I’m just wondering. A few days ago I found this article about a massive moat being built to the protect royalty, which makes me wonder how Democracy could come out of Judea – via Jesus? why not, a Greek State? As a theologian, I would love to ask Netanyahu if Jesus liberated much of the world from Roman Rule!
John Presco
Massive fortification that protected the kings of Jerusalem revealed
For the past 150 years, scholars and archaeologists have attempted to trace Jerusalem’s northern fortification line. It’s only now, through the Givati Parking Lot excavations, that this defensive system has been clearly exposed.
Published on 07-21-2024 08:45
Last modified: 07-21-2024 13:43
Israeli archaeologists have unearthed a monumental defensive system in Jerusalem’s City of David, resolving a 150-year-old enigma surrounding the ancient city’s northern fortifications. The impressive structure, featuring a deep, wide trench carved into bedrock, effectively split Jerusalem into two distinct zones and safeguarded its rulers for centuries.
The colossal fortification, unearthed during excavations at the Givati Parking Lot dig in the City of David, part of the Jerusalem Walls National Park, was created by extensive rock-cutting that formed a massive trench – an enormous channel separating the City of David ridge from the Temple Mount and the so-called Ophel areas. Flanking the trench were sheer cliffs, impossible to scale. Initially, archaeologists were perplexed by the peculiar rock-cutting, but as the excavation progressed and connections were made to previous digs, it became evident that this was the northern defense line of the lower city.
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The creation of this trench was a monumental undertaking, designed to reshape the natural landscape and project power to those approaching the acropolis (Eliyahu Yanai, Eric Marmor, Maor Ganon, City of David)
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Professor Yuval Gadot from Tel Aviv University’s Department of Archaeology and Yiftah Shalev from the Israel Antiquities Authority, who led the excavation, explained, “It is not known when the moat was originally cut, but evidence suggests it was used during the centuries when Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, almost 3,000 years ago, beginning with King Josiah. During those years, the moat separated the southern residential part of the city from the ruling Acropolis in the north; the upper city where the palace and the temple were located.”
The creation of this trench was a monumental undertaking, designed to reshape the natural landscape and project power to those approaching the acropolis. The researchers noted that such an ambitious project, requiring significant resources and expertise, speaks volumes about the authority wielded by Jerusalem’s rulers at the time.
For the past century and a half, scholars and archaeologists have attempted to trace Jerusalem’s northern fortification line. It’s only now, through the Givati Parking Lot excavations – conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University, with funding from the Elad Foundation – that this defensive system has been clearly exposed.
Gadot shared an intriguing connection to past research, “Following the dramatic discovery, we reexamined the past excavations reports wrriten by the British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon, who excavated in the City of David in the 1960s, in an area located slightly east of today’s Givati Parking Lot. It became clear to us that Kenyon noticed that the natural rock slopes towards the north, in a place where it should naturally have risen. She thought it was a natural valley, but now it turns out that she had uncovered the continuation of the moat, carved to the west. The connection of the two uncovered sections creates a deep and wide moat that extends across at least 70 meters, from west to east.
“This is a dramatic discovery that opens up a renewed discussion about the terms from the biblical literature that refer to the topography of Jerusalem, such as the Ophel and the Millo,” he added.
Shalev noted the uncertainty surrounding the trench’s origins, “The date the moat was cut is unknown. Such significant construction plans and quarrying in Jerusalem are usually dated to the Middle Bronze Age – about 3,800 years ago (the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE). If the moat was cut during this period, then it was intended to protect the city from the north – the only weak point of the City of David slope. Either way, we are confident that it was used at the time of the First Temple and the Kingdom of Judah (ninth century BCE), so it created a clear buffer between the residential city in the south, and the upper city in the north.”
Ancient Jerusalem’s unique topography – built on a narrow, steep ridge and expanding across hills and valleys – posed significant challenges for urban development and movement. It’s therefore unsurprising that many royal building projects in Jerusalem focused on reshaping the landscape. The Bible itself alludes to such efforts, as in 1 Kings 11:27, which mentions King Solomon’s work: “Solomon built up the ‘Millo’ and closed up the breach of the City of David, his father.”
