beit Shemesh).
Because of public
criticism they dropped the charge regarding my activity for rescuing the TempleMount
antiquities and left the charge regarding my actions in the cave. This is a
rare case, in which a person that is not an antiquities thief; did not cause
any archaeological damage; did not take any valuable archaeological artifacts,
and did not find anything special, is being brought to court on the charge of
antiquities theft. All this is done, while the only man who may have violated
the law, is listed as a prosecution witness. In Israel real antiquities theft is
taking place on a large scale, but because of the lack of adequate resources,
the IAA cannot handle this phenomenon adequately. It appears that in my case
the IAA has suddenly found the necessary resources in order to bring me to
court. Every thing that was done in this investigation was out of all
proportion. The fact that I took a few small sherds which are of no intrinsic
value does not make me an antiquities thief. In addition to this, the IAA theft
unit has spread rumors about me being a known antiquities thief for several
years. THIS IS AN OUTRIGHT LIE. This was done in order to get moral support
from their colleagues in the IAA offices.
The only thing left to say is that the ordinary citizen
should reach the conclusion that every action done to expose the real truth
regarding the TempleMount, will be followed
by action of the state authorities against him.
03-04-01: The supreme court rejected today the CPDATM
petition by suggesting that it should be pulled back, because of the fact
that the names of Ariel Sharon and Uzi Landau appear in the list of the
petitioners. But these names only appear a year ago in a letter sent to the
former PM, while the current petition to the court was applied after Sharon was elected to
prime minister. Dr. Mazar has criticized the court piercingly by accusing them
of evading their major responsibility, which is to take care the government is
maintaining the law, and not leaving the enforcement of the law to the
political agenda of the government.
08-03-01:
THE CPDATM petitioned to the supreme court against the Temple Mount
Archaeological Destruction (see 28-02-01).
06-03-01:
The Police has admitted that severe archaeological damage was recently done by
the Waqf authority.
02-03-01:
PM Barak and IAA awaken
Following
an urgent letter from the director of the Antiquities Authority to the prime minister
the Police was ordered to tell the Waqf to stop the destruction on the TempleMount.
Officials in the PM office accused the Police of not reporting the PM on time
about whole picture of the ongoing archaeological destruction on the Mount.
28-02-01:
The CPDATM is preparing a comprehensive petition to the Supreme Court. This
petition will be against the Prime Minister, Interior Minister, Justice
Minster, Attorney General, Minister of Jerusalem Affairs, Israeli Police Chief
of Staff, Israeli Police, Muslim Waqf, Israeli Antiquities Authority and JerusalemMunicipality. All of these institutions
are charged of not doing enough to prevent the Archaeological Destruction.
In
the last weeks every Saturdays hundreds of volunteers of the Islamic Movement
arrive to the TempleMount in order to help
with the Waqf construction. In the last week the most eastern vault that
survived the digging in November 99 was removed or seriously damaged (See the
first picture in the MKs Tour).
02-02-01:
Court orders review of
Temple Mount excavations (Jpost)
31-01-01: The Waqf has
prepared an additional large area for pavement:The CPDATM has wrote
a letter to Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, in which they call to immediately halt
the construction that is done on the TempleMount. This is due to a
new aerial photo (updated to the 30-01-01) that shows a new area of
approximately 1000sqr that has been prepared for pavement. This is done without
no archaeological inspection, and enormously exceeds the previous authorization
of the PM, which allows them to pave an area up to 200sqr. The letter is signed
by the following members: Teddi Kolek – former mayor of Jerusalem, Amos OZ
– famous writer, Moshe Landau – former supreme court president,
Meir Shamgar – former supreme court president.
31-01-01:
It appears that the video that was shown on IBA news was taken by Yusif Sa'id an-Natsheh, which is an archaeologist
hired by the Waqf.
