Palestinians tell Gingrich to learn history after ‘invented people’ claim
In an interview with The Jewish Channel, Republican presidential nominee Newt Gingrich states that Palestinians are an “invented people” due to there not being a Palestinian state before the British Mandate for Palestine. The Guardian reports on the Palestinian reaction to Gingrich’s remarks.
Palestinian officials have reacted with dismay after the Republican presidential hopeful
Newt Gingrich said Palestinians were an “invented” people.
The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, said Gingrich was denying “historical truths”.
Gingrich said in an interview with The Jewish Channel that Palestinians were not a race of people because they had never had a state and because they were part of the Ottoman empire before the British mandate and Israel’s creation.
“Remember, there was no Palestine as a state, [it was] part of the Ottoman empire,” he said in a video excerpt posted online. “I think we have an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs and historically part of the Arab community and they had the chance to go many places.”
Read the rest of the article Palestinians tell Gingrich to learn history after ‘invented people’ claim | World news | guardian.co.uk.
Photo by Gage Skidmore
Archaeologists stumped by ancient markings found under Jerusalem
Archeologist are so stumped about the recent finding of three “V” shapes carved into the floor of stone caves that they went to Facebook for suggestions. The City of David archeology team posted on their Facebook page asking their fans to offer suggestions of what the markings mean. Matti Friedman of The Washington Post explains a few of the possible explanations.
Mysterious stone carvings made thousands of years ago and recently uncovered in an excavation underneath Jerusalem have archaeologists stumped.
Israeli diggers who uncovered a complex of rooms carved into the bedrock in the oldest section of the city recently found the markings: Three “V’’ shapes cut next to each other into the limestone floor of one of the rooms, about 2 inches (5 centimeters) deep and 20 inches (50 centimeters) long. There were no finds to offer any clues pointing to the identity of who made them or what purpose they served.
The archaeologists in charge of the dig know so little that they have been unable even to posit a theory about their nature, said Eli Shukron, one of the two directors of the dig.
“The markings are very strange, and very intriguing. I’ve never seen anything like them,” Shukron said.
Read the rest of the article at Archaeologists stumped by ancient markings found under Jerusalem – The Washington Post.
Excavations reveal King Herod didn’t complete construction of Jerusalem’s Western Wall
The Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, is located in the Old City of Jerusalem at the foot of the Temple Mount. The construction of the Western Wall began with King Herod and was believed to be completed in his lifetime, but new archeological evidence suggests that it was in fact not completed until the reign of Herod’s great-grandson Agrippa II. Haaretz Daily Newspaper reports on the findings that lead to these conclusions.
Recent archeological excavations in Jerusalem show that, contrary to popular understanding, King Herod was not solely responsible for constructing the Western Wall.
Israel’s Antiques Authority announced Wednesday that the discovery of a mikveh (ritual bath) alongside Jerusalem’s ancient drainage channel challenges the conventional archaeological perception that Herod built the wall in its entirety, saying it is now evident that construction was completed at least 20 years after Herod’s death (believed to be in 4 BCE).
Read the rest of the article at Excavations reveal King Herod didn’t complete construction of Jerusalem’s Western Wall – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.
Israeli archaeologists unearth Islamic-period fortress
Israeli archaeologists announced Tuesday they have discovered the
remains of an early Islamic fortress and Roman-style bathhouse at a dig along the country’s southern Mediterranean coastline.
The finds uncovered at the Yavneh-Yam promontory apparently served as part of a string of fortifications against Crusaders invaders, Prof. Moshe Fischer of the Department and the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University told Xinhua.
Both the fortress and the bathhouse are from the Early Islamic period (8th-12th centuries CE) and were part of the Islamic defensive system against the crusaders that had taken Jerusalem and the port city of Jaffa, Fischer said.
Read More at Israeli archaeologists unearth Islamic-period fortress.
Adventure in Israel’s hidden caves
You’ll need a headlamp, a tight waistline and no fear of the dark in order to enjoy one of the most extreme, yet lesser known, archaeological wonders of the Holy Land.
Still, even with the proper equipment and intestinal fortitude, it is easy to lose your cool when crawling through the expansive ancient tunnel systems dug by Jewish rebels to fight the Roman empire.
The hundreds of hideouts, ranging from just a few metres deep to seemingly unending labyrinths, are popular among Israeli archaeologists and adventurists. But the subterranean mazes, which date back as early as the first century BC, are virtually unknown to foreigners.
Even if you go looking for them, as designed, they are easy to miss.
Read More at Adventure in Israel’s hidden caves | International | Travel | Toronto Sun.
Story by Ari Rabonvitch – Reuters; Photo by Ian W Scott
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