This discovery reveals that throughout the Iron Age (First Temple period) – the period in which the biblical books were set – the city was divided into at least two distinct parts. This was also the case during the Persian and Hellenistic periods.
The findings have been published in the journal TEL AVIV – a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes articles on current archaeological investigations in the Levant and critical studies related to the history and culture of Near Eastern civilizations – and will be presented to the public at the upcoming Jerusalem Learning Experience Conference, hosted by the City of David in early August.
Otzma Yehudit and haredi parties negotiating to pass series of controversial measures
Wheeling and dealing abound as Knesset wraps up summer session.
By ELIAV BREUERJULY 22, 2024 20:16
The far-right Otzma Yehudit party is negotiating with the two haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, in an attempt to cut a deal to pass a number of controversial bills and measures this week, before the Knesset sets out on its three-month summer recess on Sunday, an Otzma Yehudit spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
The first bill on the table is a controversial bill promoted by Shas. The bill is scheduled to reach the Knesset plenum for its first reading on Tuesday, after being blocked by Otzma Yehudit approximately two weeks ago, and causing a crisis in the coalition. The bill stipulates that the government can create and fund jobs in municipalities and regional councils that provide religious services, in addition to jobs provided by the municipality itself. Shas has said that the bill’s purpose is to increase religious services, but opponents of the bill have argued that its real intention is to enable Shas, which controls the religious affairs ministry, to appoint an unlimited amount of its members to government-paying jobs.
Two weeks ago, Otzma Yehudit chairman, National Security Minister MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, conditioned his party’s support for the bill on him being appointed part of the prime minister’s inner circle responsible for making decisions regarding the war against Hamas. However, the bill is on the agenda for Tuesday’s plenum. At the same time, the Knesset’s Wednesday agenda includes an item that did not come up for a vote in April due to opposition from the haredi parties, and is important to Ben-Gvir: to move the National Unit for Enforcing Planning and Construction Laws from the finance ministry to Ben-Gvir’s National Security Ministry.Top ArticlesRead More
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The unit was formed in 2017 as part of a law known as the Kamenetz Law, whose purpose was to tighten enforcement of illegal construction, especially in the Arab sector. The unit, which has the authority to hand out fines and other sanctions for construction violators, has been under the auspices of the finance ministry, but the Likud agreed in coalition agreements signed in November 2022 that the unit will move to Ben-Gvir’s ministry. Ben-Gvir has promoted stricter enforcement against construction violations, especially amongst Bedouin nomads in the South, and having the unit under his auspices will give him more power over it.
A spokesperson for Otzma Yehudit denied the existence of a deal between Otzma Yehudit and Shas, where the former would support Shas’s religious services law, in exchange for the unit moving to Ben-Gvir’s ministry. However, a very similar deal fell through in April, when Ben-Gvir refused to support a different bill important to the haredi parties: the “Kosher Cellphone” bill.
The Kosher Cellphone bill anchors in law the Rabbinic Committee for Communication’s ability to control some 500,000 users of what are known as “kosher cellphones.” The committee, which is comprised of representatives from most of Israel’s haredi factions, was formed in 2005 in an attempt to counter the “threat” of smartphones. The committee achieved this by cutting deals with cellular providers to reserve certain phone numbers for phones known as “kosher phones” – i.e., not smartphones – and to prevent users from shifting the same phone number to a different device. The committee could thus determine via a user’s phone number whether or not he or she belonged to what they called the “kosher platform.”
Kroyzer comes around to the bill
Ben-Gvir’s representative in the Economics Committee, Yizhak Kroyzer, at first opposed the bill last week but eventually dropped his reservations, and the bill passed a preliminary vote and is now set for a final vote in the Knesset plenum. Lo and behold, the bill is on Wednesday’s agenda as well, and could well be part of the deal that will give Ben-Gvir the National Unit for Enforcing Planning and Construction Laws.
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In the meantime, the Arab party members strongly oppose the unit becoming part of Ben Gvir’s ministry, and may attempt to make offers to the haredim to support their bills instead of Ben-Gvir, in exchange for them promising to oppose his takeover of the unit. The haredi parties have said in the past that they would not cooperate with the Arab parties, but the two parties, which represent Israel’s largest two minorities, have cooperated in the past, and may do so again this week.
Rosamond Press 
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