28-01-01:
'Antiquities Now' Demonstration: There
is a new 'watchdog' organization named 'Antiquities Now'. They are planning a
demonstration against the pillage in the TempleMounton Tuesday morning. For more information
check out http://www.antiquitiesnow.com
28-01-01:
A unique video of Old-Al-Aqsa
IBA
TV news has broadcast a unique video taken from within the TempleMount.
This video can be seen at: pnm://media3.netvision.net.il/reshet/yomantv.rm
(it starts at minute 34:00. RealAudio player (www.real.com)
is necessary to view it).This video was
taken on the 24th on this month. It has a high historical value,
because it is the first time video pictures document the area of the
Old-Al-Aqsa mosque, and the Double Gates passageways that are dated to the SecondTemple
era. This area has been turned into a new mosque in the recent years. The
entrance to this place with a video camera was probably coordinated with the Waqf
authorities, because it is improbable that one will discretely do it, while the
mosques are guarded by Waqf men. This video takes us to a water cistern that
was never documented before. It is the cistern the CPDATM has claimed to be the
location where the tunnel is being dug.From the pictures of this video the cistern looks very amorphous in its
form, and has many holes, and small chambers. It is impossible to know from
these pictures, if there is a digging of a new tunnel. Unfortunately the news
commentator tried to use this video as proof that the CPDATM is spreading lies
and there is no new construction on the TempleMount.
The last two days the Israeli
media was trying to find out the truth about the information of the new tunnel
in the TempleMount. The police is insisting there is
no such thing. In order to prove their claims they have invited prof. Amos
Kloner from the CPDATM and famous author Haim Guri to go check out for
themselves. After exiting the new underground mosque in Old-Al-Aqsa, they said
they haven’t seen a new tunnel. Prof. Kloner said this doesn’t mean
there is no such thing. The CPDATM still insists that there is a tunnel. We
have 3 witnesses who saw it last week and some more proofs that cannot be
revealed at this stage. Even Dani Zakan, Israeli National Radio reporter, has
managed, somehow, to visit this area last week, and saw the tunnel with his own
eyes. He saw its entrance in an old cistern, and noticed a cable with light
bulbs installed inside the tunnel. It appears that the Police is naïve (or
choose to be naïve) about this issue. The police is refusing to acknowledge
that they are dealing with a “cuning” Muslim authority on the
Mount, which should never be trusted by its word. The police has never done a
real inspection on the mount, because it was always coordinated with the Waqf.
We presume the Waqf is currently hiding the entrance to this tunnel.
23-01-01: See Haaretz reports for more
details about the controversy of the recent events on the TempleMount.
22-01-01: The
Archaeological Destruction reach new peaks
NEW DIG AROUND THE DOME OF THE
ROCK: Last Sunday, a tractor dug a new trench. Its length is about 35m and
its depth about 60cm. This digging was done on the Dome of the Rock ramp, and
may have damaged an ancient floor. The level of the bedrock in this area is
very close to the current floor level. We have no idea what was destroyed as a
result of this digging, because there are no inspections on the TempleMount
by any authority. The purpose of this dig was to install a new pipe system. The
last time such a dig was conducted in this area was in 1976. In that dig an
ancient massive wall was revealed. Some scholars identified it as a remain of
one the walls of the SecondTemple.
(A picture taken by the Police of the recent construction on
the Dome of the Rock ramp)
A NEW UNDERGROUND TUNNEL IS
DUG: The CPDATM has got some 'founded proof' about a new tunnel between
Solomon's Stables and the ruins of the ancient Al Aqsa Mosque the Waqf has
recently dug. The entrance to this tunnel was seen in an ancient cistern, which
is tangent to the southern wall of the Mount and to the eastern wall of the
double gate passage. In this area the pilgrims used to accent the Mount through
the Hulda Gates in the SecondTemple era. Many remains
from the SecondTemple era still exists there, we do not
know what was destroyed by the recent construction in the underground chambers
nor what will be destroyed by the construction of this new tunnel. The police
are denying this information, but the police have proven to be unreliable since
the beginning of the Waqf construction on the Mount. The Police have no access
to the underground constructions, so there is no way to confirm the
information.
