From Shiloah to Silwan - An Alternative Archaeological Tour of Ancient Jerusalem

Articles Archive

July 12, 2010 Ir Amim demands El-ad leave Silwan Dan Izenberg, The Jerusalem PostThe nonprofit organization Ir Amim and several intellectuals and activists petitioned the High Court of Justice on Sunday, demanding that the National Parks Authority annul an allegedly secret agreement allowing right-wing Jerusalem settlement movement El-ad to manage the City of David national park...
July 4, 2010 Public security minister: Settlers won't forcibly evict East Jerusalem Palestinians Jonathan Lis, HaaretzPublic Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch has persuaded rightist Knesset members not to forcefully evict Palestinians from a building in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. Last week, MK Uri Ariel (National Union) declared from the Knesset podium that settlers would hire private security...
June 28, 2010 Razing of Palestinian homes in E. Jerusalem approved despite 250 defects in plan Nir Hasson, HaaretzDocuments obtained by Haaretz suggest that the plan to raze 22 Palestinian homes in Silwan to make room for tourist center was not ready to be approved by planning committee, but was rushed by Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat. A controversial plan to raze Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem was approved...
June 28, 2010 A Report from the Battlefield of East Jerusalem Hagit Ofran, The Huffington Post"There is trouble in Silwan," M., a Palestinian friend living in Silwan, informed me last night by phone. Almost every evening over the last weeks there have been clashes in Silwan between police, guards, and residents. This time it sounded serious. M. reported on the injured and ambulances that were...
June 27, 2010 East Jerusalem fracas leads to heavy clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians Liel Kyzer and Nir Hasson, HaaretzPalestinian protesters and Border Police officers engaged in heavy clashes late Sunday near a Jewish enclave in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. The clashes began with a fracas between some 150 protesters and the settlers' security guards, according to Palestinian sources, and spiraled...
June 27, 2010 Molotov cocktails thrown in Silwan, 10 injured Shmulik Grossman, YnetAfter house demolition in King's Garden project announced, disturbances noted in Silwan streets for days straight. Some 200 people riot, throw stones, Molotov cocktails at police, Jewish house. 'Red line crossed,' says senior Border Guard official Disturbances in Silwan continue. Some 200 people...
June 27, 2010 Western Wall museum plans threaten Roman relics, archaeologists warn Nir Hasson, HaaretzJerusalem planning council to rule on controversial project that opponents claim would destroy valuable ancient structures beneath the Old City. Jerusalem's district planning council was on Sunday set to rule on a controversial museum project that archaeologists claim would destroy valuable ancient...
June 24, 2010 Outcry over Silwan demolition plan Jacky Rowland, Al-Jazeera EnglishOutcry over Silwan demolition plan By Jacky Rowland, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Jerusalem Around 1,500 people will be homeless if the demolition programme proceeds in Silwan [EPA] The Palestinian village of Silwan clings to a steep hillside facing the southern walls of Jerusalem's...
June 24, 2010 UN concerned over Silwan demolitions alJazeera MagazineUN concerned over Silwan demolitions 24/06/2010 06:19:41 AM GMT Comments (1) Add a comment Print E-mail to friend The UN has expressed "deep concern" over Israel's "illegal" plan to demolish Palestinian homes in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) to make room for an archaeological...
June 23, 2010 Settlers threaten to forcibly evict East Jerusalem Palestinians Nir Hasson, HaaretzIsraeli settlers say they will hire private security firms to evacuate four families if they do not leave property by July 4. Israeli settlers in East Jerusalem on Wednesday threatened to forcibly evict four Palestinian families they claim are living on property belonging to Jews in the neighborhood...
June 23, 2010 U.N.'s Ban criticizes East Jerusalem housing plan ReutersU.N.'s Ban criticizes East Jerusalem housing plan UNITED NATIONS Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:24pm BSTRelated NewsIsrael slams Palestinians for lack of direct talks Jun 22, 2010 Israeli panel revives East Jerusalem housing plan Jun 21, 2010 Israel sets up inquiry into deadly Gaza ship raid Jun 14, 2010 Israel...
June 22, 2010 Jerusalem demolition plan approved Al-Jazeera EnglishJerusalem demolition plan approved Israeli officials claim that all 88 Palestinian homes in Silwan are built illegally [AFP] The Jerusalem planning committee has given initial approval to a proposal for demolishing 22 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem's Silwan neighbourhood to make room...
June 21, 2010 Erekat: E. Jerusalem home demolitions proves Israel wants to destroy peace talks Nir Hasson, HaaretzChief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Monday slammed Israel's decision to raze 22 Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem, and said the move shows Israel wants to destroy the indirect peace talks with the Palestinians. The Jerusalem municipal planning committee approved Monday a contentious plan...
