Jerusalem Archives - Page 162 of 198

Mount of Olives Cemetery Online

The world’s oldest Jewish cemetery just went online.
A new project undertaken by the City of David archeological Park, located south of Jerusalem’s Old City and at the foot of the Mount of Olives cemetery, has begun the process of identifying and documenting tombstones throughout the entirety of the Mount of Olives and uploading the data to the Web.
Tens of thousands of graves on the mount have already been mapped and incorporated into a database, in the first-ever attempt to restore the graves and record the history of those who were buried there. The project includes the creation of a Web site (www.mountofolives.co.il) that aims to raise awareness of the City of David and to honor the memory of those buried in the cemetery, as well as to inform about the tours and activities available.
Additionally, the Web site tells stories of the people buried in the cemetery and, through a simple search window, one can locate the documented graves by name.
“We hope that this Web site will give people all over the world the opportunity to remove the dust of generations from the graves of their loved ones, and to both restore and reveal the stories buried underground,” Udi Ragones, the public relations director for the project, told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.
“There’s so much history there, so many stories, that this project is fascinating both from a personal perspective as well as an historical one,” he said.
While more than 20,000 gravestones have already been documented, organizers estimate that there are between 200,000 and 300,000 in the cemetery, which leaves an enormous amount of work left to be done.
The already documented graves include those of the reviver of the Hebrew language, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Nobel Prize for Literature laureate Shai Agnon, former prime minister Menachem Begin, Hadassah Women’s Organization founder Henrietta Szold, founder of the Bezalel Art School Boris Schatz, Chaim ben Moses ibn Attar, also known as the Ohr ha-Chaim after his popular commentary on the Torah, and Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate.

The full story is here.

HT: Joe Lauer

Tomb of Zechariah, religious ceremony, mat06376

Jewish ceremony in cemetery on Mount of Olives, early 1900s

This photo is taken from the Jerusalem volume of The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection (Library of Congress, LC-matpc-06376).

Tagged Jerusalem, Technology

The Ultra-Orthodox Western Wall

This editorial at Ynetnews gives one side’s perspective on how the Western Wall prayer plaza came to be controlled by the ultra-orthodox.

Here’s a snippet:

But then, for the first time in its history, iron barricades were placed in the forward part of the plaza, close to the Kotel itself. This was the first mehitzah, the first separation between men and women, in the history of the Kotel. There had already been such attempts in the past. At the end of Turkish rule and under the British Mandate attempts had been made to separate between the sexes in the area next to the Kotel, but they failed. During most of those years when Jews had access to the Western Wall and during those years when they did not, there was never a mehitzah at the Kotel. But now a mehitzah was put up, which put aside most of the area – and the best part thereof – for the use of the men; barricades were put up to mark the entrances; and ushers were placed to assure the separation and to distribute paper kippot to those men who wished to approach the Kotel itself.
[…]
The escalation of more recent years is due particularly to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, known as the “Rabbi of the Kotel.” He did not invent anything, but he perfected the system: swearing-in ceremonies of the IDF became fewer and further between; an attempt was made to separate the sexes at the ceremony in which new immigrants received their identity cards; signs calling for modesty were posted in every corner; Israeli flags suddenly disappeared (and meanwhile were returned). Most of world Jewry is not Orthodox, but the rabbi of the holiest place in the world to the Jewish people is Orthodox – and not just ordinary Orthodox, but Haredi.

The full editorial is here.

HT: The Bible and Interpretation

Jews praying at Western Wall, early 1900s
Source: The American Colony and Eric Matson Collection: Jerusalem

Western Wall prayer area, April 1968
Source: Views That Have Vanished

Tagged Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Top Discoveries of 2009

National Geographic has posted their top 10 discoveries of the broader archaeological world, and that has prompted me to create a list of the 9 most important discoveries from 2009 related to the biblical world. It is too difficult to rank these, especially as the significance of some of them is not yet fully known. The order follows the chronology as they were mentioned on this blog, from February to December.

1. Heliodorus Stele Discovered – This temple inscription from Maresha-Beit Guvrin features a proclamation from Seleucus IV and dates to 178 BC.

