Torah scrolls in the ark of the Istanbouli Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem (circa 1930),
The synagogues in the Old City were all destroyed after the Jewish Quarter was captured in 1948.
Torah scrolls in the ark of the Istanbouli Synagogue in the Old City of Jerusalem (circa 1930),
The synagogues in the Old City were all destroyed after the Jewish Quarter was captured in 1948.
A Song for Jerusalem
Tower of David at sunrise
Kotel - Yom Yerushalayim 2013
Israel’s Religious Affairs Ministry says that it will organize Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.
Glatt told the committee his office will examine ways to arrange Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.
“It cannot be that in the State of Israel, Jews need to stand aside,” said committee chairwoman Miri Regev. “The Temple Mount should be a place where people of any religion can pray.”
According to Regev, the Temple Mount is a mainstream issue in the heart of the Jewish People, who have prayed to return to Jerusalem for thousands of years.
At the beginning of the meeting, MK Jamal Zahalka (Balad) and other Arab lawmakers complained that the screening of a short film of paratroopers liberating the Temple Mount and Western Wall from the Jordanians was offensive, and demanded it be stopped.
MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud Beytenu), who has been voting against the coalition in response to recently being banned from visiting the Temple Mount by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, said the main issue is sovereignty over the Temple Mount.
I guarantee you that the first time they announce organized Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, the Arabs will riot and the government will back down.
Read the whole thing.
On the Temple Mount: Archaeologists digging under Robinson’s Arch in the archaeological garden next to the Kotel have found remains of a structure from the late First Temple period, under the base of the drainage ditch currently being exposed. “To Matanyahu Son of Ho…” (the rest of the name is not legible).
The name Matanyahu appears twice in Chronicles 1:25, in a section listing names of Hebrews whom King David had appointed to sing G-d’s praise…
The archeologists had decided in advance that all of the dirt to come out of this dig would be thoroughly sifted – through use of “wet sifting” and meticulous sorting of the remaining materials in the sieve. The sifting is carried out with the help of thousands of school children from all over Israel, at the Emek Tzurim National Park. About 4,500 pupils participated in the work in the last few months, as well as other volunteers.
Archeologist Eli Shukrun commented, “The name Matanyahu, like the name Netanyahu, means ‘gift to G-d.’ These names are mentioned several times in Scripture. They are typical of names in the Judean Kingdom at the end of the First Temple period – from the late 8th century BCE until the Temple’s destruction in 586 BCE.
“Finding a First Temple seal in the location closest to the Temple Mount is very rare and a very moving experience. It is like a tangible message from the person Matanyahu who lived here over 2,700 years ago. In the ancient structure under the base of the canal, we also found pottery shards typical of the period, on the floor, as well as fallen rocks and remains of a fire.”
Some of the RikudGalim Yom Yerushalayim celebrations - Part 2
Tens of thousands of people gathered in Jerusalem for the annual Rikudgalim (flag dance) in honor of Yom Yerushalayim.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed Hussein was detained Wednesday for questioning over latest disturbances at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem • Rosenfeld says Muslim worshippers threw rocks and chairs at tourists at the site.
Israeli police have detained the top Muslim cleric in the Palestinian territories and are questioning him over the latest disturbances at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed Hussein was detained on Wednesday.
Rosenfeld says Muslim worshippers threw rocks and chairs at tourists visiting a shrine at a contested Jerusalem site Tuesday. He wouldn’t elaborate on what the mufti’s alleged involvement in the incident was, saying the cleric could be released later.
Senior clerics are rarely detained in Jerusalem.
The contested site, where Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock are built on the ruins of the biblical Jewish Temple, is one of the region’s most sensitive.
Israeli steps to quell Palestinian disturbances there have led to riots in the past.
The annual Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day) parade took place Wednesday afternoon.The streets of Jerusalem were filled with thousands of youths waving Israeli flags and dancing. Cars and buses along King George Avenue were re-routed as the city celebrated 46 years of reunification.
The march ended at the Kotel in Jerusalem’s Old City which had been under occupation for 19 years.
Waving flags and singing at the Rikud degalim, or flag dance, were many members of youth groups, and visitors from other cities who came especially for the event. Bands performed on special stages that had been set up along King George Avenue.