11-01-01: Israeli national TV news reporter, Bennie Liss, has
managed to secret a hidden camera inside the TempleMount.
In a special news report, he reveals the illegal construction occurring these
days on the Mount. The IAA archaeologists,
indeed any other authority are totally prohibited from entering the Mount or inspecting the construction. The authorities
have no knowledge of the extent of archaeological destruction. Because of Waqf
demands, the police is forbidden flights above the mount at a height under
7000m. Liss has revealed the new dumping location, which is in the center of
west Jerusalem.
The new debris is similar in texture to the debris in the Kidron.
04-01-01: We are now confident that the gate jamb fragment that was
recovered by the IAA from the debris in the Kidron valley, is dated to the
Second Temple Era, and may even be a remnant of one of the gates of the SecondTemple!!.
04-01-01: A new
sketch of the recent destruction is added to the website. Check out the main
page.
03-01-01: SUSPICOUS
ACTIVITY ON THE MOUNT
Last night the lights on the Mount were deliberately shut
off for over an hour. This was the first time such a thing occurred since the
installation of new illumination a few years ago.
15-12-00: THE DESTRUCTIVE DIGS ARE RENEWED (New updates
from the TempleMount)
Since the Palestinian riots have
occurred, Israelis have no access to the TempleMount.
This has caused us some difficulties of being updated about what has been going
on in the Mount the recent weeks. The following information has reached the
CPDATM from reliable sources, and unfortunately, shed a very dark light on the
archaeological situation of the TempleMount:
··New diggings have occurred in the last few weeks. A channel 1m deep, and
3-4m wide was dug northwest from the ‘Solomon’s stables’
structure.
··3 days ago, a JCB tractor has entered the Mount with 7 more trucks.
··The new terrace system in the new mosque entrance, north to
Solomon’s stables, has also been paved.
··At least 70 trucks were counted leaving the TempleMount
with archaeological debris.
··There is also construction inside the Golden gate.
··Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud
Barak, has authorized the Waqf to pave another 200sqr. Last time he authorized
the pavement of an area of 2700sqr, the Waqf has paved and area of 4000sqr.
··Lots of blocks, cement and other construction materials has been brought
to the Mount.
··The IAA and the A-G relate to the recent Waqf activities very severely.
They cannot do anything about it, because their hands are tied by the PM, who
chooses not to prevent the archaeological destruction. The PM has authorized
the Waqf to have 6 trucks on the Mount per day. In spite of this, the Palestinian
newspapers report that Israel
is preventing them from entering construction materials into the Mount.
··Since the riots have erupted, even the IAA archaeologists are banned
from entering the Mount. There is an agreement with the Waqf that they can
accompany the trucks existing the Mount to the dumping location.
··The CPDATM has sent urgent applications to the Prime Minister, but they
are constantly being ignored. The CPDATM has announced to the Attorney General
that if the government of Israel
will not act to enforce the antiquities law in the TempleMount,
they will apply to the Supreme Court.
12-12-00: Again, 6 trucks were seen evacuating earth from the TempleMount.
(See report on Aruz7)
13-11-00: While all eyes are to
the riots all over Israel,
the Waqf continues its unsupervised construction on the TempleMount,
destroying more antiquities. Underground rooms in the Solomon’s stables,
Old-Al-Aqsa and in underground halls near the western wall has been
“cleaned” from ancient debris that contains archaeological
artifacts. The eastern surface of the Mount looks like a dumpsite now.
03-9-00: This site will not have news updates about the
riots the Palestinians are doing in the recent days. These riots have nothing
to do with the archaeology of the TempleMount, and with MK Sharon visit to the
TempleMount. It began 2 days before this
visit. If Israel’s
“siege” on the TempleMount (see 21-9-00 report) did not
cause any riots, Sharon’s
visit is surely not the real cause for it.
