Jews urging Christians to save Jewish Temple
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jews urging Christians to save Jewish Temple*
Archaeologists kept out as Israel allows Muslims to pulverize
antiquities at Judaism's holiest site
Posted: September 4, 2007
News from Israel
JERUSALEM – The Christian world and top U.S. Christian leaders are being
urged to petition the Israeli government to immediately halt a massive
dig Islamic authorities are conducting on the Temple Mount – Judaism's
holiest site – that is said to be destroying antiquities and what
archaeologists believe is a wall from the Second Jewish Temple.
The Israeli government has barred archaeologists from inspecting the
Temple-era wall, believed to be from the outer courtyard of the Second
Temple.
The wall reportedly has been pulverized by bulldozers operated by the
Waqf, the Mount's Muslim custodians.
If verified, the wall would be the most significant Jewish Temple find
in history.
"The Christian people must rise up and stand with their brethren in
Israel and make their voices heard to stop this travesty," states an
open letter from Israel's Temple Institute, an organization seeking to
promote awareness of the Temple Mount. "We are asking Christians to do
everything possible to petition the Israeli government to halt the Waqf
destruction and have archaeologists immediately inspect the area."
"As a result of destructive and wanton bulldozing by the Waqf – with
Israeli permission – a section of the wall of the Holy Temple in the
area universally recognized as the location of the Women's Court has
been unearthed," the letter states. "This is the first time since the
destruction of the Second Temple that actual physical evidence of the
Temple has been revealed. But all of the antiquities of the Temple that
have been uncovered are in danger of being destroyed if you don't help."
Leading Israeli archaeologists also urged the Christian world to act
immediately:
"The Christian world and all those who care about safeguarding the
Temple Mount must immediately join us in our efforts to protect the holy
site and demand that the Israeli government stop the Waqf construction,"
prominent, third-generation Temple Mount archaeologist Eilat Mazar said.
"The Temple Mount is important to people of all religions. Now is the
time to act before more antiquities are erased," said Mazar, a senior
fellow at Israel's Shalem Center and member of the Public Committee for
Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on Temple Mount.
Mazar's much-discussed discovery in the City of David, a neighborhood
just south of Jerusalem's Old City Walls, is a massive building that
dates to the 10th century BC is believed is the remains of the palace of
the biblical King David, the second leader of a united Kingdom of
Israel, who ruled from around 1005 to 965 B.C.
This weekend, Islamic authorities using heavy machinery to dig on the
Temple Mount were caught red-handed by WND destroying Temple-era
antiquities and the purported outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple.
Last month, they were given permission by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Olmert to use bulldozers and other heavy equipment to dig a massive
trench they say is necessary to replace electrical cables outside
mosques on the holy site. The dig, which extends to most of the
periphery of the Mount, is being protected by the Israeli police and is
supposed to be supervised by the Israeli government's Antiquities Authority.
Earlier this month, after bulldozers dug a trench 1,300 feet long and
five feet deep, the Muslim diggers came across a wall Israeli
archaeologists believe may be remains of an area of the Second Jewish
Temple known as the woman's courtyard.
The Antiquities Authority has not halted the dig and has not inspected
the site. The Waqf has continued using bulldozers to blast away at the
trench containing the wall and has steadfastly denied it is destroying
any antiquities.
A recent photograph of the massive Waqf trench. shows In view concrete
slabs broken by Waqf bulldozers and a chopped up carved stone believed
to be of Jewish Temple-era antiquity.
Mazar analyzed the photo and said the damaged stone displays elements of
the second Temple era and might be part of the Jewish Temple wall
Israeli archaeologists charge the Waqf has been attempting to destroy.
She said in order to certify the stone in the photo, she would need to
personally inspect it.
But Israel is blocking leading archaeologists from surveying the massive
damage Islamic authorities are accused of causing to what may be the
outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple.
"The Antiquities Authority tells us to coordinate with the police. The
police send us back to the Antiquities Authority," said Mazar
"It's crucial this wall is inspected. The Temple Mount ground level is
only slightly above the original Temple Mount platform, meaning anything
found is likely from the Temple itself," the archaeologist said.
Fed up, Mazar and other top archaeologists last week ascended the Mount
to hold a news conference and inspect the site without government
permission, but they were blocked from the trench by the Israeli police.
"It is unconscionable that the Israeli government is permitting the Waqf
to use heavy equipment to chop away at the most important archaeological
site in the country without supervision," Mazar said.
"The Israeli government is actively blocking us from inspecting the site
and what may be a monumental find and is doing nothing while the Waqf
destroys artifacts at Judaism's holiest site," she said.
