By STEVE LINDEA team of archaeologists, led by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology and Prof. Michael Hasel at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee, revealed extensive ruins of a Canaanite temple dating (photo credit: Courtesy)CANAANITE TEMPLE A team of archaeologists, led by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology and Prof. Michael Hasel at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee, revealed extensive ruins of a Canaanite temple dating back to the 12th century BCE in Lachish, the Biblical city captured by Joshua. “This excavation has been breathtaking,” Garfinkel said. “It would be hard to overstate the importance of these findings.” According to an article first published in The Journal of the Council for British Research in the Levant, the team uncovered a compound with two columns and two towers leading to a large hall and inner sanctum, as well as two bronze figurines (bottom inset), gold artifacts, weapons, jewelry and pottery engraved with Canaanite script – including the oldest example of the letter samekh, a vertical line crossed by three perpendicular shorter linesISRAEL STRIKES Israel Air Force fighter jets struck Islamic Jihad targets in the Gaza Strip and Syria, where six terrorists were killed, after a barrage of rockets was fired by the terrorist group at southern Israel on February 23, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said. The attacks came after an an Islamic Jihad terrorist was shot dead by IDF troops while planting a bomb at the fence that separates Gaza and Israel. A day later, the IDF struck multiple targets in Gaza after more rockets were fired at Israel, one of which hit a kindergarten playground in Sderot, causing damage but no casualties because all schools in the area had been closed due to the security situation.UN BLACKLIST The United Nations on February 12 published a list of 112 companies doing business with Israeli settlements, drawing praise from the Palestinians and condemnation from Israel. “Boycotting Israeli companies does not advance the cause of peace and does not build confidence between the sides,” said President Reuven Rivlin. “We call on our friends around the world to speak out against this shameful initiative which reminds of dark periods in our history.” Israel announced the suspension of ties with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, accusing it of serving the interests of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.SAUDI TRIP Heads of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the US Jewish umbrella group, held talks with top Saudi officials in Saudi Arabia in mid-February, ahead of their 46th Annual National Leadership Mission meetings in Israel. “We hope and believe this is a step in a long and productive relationship,” said Conference of Presidents Chairman Arthur Stark at a joint press conference in Jerusalem with Executive Vice President Malcolm Hoenlein and CEO William Daroff. Some 100 heads of 50 American Jewish organizations participated in the meetings, which included sessions with politicians, business leaders, policy experts and opinion-shapers from various sectors of Israeli society.ROTHSCHILD PRIZE Prof. Moshe Rosman, an authority on Polish Jewry whose diverse scholarly works and expertise have made an impact on the study of Jewish history, is the recipient of the coveted Rothschild Prize in Jewish Studies for 2020. The prize will be awarded by the Yad Hanadiv foundation in March to Rosman, who has been a member of Bar-Ilan University’s Koschitzky Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry for the past 40 years, for his “pioneering work in exploring the political, economic and social interaction of Jews and Poles.”POPE HONORED European Jewish Congress President Dr. Moshe Kantor presents the 2020 Golden Vision Award to Pope Francis at the Vatican on February 14 “as a token of appreciation for his support in countering antisemitism and other forms of intolerance and as a living testimony of the brotherhood between Jews and Christians.” The Golden Vision award is the EJC’s highest award bestowed annually on two personalities – one Jewish and one non-Jewish – for their outstanding intellectual contribution to a more inclusive world in which antisemitism is not tolerated.
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