King David's Palace

I read King David’s Palace Is Found, Archaeologist Says and did not think that much of it, since I thought it was a given that Jews had lived in the area for a long time, but The Anchoress read the same piece with a more discerning eye This is obviously a very exciting story.... So, why should I feel a little let down? Well, take a look at the way the NY Times wrote it:

Line 1) An Israeli archaeologist says she has uncovered in East Jerusalem what may be the fabled palace of the biblical King David.

Line 2) Her work has been sponsored by a conservative Israeli research institute and financed by an American Jewish investment banker who would like to prove that Jerusalem was indeed the capital of the Jewish kingdom described in the Bible.

Line 3) Other scholars are skeptical that the foundation walls discovered by the archaeologist, Eilat Mazar, are David’s palace.

Am I the only one annoyed that before we get to read anything specific about what has been found, we must first be warned by the Times that this research is funded by “conseravtive(s)” and (paraphrased) “a Jew with an agenda?” That before I have read one interesting revelation, the Times inserts the “doubt?”

Later in the article, of course, we read this: The find will also be used in the broad political battle over Jerusalem - whether the Jews have their origins here and thus have some special hold on the place, or whether, as many Palestinians have said, including the late Yasir Arafat, the idea of a Jewish origin in Jerusalem is a myth used to justify conquest and occupation.

I must have been living a very sheltered life. I never realized that the "Palestinians" were saying that the idea of a Jewish origin in Jerusalem is a myth. I thought the myth was that the muslims in the area called themselves "Palestinians"

As I understand history The First Temple was planned by David and erected by Solomon at a commanding position on Mount Moriah, now called the Temple Mount, dedicated in 953 BC. The First Temple stood for 374 years, until it was totally destroyed by the Babylonians led by King Nebuchadnezzar on the 9th day of Av, 586 BC.

After the reign of Solomon (approx. 950 BC), the Israelite kingdom broke up into two states: Israel, with its capital at Samaria, and Judah (origin of the name 'Jew'), under the house of David, with its capital at Jerusalem. The two kingdoms were later conquered by expanding Mesopotamian states, Israel by Assyria (approx. 720 BC) and Judah by Babylonia (586 BC). Jewish government was established again in Judea, but was finally lost until modern times after invasion by the Romans and the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, not many years after it was constructed by Herod the Great in 19 or 20 BC. The Koran refers to Moses. Does it not say where the Jews went when they left Egypt?

Ah, yes…so you see, it was necessary to begin the article with a debunking, because if you are a Palestinian sympathizer, you wouldn’t want to give fresh impetus to the idea that - gasp - the Jews might have some rights to East Jerusalem. The NY Times made sure it did its part.

Interspersed within the piece are some interesting lines about the archeological site, but we read repeatedly that maybe biblical Jerusalem wasn’t much to write home about, after all. In every way, the idea that Jerusalem and Jews belong together is downplayed. Much space is given over to doubt, to questioning the methods of means of the archeologist (she’s trying to fit history…blah, blah…”)

An annoying article…but I do love the last line, which seems almost like God Having Fun, and which will attract many folks interested in “end-times” postulations: Ms. Mazar continues to dig, but right now, three families are living in houses where she would most like to explore. One family is Muslim, one Christian and one Jewish.

Imagine that…a little microcosm of interested conflict, reflecting a worldwide one, right there on a tiny plot of land that might be incredibly - earthshakingly - important.

Yes, I do think God has a sense of humor.