Mount destruction 'attempt to undermine God's sovereignty'
In his group's letter to the Christian world today, Rabbi Chaim Rechman,
director of the international department at Israel's Temple Institute,
pointed out what he said was the significant of the Islamic dig on the
Temple Mount.
To understand the Waqf destruction as merely an archaeological issue
would be myopic. It would also be a mistake to consider these actions as
nothing more than a heartless and cruel attack against another religion
and culture. These atrocities are not being committed solely against the
Jewish people and their traditions. This is an attack on humankind by
enemies of the God of Israel
Aside from the political implications regarding the future of Jerusalem
and the direct effect that this will have on the entire world, the
spiritual implications of what is now transpiring are enormous. The
Bible consistently emphasizes the centrality of the Holy Temple in the
life of mankind; it is none other than the 'footstool' of God in the world.
The destruction of God's holy mountain is precisely what is taking place
at this very moment under our very eyes. The purposeful destruction of
remnants of the Holy Temple are an attempt to undermine God’s
sovereignty and to erase His name from the one place on earth that He
has chosen to manifest His presence throughout the saga of human history.
Rechman called the Temple Mount "central to humanity."
"Our sages teach us that Adam, the first man, was created from the spot
of the altar in the Holy Temple. All of Adam's descendants – the family
of man who are created in the Divine image – are therefore under attack."
Rechman was among those on the Mount last week with Mazar. He said that
he attempted to take pictures of the damage the bulldozers are allegedly
wrecking on the wall, but his digital camera was confiscated by Israeli
police at the direction of Waqf officials.
"If Israel was building a shopping mall and they found what may be an
ancient Buddhist structure, the government would stop the construction
and have archaeologists go over the area with a fine tooth comb. Here,
the holiest site in Judaism is being damaged, a Temple wall was found,
and Israel is actively blocking experts from inspecting the site while
allowing the destruction to continue," Rechman said.
Rechman charged the Waqf was "trying to erase Jewish vestiges from the
Temple Mount."
Muslim custodians have history of destroying Temple artifacts
The last time the Waqf conducted a large dig on the Temple Mount –
during construction 10 years ago of a massive mosque at an area referred
to as Solomon's Stables – the Wafq reportedly disposed truckloads of
dirt containing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods.
After the media reported the disposals, Israeli authorities froze the
construction permit given to the Wafq, and the dirt was transferred to
Israeli archaeologists for analysis. The Israeli authorities found
scores of Jewish Temple relics in the nearly disposed dirt, including
coins with Hebrew writing referencing the Temple, part of a Hasmonean
lamp, several other Second Temple lamps, Temple period pottery with
Jewish markings, a marble pillar shaft and other Temple period
artifacts. The Waqf was widely accused of attempting to hide evidence of
the existence of the Jewish Temples.
Temples 'never existed'
Most Palestinian leaders routinely deny well-documented Jewish ties to
the Temple Mount.
Speaking in a recent interview, Waqf official and chief Palestinian
Justice Taysir Tamimi claimed the Jewish Temples "never existed."
"About these so-called two Temples, they never existed, certainly not at
the Haram Al- Sharif (Temple Mount)," said Tamimi, who is considered the
second most important Palestinian cleric after Muhammad Hussein, the
Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
"Israel started since 1967 making archaeological digs to show Jewish
signs to prove the relationship between Judaism and the city, and they
found nothing. There is no Jewish connection to Israel before the Jews
invaded in the 1880s," said Tamimi.
The Palestinian cleric denied the validity of dozens of digs verified by
experts worldwide revealing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second
Temples, tunnels that snake under the Temple Mount and more than 100
ritual immersion pools believed to have been used by Jewish priests to
cleanse themselves before services. The cleansing process is detailed in
the Torah.
Asked about the Western Wall, Tamimi said the structure was a tying post
for Muhammad's horse and that it is part of the Al Aqsa Mosque, even
though the wall predates the mosque by more than 1,000 years.
"The Western Wall is the western wall of the Al Aqsa Mosque. It's where
Prophet Muhammad tied his animal which took him from Mecca to Jerusalem
to receive the revelations of Allah."
The Palestinian media also regularly claim the Jewish Temples never existed.
Judaism's holiest site
While the Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, Muslims say it is
their third holiest site.
The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century
B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple
was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian
captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70.
Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries.
The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed
the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said
to be the area upon which God's "presence" dwelt. The Dome of the Rock
now sits on the site and the Al Aqsa Mosque is adjacent.
The temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices
and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays.
The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services
over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered
by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish
tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion
of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact.
The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine
near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic
caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark where Muslims came to believe
Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven.
Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states
Muhammad took a journey in a single night from "a sacred mosque" –
believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to "the farthest
mosque" and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque
later became associated with Jerusalem.