Wednesday, July 18, 2007

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH:

Joseph I. Lauer writes:
Arutz Sheva has an eight-minute English audio interview with Dr. Eilat Mazar concerning the Temple Mount. It was apparently conducted yesterday (7/16).
Arutz Sheva's home page's URL is http://www.israelnationalnews.com/
Those interested in hearing the interview should go to the site, scroll down to the section entitled "Radio Highlights" and click on Dr. Eilat Mazar: Fighting for the Temple Mount
For an alternative that may also work, paste the following onto the address line of your Web searcher (such as Internet Explorer): mms://msmedia.a7.org/arutz7/shows//English-show/highlights/EilatMazar.mp3
Also, Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review and Bible Review, has an editorial in the Wall Street Journal (unfortunately the full text is available only to paid subscribers):
Biblical Destruction
By HERSHEL SHANKS
July 18, 2007; Page A14
Within the last few days, a trench two-feet deep -- starting from the northern end of the platform where Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock sits -- has begun working its way toward the southern end of the Temple Mount. The work is being done without any regard for the archaeological information or treasures that may lie below. Destruction is particularly great in places where bedrock is no deeper than the trench. Some of the digging is being done with mechanical equipment, instead of by hand as a professional archaeological excavation would be conducted.

I don't know who are worse: the Muslim religious authorities digging up Jerusalem's Temple Mount, or the Israeli authorities who are allowing it to happen.

[...]
The Israel Antiquities Authority and the Israeli Government are coming in for a lot of criticism on this one - rightly, as far as I can tell.

UPDATE: The full text is available in Google News (use search term "shanks temple mount") but otherwise the URL leads to the subscribers-only page.