An archeological treasure yields controversy

‘The Jerusalem Post’ visits the City of David National Park and Archeology Center to learn about the latest discoveries there and to gain a better understanding of the dispute surrounding the site.

By JOSH HASTEN
City of David 521 (photo credit: Courtesy City of David)
City of David 521
(photo credit: Courtesy City of David)
As I follow the winding road up a steep hill, two box-shaped houses come into view. Both homes, which are well-maintained and seem fairly new, are nearly identical in their Jerusalem stone facades. The only thing that separates the two structures is a communal manicured grassy garden. Yet, I am told by my guide that the first home’s inhabitants are Jewish while the second home is an Arab dwelling. The setting described – with Jews and Arabs sharing not only property but their daily lives together, is surprisingly enough within a residential section of the City of David National Park and Archeology Center just a few hundred meters outside the Old City walls of Jerusalem. In fact about 500 residents, both Jewish and Arab, call the City of David home. Despite the evidence that the area has the potential to be a model of Jewish/ Arab coexistence in the eastern section of the city, the site is not free from controversy.
The daily archeological excavations at the City of David are being conducted by a private non-profit organization known as the Ir David Foundation, or Elad. Left-wing Jewish organizations along with Arab groups in the neighboring community of Silwan have accused Elad of being a representative of the “settlers” using archeology as a political tool to expand a Jewish presence within predominately Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem.
Doron Spielman, senior director of Elad, says these accusations are preposterous. “Elad is dedicated to preserving the City of David, the actual Old City of Jerusalem. Our mission is to develop tourism here, thus creating an emotional connection between the Jewish people and ancient Jerusalem.
Our organization funds archeological efforts and we don’t determine what will be found.”
He adds that “the fact that findings in the City of David reveal a Jewish connection to Jerusalem does reinforce the reason why the Jewish People returned to this land 100 years ago.” Spielman says that “if those finds reinforce Israeli sovereignty, then God bless it. But that is a side effect, and not our goal.”
Spielman is proud to note that the City of David has become one of the biggest tourist sites in Israel with over 500,000 visits a year. He goes on to describe how his organization was founded 25 years ago when IDF Special Forces commander David Be’eri visited the site and was troubled to see the area in a state of neglect and disrepair.
Be’eri began purchasing plots of land on the hilltop from private Jewish and Arab families. Ten years later, in 1996, he began turning his property into an archeological dig open to tourists with the aim of discovering Jerusalem’s origins.
Today, there is rarely a day that goes by without the archeologists on the site, led by Israel Antiquities Authorities researchers, finding artifacts of historical significance.
Just last month it was revealed that workers digging in a newly discovered second century (Second Temple Period) drainage tunnel uncovered numerous items including a stone etching of a menorah much like the one in the Temple, several golden bells probably used as clothing ornaments by a priest or aristocrat, and a 60-centimeter-long Roman sword. All of the items were found in relatively good condition.
In addition to being a drainage channel, the tunnel, which leads all the way into the Old City, is also thought to have been used by Jewish rebels to hide from the Roman conquerors. This new passageway has just been opened to the general public for visits. Last month, a delegation of 80 bipartisan US Congressmen on a tour sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) got a sneak preview of the tunnel. They were amazed by the discovery and some called the visit the highlight of their trip.
Florida Congressman Allen West, who was with the group, told supporters upon his return home that his tour of the “2,000-year-old tunnel under the ancient City of David [proves that] there can be no historical or archeological argument to refute that there has always been a nation of Israel.”
WHILE WEST says the tunnel proves Jewish historical ties to Jerusalem, others say archeology should not be used to prove precedence. Yoni Mizrachi is the director of Emek Shaveh, an organization of archeologists that takes issue with Elad’s control over the excavation project at the City of David. His group offers “alternative archeological tours,” since, in their view, archeology should not be used to prove ownership by one group but rather should be a platform to listen to the complex story of a place, which he believes can promote the values of tolerance and pluralism.
In other words, says Mizrachi, “The past, archeologically, is not something that can be linked to any group’s national claims today. Archeology is about culture, not nationalism.”
Since Elad’s narrative is from a uniquely Jewish perspective, Mizrachi says he is convinced their work in the City of David is meant to “increase an Israeli hold in east Jerusalem.” He adds that Elad, which is supported by the “settlers,” is carrying out its work for political gain “as if there isn’t a conflict [between Jews and Arabs].” Mizrachi believes that Elad’s excavations should be put halted immediately and that all findings should be published and analyzed by a non-partisan governmental body.