2. Foot-Shaped Stone Enclosures Discovered in Israel – Five large stone enclosures were discovered in and near the Jordan Valley. From the air, they look like footprints. They appear to date from the period when Israel was recently settled in the land.

3. Seal of Saul Found in Jerusalem – Seals with personal names from the biblical period in Jerusalem continue to be helpful. Apparently Judeans in the time of Hezekiah were still naming their sons after Israel’s failed monarch.

4. Cryptic Ten-Line Inscription Found on Mount Zion – This lengthy inscription from the 1st century AD continues to confound scholars.

5. Middle Bronze Passageway Found in City of David – This discovery solves the problem of how the Jerusalem inhabitants accessed the secure water source in the 18th century BC. What’s not new, but still most impressive, is the monumental construction found in the city.

6. First-Century Synagogue in Magdala – Dozens of synagogues exist in Galilee from later periods, but this is now an excellent example of one from the time of Jesus, and at a place that he almost certainly visited.

7. Temple Mount – This makes the list because of the collective discoveries, not only on the platform itself, but also in the debris sifting operation. Some of the finds made have not yet been publicized.

8. Minoan-Style Wall Paintings on Israel’s Coast – Canaanite rulers on the coast liked the decorating style of the Cretans.

9. First-Century House in Nazareth – The first residential structure from the time of Jesus will not only help scholars understand the ancient village but will become a popular destination for pilgrims.

If you think something else should be added (or substituted), feel free to note that in the comments.

Likewise, if you see a similar list elsewhere, include that link in the comments.

Other Important Posts of the Year: (in reverse chronological order)

Leper Wrapped in Cloth Buried in Jerusalem – A new scientific publication on a decade-old discovery brings renewed attention.

Photos from Israel in 1948 – Ben Atlas has created several sets of images from the huge Life Magazine online archive.

Qeiyafa: Survey vs. Excavation – The results don’t differ a little, but they contradict each other in each period.

Qeiyafa Inscription Details – This ostracon from c. 1000 BC is difficult to decipher.

“Joseph’s Coins” – This story would have fared better if it had been released on April 1.

Bar Kochba Coin Cache Discovered – An outstanding collection of coins from the 2nd century AD were found in a cave in the Judean hills.

The James Ossuary Inscription Proven Fraudulent in Court of Law – Oh, wait, that’s never happened. Apparently the prosecution is less than convincing.

Virtual Walking Tour of Temple Mount – In some ways, this is better than visiting the Jerusalem holy place in person.

Alexander the Great Carving Found at Dor – A very tiny gemstone with a portrait on the Greek conqueror attests to the abilities of the artist.

Aphrodite and Odeon Found at Hippos – This Roman-Byzantine city overlooking the Sea of Galilee is home to beautiful discoveries large and small.

Another Herodian Quarry Found in Jerusalem – This quarter-acre quarry north of the Old City might have made the list of top discoveries if several other Herodian quarries had not been found in recent years.

The Bones and Face of the Apostle Paul – Excavators found the remains of a person dating to the right period at the traditional location of Paul’s burial site.

Roman Quarry = Ancient Gilgal? – Archaeologists have proposed a connection between this underground quarry and the missing site of Gilgal.

Survey of Western Palestine – This post gathers together known links to electronic versions now available online for free.

Norman Golb’s Son Arrested on Charges of Impersonation – Bloggers suspicious of hundreds of comments and links in the past few years were not surprised to learn that they apparently are all the
work of a single individual.

That Rope Around the High Priest’s Ankle – It didn’t exist.

Tagged Analysis, Jerusalem, Temple Mount

Weekend Roundup

The Jerusalem Post has a story on the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv. If you haven’t been to this one yet, try to get there at the next opportunity.

A preliminary report of the Western Wall Plaza Excavations (2005-2009) is now available at Hadashot Arkheologiyot. Among other things, they’ve uncovered a four(?)-room house from the late Iron Age.

The Khirbet Qeiyafa Vol. 1. Excavation Report 2007–2008 is now available from the Israel Exploration Society. The cost is $72 ($54 to members of the Israel Exploration Society), airmail postage $13. You can contact IES for more information.

Was Qumran home to the Essenes, or was it a fortress? Or maybe a place of manufacturing perfume, or was it pottery? These and other views are considered in an article in the Smithsonian Magazine.

