It is the place where Abraham is said to have been prepared to sacrifice Isaac, it was the site of the two great holy Temples and now it is a site subjected to wholesale destruction by people more interested in its future than its heritage.
This is the tragic story of the Temple Mount that is unfolding before our very eyes.
For several years, under the auspices of the Waqf – the Muslim religious authority on the Mount – work has been underway on the construction of the largest mosque in Israel, in the ancient Solomon’s Stables, next to the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount plaza.
Even in the earliest stages of the development, leading Israeli archeologists warned that the excavation of thousands of tons of earth would lead to irreparable damage and the dumping of many hundreds of ancient artifacts.
Just outside the Temple Mount, archeologists have spent decades carefully sifting the soil and rock, inch by inch, trying to uncover and preserve the amazing story of Jerusalem’s Old City, perhaps the most significant place on earth.
Yet yards away, in total disregard for the past, pile drivers, bulldozers and an assortment of other crude tools have been brought into play with carefree abandon, at best.
The Waqf has repeatedly denied the archeologists access to the site, according to Israeli sources. This, despite the fact that Israel has overall jurisdiction for the site. Frustrated, the archeologists have asked the police to intervene, but nothing has been done, Hebrew University Institute of Archaeology Dr. Eilat Mazar told The Media Line.
Speaking in the spring, Mazar said a bulge had appeared in the Southern Wall but nothing was being done about it, despite the pleas to the Waqf.
This week senior archeologists wrote to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warning that the wall is on the verge of collapse. Not only would this be disastrous in terms of its historic and religious significance, but it could result in the deaths of hundreds or thousands of people, once the new mosque opens.
Concerned by the news, the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization is calling for an independent expert to be brought in to decide whether the wall is indeed on the verge of collapse. Israeli media reports this morning suggest so far the Waqf is also refusing to allow the UNESCO-proposed inspection.
Many Israelis are asking why the Waqf is refusing to cooperate and whether it has something to hide.
Islam claims the area for itself. Only last Saturday, as many as 60,000 Muslims attended a rally on the Mount to call for its protection.
Now is the real test of Islam’s claimed reverence for the place. If its religious leaders refuse to play ball, then that surely seriously questions the Muslim claim to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount as the religion’s third holiest site.
To hear an interview with Eilat Mazar, click here [3].