Translation of an advertisement that appeared in the Hebrew edition of the
Ha’aretz on June 8, 2000.
Letter signed by Right and Left to PM Barak.
To Prime Minister Ehud Barak
Call for the prevention of the continuation of the destruction of antiquities on
the Temple Mount in Jerusalem:
Serious acts of vandalism and the irreparable destruction of antiquities is taking
place in the Temple Mount Compound, one of the most important archeological
sites in Israel and the world.
This is taking place in gross violation of the Antiquities Law while the
Antiquities Authority is prevented from acting.
In the last year, and in particular in recent months, massive destruction of
antiquities has taken place within the Temple Mount Compound. Within the
framework of the construction of a new mosque in Solomon’s Stables, large
scale excavation took place and a huge pit was dug by tractors.
Thousands of tons of dirt laden with a large number of archeological
findings dating from the First Temple Period and onwards was dumped in the
municipal dump and other locations.
This archaeological crime is unacceptable to any cultured person, without any
connection to political identity or ideological stand and we object to it just as it
is inconceivable that a similar systematic destruction would take place in a site
of similar importance elsewhere in the world such as the Acropolis in Athens or
the Forum in Rome.
We call on the Government of Israel to urgently act to strictly enforce the
Antiquities Law in the Temple Mount Compound and to make all excavation and
construction activity subject to the on-site supervision of the Antiquities
Authority including the carrying out of recovery digs, inspection and recording
of all findings as required in every other site in the State of Israel.
The Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount
Signed by 82 Members of Knesset and others, including:
MK Naomi Chazzan (Meretz), MK Dalia Rabin-Pelossof, MK Einat Maor
(Meretz), MK Dan Meridor, MK Amnon Rubenstein (Meretz), MK Collete Avital,
MK Uzi Baram, MK Yael Dayan, MK Roni Milo, MK Mossi Raz (Meretz),
Teddy Kollek,
A.B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz,
three Israel Prize for archeology winners,
the heads of the archeology departments and presidents of various Israeli universities.