June 21, 2010 Silwan demolitions approved Ronen Medzini, YnetMunicipality endorses mayor's plan to raze 22 homes in east Jerusalem before Netanyahu-Obama meeting The Jerusalem Planning and Construction committee approved Monday a plan by Mayor Nir Barkat dubbed "King's Garden", which calls for the demolition of 22 houses in Silwan's al-Bustan neighborhood....
June 21, 2010 Erekat: Israel destroying talks by razing Silwan homes Ma'an News AgencyErekat: Israel destroying talks by razing Silwan homes Published Monday 21/06/2010 (updated) 22/06/2010 17:05 Bethlehem - Ma'an/Agencies - Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat reportedly said Israel's decision to demolish 22 homes in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem reveal Israel...
June 20, 2010 Yet another provocation in Jerusalem Hagit Ofran, Peace Now - Settlement WatchTomorrow (Monday the 21st of June) two very controversial East Jerusalem plans are scheduled to come before the municipal planning committee (also known as the local planning committee). They are likely to be approved – the first of series of necessary approvals. The first is for the King’s Garden...
June 14, 2010 How United Is Jerusalem? A Tour of Palestinian Neighborhoods and Israeli Settlements Ziva Galili, The Huffington PostThe recent clashes in East Jerusalem, though limited in scope and duration, are forcing us again to question the presentation of Jerusalem as a united city. Just a few weeks ago, on Jerusalem Day, Israeli politicians and settlers celebrated "Eternally United Jerusalem" and swore it will never be partitioned...
May, 2010 Archaeology in the Shadow of the Conflict Emek Shaveh, From Shiloah to Silwan
May 26, 2010 The dig dividing Jerusalem Ahdaf Soueif , GuardianThe search for the City of David may offer tourists a reminder of Jerusalem's ancient past. But for the Palestinians whose homes are threatened by the excavations, archaeology is merely the latest weapon being used against them. If you walk out of Jerusalem Old City through its south-eastern gate and...
May 25, 2010 Court rejects settlers' appeal to stay in East Jerusalem building Nir Hasson, HaaretzThe 7-story Beit Yehonatan structure was built by ultra-nationalists in the heart of Silwan, a predominantly Arab neighborhood. The Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal to overturn an order to seal off a building in the heart of East Jerusalem in which a handful of Jewish families...
May 20, 2010 What to do with the graves? Nir Hasson, HaaretzHaaretz's investigative reporting on the eve of Shavuot about the removal of skeletons from the Mamilla Muslim cemetery so the Museum of Tolerance can be built there rightly prompted questions from the people at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which had initiated the museum project. The questions went...
May 18, 2010 Museum of Tolerance Special Report Nir Hasson, HaaretzOn the connection between the esteemed California-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, run by one of America’s most famous rabbis, an enterprising Jerusalem contractor and the feverish excavation at what was then probably Israel’s most secret civilian building site. Sometimes a lack of sensitivity...
May 11, 2010 Jerusalem Day / Number of students visiting Jerusalem more than doubles Or Kashti, HaaretzMore than 400,000 students visited J'lem from September through January, double the number for the entire school year two years ago. More than 400,000 children visited Jerusalem on school field trips from September through January of the current school year, compared to about 200,000 for the entire...
May, 2010 Human Rights in East Jerusalem: Facts and Figures ACRI, ACRI - The Association for Civil Rights in Israel
April 30, 2010 Jerusalem's secret land deals Al-Jazeera English, YouTube
April 27, 2010 The Real Story of Yesterday’s Protest in East Jerusalem Hagit Ofran, Peace Now - Settlement WatchThere has been a lot of press coverage of yesterday’s march and counter-protest in Silwan in East Jerusalem. The New York Times reported that “Israeli Rightists Stir[red] Tensions in East Jerusalem” and Israel’s HaAretz Newspaper reported that “Clashes Erupt[ed] As Extreme Rightists March...
April 24, 2010 Attorney General rejects Bibi's request to delay rightist march Roni Sofer, YnetPM's Office says rightists planning to march in Silwan Sunday want to provoke local Arabs; claims rally may 'ignite the city, hinder efforts to jumpstart peace talks.' AG Weinstein : No legal grounds to postpone rally The Prime Minister's Office has asked the Internal Security Ministry to postpone...
April 21, 2010 Silwan residents: Rightist march will ignite area Ronen Medzini, YnetExtreme rightists to march in east Jerusalem village Sunday to protest illegal Palestinian construction there. Leftists: Dangerous provocation Activists from the extreme rightist group Eretz Yisrael Shelanu (Our Land of Israel), including Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir, are expected to march on...
