Hundreds of pilgrims celebrated Palm Sunday in Jerusalem.
Wayne Stiles visits the Jerusalem of Hezekiah’s time and writes, “I have a faith rooted in history—not mystery. The words on the pages of Scripture are supported by simple elements we can dig out of the ground. They prove nothing, but they support it all.”
The Israel Museum has joined the Google Art Project and “online users will be able to view high-resolution images of 520 pieces from the museum’s collection.” That future tense should be changed to present, as you can see the images here. Beautiful.
A restaurant in Capernaum has been accused of dumping raw sewage into the Sea of Galilee. “This is one of the most serious cases of coastal environmental damage that the Kinneret has encountered thus far,” said a prosecutor.
Cyprus and Israel are collaborating to form a database for archaeology. There is more in common between the pasts of the two countries than many people know. The article does not explain the reason for why this cooperation is occurring only now: a downturn in the relations between Israel and Turkey.
The Mughrabi Bridge saga continues with Israel’s Supreme Court ruling that planning committees have to consider the women’s prayer area as well as security issues in their decisions. An Islamic petitioner claims that the Western Wall plaza falls under the authority of the Waqf. Jordan’s crown prince made a surprise visit to the Temple Mount today to see the Mughrabi Gate.
Turkey is asking for the return of artifacts from the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Cleveland Museum of Art and Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. “‘Turkey is not trying to start a fight,’ said Murat Suslu, Turkey’s director general for cultural heritage and museums. ‘We are trying to develop…cooperation.’”
The Israel Antiquities Authority recently recovered the covers of two sarcophagi smuggled out of Egypt.
For one week, the Teaching Company is offering a free video lecture by John R. Hale, “Central Turkey—Ankara, Konya, Cappadocia.”
HT: Joseph Lauer, Jack Sasson