Spielman defends Elad’s focus on Jewish historical ties to the area, saying that “we are simply picking up where our ancestors left off.
“What becomes clear in a tour through the City of David is that a historic injustice was committed against the Jewish people when we were exiled from our land 2,000 years ago,” Spielman continues. “The modernday State of Israel is a fixing of that injustice. This is the fact that people who blindly support the Palestinians and their denial of Jewish history in the land want to ignore.”
Regarding the demand that Elad halt archeological projects, Spielman notes that there are those “on the other side that every day try to stop our archeological findings, so what are they trying to hide?” Arab groups have actively tried to halt Elad’s work.
According to Spielman, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and even the Muslim Brotherhood have tried to shut them down. Their motivation, says Spielman, is that they are “actively seeking to erase Jewish history in the Land of Israel.”
Spielman relates how in reality the hilltop where the City of David sits was insignificant throughout Muslim rule of Israel. He shows me a picture on his iPad from the year 1884, revealing that aside from several Jewish Yemenite homes, the area was mainly farmland.
In fact, when the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I constructed the current Jerusalem Old City walls in 1538, he deliberately left the City of David hilltop outside the walls to be used as a dumping ground for the waste of residents living in the Old City. That, according to Spielman, is the how the Old City’s “Dung Gate” got its name. He says history proves that the Muslim connection to that site is rather weak, and that their recent interest is simply aimed at sabotaging Elad’s uncovering of ancient Jewish relics.
Despite the evidence of a feeble Muslim connection to the City of David, the Ir Amim organization, which promotes equality between Jerusalem’s Jews and Arabs, concurs with the claims made by Emek Shaveh that Elad ignores the multicultural narrative of Jerusalem’s history. According to Ir Amim’s director Yudith Oppenheimer, the controversy surrounding Elad’s excavation is due to the “interpretation they give the findings.” She says that Elad “tries to relate their findings to Jewish history while ignoring other narratives and interpretations.”
Her organization also feels that Elad ignores the sensitivities of digging in an Arab neighborhood near holy sites. However, when asked what the Palestinian narrative or historical connection is to the site, she says that she is “not a historian or archeologist and can’t answer that.”
WHILE SOME express opposition, Spielman notes that until 2007 or 2008 the City of David was a “model of Jews and Arabs working together,” since hundreds of Arabs workers were on site as excavators, utility managers and maintenance staff. But then the Muslim Brotherhood entered the area and pressured the Arab workers to leave. Lists were posted around the neighboring Arab villages of those who worked at City of David, accompanied by threats of violence. Several workers had their cars torched as a warning from the Brotherhood of what might happen if they didn’t disassociate themselves from the Jewish group. Ninety percent of the City of David’s Arab workforce quit in fear.
Mizrachi is skeptical that Elad ever had the intention of building good ties with its Arab employees. “I know some Arabs worked for Elad, but bringing in Arabs is a typical colonist way to say ‘I’ll give you work because I’m good.’ This is a bit out of fashion. And it’s not the way to empower a community.”
Spielman rejects Mizrachi’s statements and says “this is a callous response to an effort to bridge between Arabs and Jews.” He adds that “it is enormously biased against us and even racist in some respects. It says that any efforts made by Jews to work together with Arabs are colonialist. Can only the extreme Left work with Arabs? If we don’t hire them we are racist, when we do hire them from a very practical and well-intentioned position we are colonialist.”
“At the end of the day,” Spielman says, “the more than 100 Arabs who were enjoying a good living while working with us chose of their own free will to do so.
“However, they did not make the choice to leave of their own free will. The decision was made for them by radical elements both in the Muslim world such as the Muslim Brotherhood, and extreme left-wing Jewish groups who embrace the Brotherhood as the hero of the Palestinian People.”
While most of his Arab employees left, Spielman takes pride in the real friendships Elad has with local Arabs, particularly Abu Jameel Siyam, the mukhtar or local leader of Silwan. Last year, Elad and Siyam came out in a unified voice against a planned right-wing march through their neighborhood. Both parties feared the outside influence could damage good relations between local Jews and Arabs.
Spielman points out that the Arabs living in the areas near the City of David have much to gain by Elad’s presence. He cites a new multimillion-shekel government infrastructure project for the area surrounding the City of David, including road repair, new sidewalks, lighting, and other improvements. “The Arab residents of this area are the beneficiaries of this project,” he says.
“We think they need to benefit [from our presence], and we want them to benefit.