April 6, 2010 Under the Beautiful Valley Danny Felsteiner, The Electronic IntifadaSometimes when I walk in Wadi Hilweh, Jerusalem's beautiful valley, I imagine Hilweh, the legendary Palestinian grandmother for whom this valley is named, treading up the main road in the year 1947 on the way back from her olive grove with a heavy wicker basket perched on her head. If you listened carefully,...
March 28, 2010 Digging out East Jerusalem: how Israeli families are taking over Hamida Ghafour, The NationalHouse by house, street by street, Israeli families are taking over an area that Palestinians want as the capital of their future state. Armed with eviction notices and backed by police, settlers are forcing Arabs from their homes. Hamida Ghafour reports from Jerusalem’s new flashpoint The City...
March 11, 2010 Rightists to march in Silwan Shmulik Grossman, YnetJerusalem Police and the Border Guard deployed backup forces in the eastern side of the capital Thursday, including the Old City and the Palestinian villages, due to intelligence saying teens are planning to riot there Friday. Last Friday's riots were instigated by a government decision to include...
March 11, 2010 Settlements in East Jerusalem ICAHD, YouTube
March 9, 2010 Israel using strong arm tactics against young Palestinian stone-throwers Nir Hasson, HaaretzLast update - 09:42 09/03/2010 Israel using strong arm tactics against young Palestinian stone-throwers By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent Tags: Israel Border Police Several children in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan were arrested and taken from their homes in handcuffs...
March 4, 2010 Muslim right to the Jewish past Yonathan Mizrachi, Search for Common GroundJERUSALEM - The decision to include the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb on the list of National Heritage Sites would, at first glance, appear to be one about which every Jew should be pleased. And, in fact, many Israelis believe that historical sites identified with the Jewish past should...
February 25, 2010 Critics slam heritage plan for omitting non-Jewish sites Nir Hasson, HaaretzThe national heritage proposal that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented to the cabinet this week is attracting criticism for including only sites that are part of the Jewish and Zionist narrative. The NIS 400 million heritage project, which is geared toward supporting the preservation of...
February 25, 2010 Mayor’s Housing Offer Sets Off Row in Jerusalem Ethan Bronner, The New York TimesJERUSALEM — The mayor of Jerusalem is offering 120 Palestinian families in a jumble of houses scheduled for demolition a deal he believes they can’t refuse: new apartments atop shops and restaurants, a day care center, boutique hotels and a huge park. Tourists and income will flow. It is — as...
February 24, 2010 Jerusalem inspectors hand out demolition notices in Silwan Ronen Medzini, YnetResidents of east Jerusalem neighborhood say municipal inspectors entering various buildings, distributing demolition orders. Peace Now: This is a provocation by the mayor Municipal inspectors accompanied by security forces distributed demolition notices on Wednesday in the east Jerusalem Arab neighborhood...
February 9, 2010 In Jerusalem archaeology is politics Paul Reynolds, BBC NewsThe very stones of Jerusalem are political weapons in the age-old struggle for possession of the Holy Land. And nowhere is more sensitive than the great platform built by King Herod, known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to the Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary. To understand...
February 8, 2010 Archaeology in Jerusalem: Digging Up Trouble Tim McGirk, Time MagazineThe Jerusalem syndrome is a psychological disorder in which a visit to the holy city triggers delusional and obsessive religious fantasies. In its extreme variety, people wander the lanes of the Old City believing they are biblical characters; John the Baptist, say, or a brawny Samson, sprung back to...
February 5, 2010 Archaeology and the struggle for Jerusalem Katya Adler, BBC News"I like to travel and when I travel, I like to have a guide book. Here in Jerusalem, that guide book is the Tanah, the Bible." This is how guide Asher Altshul likes to start his tours at the expansive City of David archaeological site in Jerusalem. The site stretches along and down one of Jerusalem's...
February 4, 2010 Israel to seal settler house in east Jerusalem AFP, France24AFP - Municipal authorities will comply under protest with a court order to seal a Jewish settler's building in mainly Arab east Jerusalem, the mayor's office announced on Thursday. Rightwing Mayor Nir Barkat pointedly insisted this meant the municipality must tear down 200 homes -- virtually all...
January 31, 2010 Archaeology Digs Up Controversy in Jerusalem Jaron Gilinsky, Time MagazineThe controversial history of an area called the City of David in East Jerusalem fuels tempers between Israelis and Palestinians Read more: http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,64098268001_1957917,00.html#ixzz0eHLFGsmJ
January 22, 2010 Yediot exposé: Settler orgs fund police infrastructure in East Jerusalem Uri Misgav, CoteretA Yedioth Ahronoth investigation reveals some very surprising facts concerning the funding of the new headquarters. According to our findings, only a small portion of the funding originates from the state. The bulk of the money comes from private organizations with a clear right wing orientation: the...