(IsraelWire-9/28-09:25-DST) The Thursday
morning visit to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, or Haram As-Sharif as it is
called by the Arab population, was marred when Arabs began hurling stones and
other objects at the delegation as it was leaving as well as at security forces.
21-9-00: For the last 8 days, Israel
is preventing the entrance of construction materials to the TempleMount.
This is a rare decision forthe
Government of Israel’s policy. Till now, any attempt to do so did not
last more than 2 days. The background for this decision is the Waqf’s
plan to pave another large area in additional to the 1600 square meters
that was already paved. The Waqf is complaining that Israel is putting a siege on the
Mount, and threats that this may bring the whole area to a conflict.
3-9-00: Biblical Archaeology Review has
published some new pictures, covering the destruction on
the TempleMount. In one of these picture
stratified layer can be easily seen, which is another proof that this dig did
not remove just a late earth fill.
29-8-00:
We need help in Saving the Temple Mount
antiquities
The project of sifting the debris
from the TempleMount is advancing. The Archaeologist
who will lead this project is Dr. Gabi Barkai from Bar-Ilan university.
Unfortunately, we still lack the financial resources for this. We need to
raise a sum of about 40,000$, but, till now, we have managed to raise only a
small part of it from a few donors. This is why we are now addressing the
public, in a plea for contributions of any amount. We promise to publish a list
of all the donors (unless they wish otherwise) and send a full report of the
finds to each one of them. Click here for more details.
23-8-00: Now you can also read the recent news
in Hebrew.
23-8-00: Over 2000 people from all over the
world, have already signed the petition.
23-8-00: A special meeting took place at State
Attorney General, Elyakim Rubinstein, office regarding the Waqf request to pave
an area of 2 dunams. The fact that the Waqf is now applying requests to the
Israeli authority in advance is an achievement of the CPDATM. In this meeting,
ways of how to approve these requests were discussed.
23-8-00: The CPDATM members have met last week
with Minister of Israeli Society and the World Jewish Community, Rabbi Michael
Melchior. They requested his help in setting up a meeting with the Prime
Minister. Melchior spokesmen told the CPDATM today that the PM, the Minister of
Internal Security and Minister of Justice are denying the CPDATM claims
regarding the Waqf's recent activity on the Mount. They said that nothing has
occurred on the TempleMounted in the last
months.
23-8-00: The following public figures and
archaeologists have recently joined the CPDATM: (Gen.) Dan Shomron - former IDF
Chief of Staff, Prof. Uriel Reichman, Prof. Amos Kloner - Bar-Ilan University
Archaeologist and member of the Israeli Archaeology council, Prof. Moshe Kocavi
- Hebrew University Archaeologist and member of the Israeli Archaeology
council, Prof. Eliezer
Oren - Ben-Gurion University Archaeologist.
16-7-00: I had a conversation with policemen
from the police spot on the road entrance to the TempleMount
near the Lion's gate. They said that they usually don't permit trucks to enter
the old city, but trucks that go to the TempleMount
have a special permit from the police high officers. The last truck that they
remember entering the TempleMount was a week and a
half ago. They also said that two weeks ago they were directed to prevent
trucks and heavy machinery from entering the TempleMount.
This situation managed to exist for about 2 days, but due to heavy pressure
from the Waqf's authorities they had to restore the previous permit of allowing
heavy machinery to enter the Mount.
16-7-00: I've visited the Rockefeller museum
(IAA main offices) and found the architectural marble stone in the backyard.
Check out the updated page about this stone.
09-7-00: Correction: A few people who read the
article mentioned below (7-7-00) have put to my attention the possibility of a
misunderstanding. Drori may have referred to the new entrance when he said
'monumental gate'. I've talked to Kobi Finkler, the journalist, and he backs up
what he has wrote. He told me that Drori even showed him a picture of the gate
and it has nothing to do with the archways of Solomon's stables. He will check
this out with Drori for more details.
