When the Stones Speak

#History #Israel #CityOfDavid

Only 450 years ago the Turkish ruler Suleiman the Magnificent captured Jerusalem and built the picturesque walls we see today that surround what is commonly referred to as the Old City.

#History #Israel #CityOfDavid

Despite the colossal destruction, there was one silver lining: There had never before been an archaeological excavation or survey conducted on the Temple Mount itself. The Waqf, in its hasty decision to save money and speed up the operation, had ordered two-thirds of the archaeological material to be dumped in trash piles in the Kidron Valley. Ironically, the archaeological material tossed away as trash subsequently provided the basis for the first archaeological study of the Temple Mount.

#History #Israel #CityOfDavid

He had led the most important undercover elite units in the IDF on missions behind enemy lines and understood the psychology of terrorists. He knew the way terrorists work: They count on the terror they instill in the hearts and minds of their victims to convince them that by making minor concessions, the terror will go away. In fact, it increases. Slowly, over time, the terrorists make increasing demands, and the victims back themselves into a corner, where they live in constant fear while they fulfill all the terrorists’ demands.

#History #Israel #CityOfDavid

Ileana was taken with the historic importance of the site and was surprised that the tour was not a permanent part of every congressional visit to the country. If Yad Vashem, which documented the Holocaust, was a required part of every visit, Ileana felt, surely the place that documented the Jewish connection to the State of Israel should be as well.

#History #Israel #CityOfDavid

Perhaps the point of the Pilgrimage Road was to unify us as a people before reaching the Temple to pray. The journey, walking in tandem, seeing those in front and behind, making their way up the road, reminds us that every person, whether we see it or not, is on their own pilgrimage, their own journey. Every one of us is learning, and simply doing our best to find our own journey through life and to walk it. As long as that is so, we might as well walk together.