Paleojudaica has an update on the fabric of the Turin Shroud (noted here previously), but it doesn’t seem to clear the air.

I have a very aggressive travel schedule for the next three weeks, so I don’t expect to have much time to post. I have prepared some interesting posts and photos for my absence, and if I see anything of interest (and time permits), I’ll note it here. I’ll start things off tomorrow with my top 9 archaeological discoveries for 2009.

Tagged Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Shephelah, Weekend Roundup

Israel’s Three-Year Tourism Plan

From the Jerusalem Post:

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov presented his ministry’s three-year plan to boost tourism at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The plan, which aims to bring in an additional one million foreign tourists by 2012, focuses mostly on attracting tourists who come to Israel for religious, historical and cultural purposes. According to Misezhnikov, the boost in numbers will garner NIS 4.5 billion in income and create 40,000 new jobs, especially in Jerusalem and the periphery. "The Tourism Ministry is an economic portfolio," he said. "As such, it is measured according to two main parameters: creating jobs and balancing income with expenses. For every 100,000 tourists, 4,000 jobs are created and NIS 450 million are invested in the Israeli economy." The plan calls for the branding of Israel as a destination for dahat tourism, a Hebrew acronym for religion, history and culture. Misezhnikov said his office had identified Israel’s central role in Judaism and Christianity and its rich historic and cultural legacy as the main attraction for tourists. "We have no relative advantage over other countries in terms of vistas, beaches or leisure," he said. "On the contrary, we are at a disadvantage compared to some of our neighbors because of our troublesome security situation, our relatively high prices and our image of being inhospitable to tourists." [. . .] The US was the largest country of origin for incoming tourism, with 550,000 visitors, or 21% of all incoming tourism. Russia was second, with 400,000 visitors; France was third, with 260,000; followed by the UK, with 170,000; and Germany, with Thirty-nine percent of incoming tourists were Jewish, 54% Christian and the remainder either from other religions or with no religious affiliation. Nearly half of the tourists were visiting Israel for the first time. Nearly a quarter of the tourists said the purpose of their visit was for holiday and leisure, 31% for pilgrimage and 6% for touring and sightseeing. The average foreign tourist expenditure in Israel in 2009 was $1,083, including overseas expenses. The average daily expenditure was about $100.

The full story is here.

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism

Coptic Crypt or Secular Cellar?

Haaretz reports on a battle between an Old City shopkeeper and the Coptic monks of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

In the next few weeks, between making decisions about the deal for captive soldier Gilad Shalit, the settlement freeze and renewal of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to make another fateful decision: Is the cellar beneath Abed Hirbawi’s East Jerusalem shop holy ground?
The decision will supposedly put an end to a strange, 13-year-old affair. Hirbawi and his landlord, Abdullah Buderi, claim the basement belongs to their shop, and that Coptic monks have invaded it. The Coptic Church says it was Muslims who invaded the cellar, which used to be a sanctuary belonging to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City.
Both sides have submitted a wealth of documents to the courts – and to a lawyer, on behalf of the prime minister. The documents include an order from Muslim general Saladin, sharia court rulings from the late Middle Ages, ancient maps, Turkish deeds of ownership, scientific articles and sworn declarations from Israeli experts on archaeology, theology and history.
Hirbawi, a well-known businessman, relates that in July 1996, he heard noises beneath his shop. When he peeked though the floor, he saw several dozen monks digging under his feet. According to associates of Mutran Anba Abra’am, the metropolitan of the Coptic Church in Jerusalem, they were innocently carrying out work in the church-cellar when Hirbawi and others attacked them with knives, injuring a monk.
[. . .]
Yehoshua says the cellar served as a quarry during both the First and Second Temple periods, but during the latter, some of it was used as a burial cave. A structure was built on top by the Crusaders in the Middle Ages, and subsequently a plant for grinding sesame seeds was erected on the premises, which dumped its waste into the cellar.
These were all secular uses, emphasizes Yehoshua. The place was never used for ritual purposes and therefore cannot be considered holy. Moreover, according to the lawyer and his client, since the cellar had been filled with waste since the 12th century, it was not used at all – until the monks showed up under Hirbawi’s feet 800 years later.

The full story is here.

Tagged Jerusalem