09-7-00: A New aerial picture from Chai
Vekayam movement reveals further construction plans. More trees where uprooted
in a further west area.
07-7-00: "On
last December dig - A monumental gate that stood in the site was breached"
- says IAA director, Amir Drori, on an interview to the weekly newspaper Makor
Rishon. This is the first time Drori has given any details about what does the
IAA know about the archaeological destruction from the Waqf's dig north of the
'Solomon's Stables'. Evidence to this gate is a carved fragment of an
architrave or a doorjamb found in the TempleMount
debris in the Kidron valley by the IAA. See 17-5-00 for a pictures.
07-7-00: In the last week heavy renovation
work is done in Al-Aqza mosque. Earlier this week heaps of slab stones were
seen near the mosque. These slabs were moved and concentrated south from the Golden Gate. The current Al-Aqza mosque was build in the 11-12
century CE, on top of the earlier mosque that was ruined in the 1033
earthquake. This makes us date the slabs to the 11-12 century CE.
07-7-00: We are calling senior archaeologists
from other countries to join the CPDATM, and sign our petition. Foreign
scholars support could really help our struggle to save the TempleMount's
antiquities.
07-7-00: I got 2 new reports about
construction south of the Dome of the Rock's platform stairs. One report from
Monday says it was just a little renovation in one of the stairs. The second,
which is updated to yesterday, says piles of earth are seen in that location.
More details to come.
02-7-00: Additional public figures and
archaeologists joined the CPDATM. The current members of the CPDATM are:
Archaeologists: Prof.
Avraham Biran,
Prof. Amihai Mazar,
Prof. Ehud Nezer, Dr. Eilat
Mazar, Dr. Gabriel Barkai, Dr. Zeev Meshel. Other members:
Teddy Kolek, Chaim Guri, A.B. Yehoshua, Yzhar Smilansky, Prof. Avi Revitzky,
(Gen.) Meir Dagan, Zvi Zamir, Ytzchak Chopi, Yoram Yair, Shlomo Lahat, Attr.
Shmuel Berkovitz, Michael Gal,
Israel Caspi,
Dr. Orit Zur.
02-7-00: The few archaeological data we could
achieve from the dumps in the Kidron, is now also in a hazard. Eilat Mazar, a few archaeology
students and me went to visit the dumps in Kidron. Check a new page about the new Kidron Dumps.
02-7-00:
PM Ehud Barak has reacted to an urgent application of the CPDATM regarding the
expected digging for sewage concrete pipe installations. We still don't know
which decisions he will take.
02-7-00:
Huge section of concrete pipe - "As
I ascended the TempleMount this morning at
9:30 AM, I immediately noticed a tractor working along the eastern side of the
Mount. In addition to all of the activity, construction, and building materials
that I have already described, this morning I also saw a huge section of
concrete pipe, the type that is used in major municipal waterworks projects and
buried very deep. I also saw that work was being done with heavy-duty steel
plumbing pipes. I could clearly see portions of pipe that had been freshly laid
in the area. I also saw a section of plastic casing which is used to contain
electrical wiring." , A report from Chaim Richman who is now constantly
visiting the Temple
Mount.
29-6-00:
We need assistance with translations of documents from Hebrew to English and
English to Hebrew. Please Contact me
if you can help with this.
29-6-00:
"Yesterday, while walking along the eastern side of the TempleMount,
from south to north, all the evidence of major construction were clearly
present. The area is in complete disarray; large portions have been cleared and
leveled. Several structures are already in advanced stages of construction; new
paving is underway and everywhere, there are large heaps of rubble which
clearly contain significant archeological remains. As I had noticed on my visit
the previous week, large consignments of construction blocks have been
delivered to the site. However, yesterday as I was walking I also saw a large
amount of brand-new, long plumbing pipes, the type that is used to lay
the plumbing and water systems in large buildings. There were enough pipes
there to facilitate the plumbing for a very large structure." Says Chaim
Richman who visited the TempleMount yesterday. The most
disturbing evidence is the pipes, because this means more diggings!.
28-6-00:
A small Demonstration near the Lion's gate, against the Waqf's destruction of TempleMount
took place today. The demonstrators were attacked by a mob of 150 Moslems who
were organized by the Moslem Waqf on the mount. They tore their signs and
beaten them. The police arrested 5 men.
28-6-00:
The meeting at the Prime Minister office ended up in an Orwellian statement
released after the meeting, the Prime Minister's Office declared that Barak
remained committed to "preserving the status quo and preventing
archeological damage." National Security Adviser Danny Yatom later
explained that Barak's idea of "status quo" was not to prevent the Waqf
from continuing its unsupervised construction. (I don't understand how the
current destruction can be called "Status Quo"?)
28-6-00:
For over a week the CPDATM has been sending urgent applications to the Prime
Minister. The PM office is refusing to relate to these applications in any way.
27-6-00:
Tractors and trucks are working on the Mount. A large area is being prepared
for pavement construction.
26-6-00:A big cloud of dust was seen today between 18:30-19:30, while a tractor
near the Golden Gate was doing construction
work. We still don't know exactly what was done there. The CPDATM has urgently
applied to Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, to immediately stop the construction.
26-6-00:
Aerial Photos -Check out these new aerial photos taken 8 days ago.
26-6-00:
The Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the TempleMount
met with the State Attorney General, Elyakim Rubinstein. The A-G agreed that
the situation on the TempleMount is most severe. He
said that some action to prevent further building had been taken, and more
actions will be taken in the future. He directed the police not to allow the
entrance of more construction materials. Surprisingly, the A-G was not aware of
the media coverage prohibition, and said that there is no law that can base
that. See Haaretz / Jerusalem Post reports.
26-6-00:
Famous writers sent a letter to PM Barak demanding to
stop the destruction on the TempleMount. See Haaretz report.
22-6-00:
State Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein will on Thursday meet with senior
police commanders and members of the General Security Service (GSS/Shin Bet) to
evaluate the situation.
22-6-00:
Thanks to Chaim Richman's awareness we realize now that Several new ornamental
skylights, fashioned of metal and glass, have recently been affixed in the
floor over the area where an underground mosque has been established in
Solomon's Stables. Click here to view them.
22-6-00:
Now you can view some of the pictures I've taken on the tour. Click here to view them with Hebrew
comments. More pictures to come.
21-6-00:
Some of the pictures from the last tour can be seen on Aruz7.
I will publish a more detailed page in a few days.
20-6-00:
The IAA has sent an urgent letter to the Attorney General, warning on immediate
danger to the section near the eastern wall of the TempleMount.
It is a section of a vault that is continuing north from the Solomon's Stables.
In the last days the Waqf has begun disassembling this section. It can be seen
in the pictures that will be published here in a few days. An archaeological
excavation in this vault can teach us a lot about the area north from Solomon's
Stables.
20-6-00:
The MKs tour was a major disappointed. The media was not allowed to join
us. We could not enter the subterranean structures in order to examine the
amount of construction there. We were not allowed to take any pictures. The
Waqf's men caught me taking pictures. The Old city police commander, Raa'nan
Tal, attacked me. He pushed me and threaten to expel me out of the Mount. The
Waqf has managed to hide most of the construction materials that were seen in
the video. The new pictures will be published in a few days.
19-6-00:
The website is now partly available in Hebrew.
19-6-00:
The MKs tour will take place on Tuesday. We are going to ascent the mount with
cameras to document the destruction. I hope things won't blow up in the last
minute. IAA director and Jerusalem's
district police commander will also join the tour.
18-6-00:Islamic Movement planning 4th mosque for TempleMount
The Islamic Movement in Israel
has a master plan to build a fourth mosque on the eastern side of the TempleMount,
according to a detailed report prepared by security officials concerning how
the Waqf (Islamic religious trust) and the Islamic Movement envision the holy
site. The construction of the mosque is a long-term plan which is currently
only in the discussion stage, unlike the other plans outlined in the report. More on the issue (English/Hebrew).
18-6-00:
THIS TIME IT IS REALLY A DISASTER.
I've just seen an amateur video taken a week ago in the new
construction area. There is an enormous amount of construction with big masonry
stones. The whole east side of the temple mount has become a construction area.
Again, trucks are seen entering and existing the mount. There are many new
piles of earth. This time it is really a disaster. The new planned construction
area is right on the remains of our Temple
(According to the tradional conjecture, which places the holy of hollies at the
Dome of the Rock). (Pictures will be published soon)
18-6-00:
The IAA and the CPDATM has agreed to cooperate together.
15-6-00:
The Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the TempleMount
will meet today with IAA Director, Amir Drori.
15-6-00:
It seems like a group of MKs will join together next week for a tour on the TempleMount
that will include documenting the recent construction and the archaeological
relics that are kept on the Mount.
13-6-00:
Reliable sources say that additional trucks were seen entering and existing the
Mount.
13-6-00:
The Temple Institute of Jerusalem has produced a film which documents the
archeological destruction and sacrilege of the TempleMount.
This video is called "Reviving the Stones: The Story of Israel's
Unfinished Struggle to Claim the TempleMount." It contains
exclusive interviews and footage, and exposes the reality of the TempleMount
today. For information on ordering this video directly from the Temple
Institute, contact them at temple@temple.org.il
12-6-00:
The Media is also reporting about the new construction near the Golden gate. Pictures that were taken a month
ago show the
construction materials that were prepared for this.
12-6-00:
Check out IMRA's translation of the Committee for the
Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the TempleMount
letter published in Haaretz (8-6-00).
12-6-00:
Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Haim Ramon met with The Committee for the
Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the TempleMount.
Ramon said that the construction is in it's end and there is nothing much that
could be done now. He also said that he will not let the Waqf cross any 'red
lines'. However he was not aware that IAA archaeologist are not allowed to
document or take pictures on the Mount.
11-6-00:
The 'Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the TempleMount'
has published a big add in Haaretz daily newspaper. The add contained a
petition directed to Israel's
Prime Minister to stop the antiquities destruction on the Mount. 80 Knesset
Members have signed this petition and many other famous public figures. Don't
forget to add your name to the petition too.
10-6-00:
I was just reported that a new paving construction on the North-Eastern section
of the Mount. Updates will come soon.
17-5-00:
Yehuda Ezion managed to get pictures of artifacts found in an examination done
by the IAA in the debris dumped in the KidronValley.
Thepictures show an impressive large
stone fragment, which was part of a gate jamb. According to archaeologist,
Professor Ronnie Reich, the profile of this stone is very similar to part of
the gate jamb in the Triple Gate at the southern wall of the TempleMount,
which is dated to the Second Temple Era. Click here to view the
stone.
Near the Rambam (Mugrabi) gate, which
is the tourist's entrance to the Mount, a group of 10 pottery jars are easily
seen. I have no idea where they came from and if the reason they are standing
there is for display or just for temporary storage. According to the jars
shapes, none of them can be dated to an ancient period.
The pit, which
became an entrance to a large mosque, is almost done. The floor is already covered
with stairs. This situation makes it almost impossible to have a rescue dig in
the near future.
Many piles of stones are still
kept on the Mount. Some of them have significant archaeological value. We are
still trying to get permission for archaeologists to examine them. Click here to see new pictures
from the recent construction.
The IAA is not
publishing the finds of their examination in the Kidron dumps, but I have a
brief report of their results and I will soon publish it on this site.
Meanwhile you can read Tamar's Hausman summary in the
Jerusalem Post.
Following to our
application, the Minister of Internal Defense has ordered the police to prevent
trucks from entering the TempleMount. Unfortunately this
doesn't apply for tractors that are still seen working on the Mount.
There are some more
media news reports that I occasionally add to the site. Check out 'The Destruction in the News'.