January 20, 2010 Jerusalem mayor could face charges for refusing to evacuate Jewish home Akiva Eldar, HaaretzA Jerusalem city councilman submitted a police complaint against Mayor Nir Barkat on Wednesday for the latter's defiance of a court order mandating the evacuation of a home inhabited by Jews in the predominantly Arab part of the city. The councilman, Meir Turgeman, is accusing the mayor of obstruction...
January 1, 2010 Mazuz to police chief: Evacuate Beit Yonatan now Akiva Eldar , HaaretzThe attorney general has instructed Police Commissioner David Cohen to take immediate action to evacuate the illegal structure known as Beit Yonatan in East Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood. "This is a grave ongoing case of flouting court orders and cannot be allowed to continue," Attorney General...

December 22, 2009 Barkat gears up for Silwan plan protest Dan Izenberg, The Jerusalem PostMayor Nir Barkat has told Jerusalem Municipality legal adviser Yossi Habilio that he does not want him to represent the city in a High Court petition demanding the cancellation of controversial plans by architect Moshe Safdie for the Silwan neighborhood, south of the Old City, The Jerusalem Post has...
December 20, 2009 Jerusalem mayor cuts health funds for Arab children Nir Hasson, HaaretzJerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Thursday rejected municipal recommendations and cut funding for a toddler health-care center in East Jerusalem, while approving aid to a similar center in a Jewish neighborhood. The funds would have gone to opening a branch of the "Drop of Milk" (Tipat Halav) program,...
December 2, 2009 EU envoys: Israel trying to sever East Jerusalem from West Bank Barak Ravid, HaaretzA classified report drafted by European consuls in East Jerusalem and Ramallah slams Israeli policy in East Jerusalem and recommends that the European Union take steps to strengthen the Palestinian Authority's status in the city. It also advises taking various measures to protest Israeli policy in the...
November 20, 2009 Digital map reveals Israeli archaeology Suzanne Muchnic , Los Angeles TimesA searchable map detailing 40 years of Israeli archaeological work in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, developed for the USC Digital Library, has won the 2009 Open Archaeology Prize from the American Schools of Oriental Research. A nonprofit organization founded in 1900 and located at Boston University,...
October 29, 2009 An empty land? Yonathan Mizrachi, Search for Common GroundJewish history and Biblical studies are the two main humanistic subjects taught in Israeli schools. However, the average Israeli pupil doesn’t learn anything about the rest of the history of the land of Israel. In my opinion, the absence of this field of study greatly influences the development of...
October 19, 2009 Will preservation of ancient Roman road destroy the Western Wall? Nir Hasson, HaaretzOne of the country's leading archaeologists has publicly condemned the Israel Antiquities Authority's failure to object to a plan to construct a building over a site in the Western Wall plaza where a well-preserved ancient Roman road was recently excavated. "I would like to take advantage of this...
October 8, 2009 Shallow and brutal archaeology Raphael Greenberg, HaaretzAs usual during the Jewish holidays, the Israeli public has been inundated with reports of "amazing discoveries" in excavations in Jerusalem. One might dismiss them as a combination of public relations and the need to fill the holiday newspapers, but in fact they attest to a worrying process whereby...
October 6, 2009 Netanyahu, the Tunnels Opener Hagit Ofran, The Huffington PostLast week, an incident that could have set the entire Middle East on fire was prevented. Netanyahu's secret plan to visit a disputed tunnel in the East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, at the site known as Ir David (the City of David), was canceled, probably with some international intervention....
October 5, 2009 WATCH: Organizer admits City of David endangers Arab homes Akiva Eldar, HaaretzA video tape made during a guided tour of the archaeological excavations at Silwan (the City of David) near Jerusalem's Old City walls reveals how Elad, the association that runs the dig, works together with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Jerusalem municipality...
October 4, 2009 Religious use contested east J'lem site as mikveh Ronen Medzini, YnetIt happens every Friday: Religious men turn public Pool of Siloam in Silwan into a ritual bath – enter water naked and ward off anyone who approaches. This is what the source of a 3,000-year-long conflict looks like today How did a pastoral pool become another source of conflict in embroiled east...
October 3, 2009 Head of Elad reveals how he tricked the Israel Antiquity Authority Anonymous, YouTube
September 23, 2009 Court rejects Silwan residents' petition against City of David archeological work Abe Selig, The Jerusalem PostThe Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition submitted against the Israel Antiquities Authority by residents of the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, concerning excavations being conducted at the City of David archeological park in the neighborhood's Wadi Hilweh section. The petition, which...
September 16, 2009 Shooting at the City of David Silwanic, YouTube
September 11, 2009 Silwan archaeological tunnel extended jpost.com Staff, The Jerusalem PostThe extension of an archaeological tunnel under the City of David has caused upset among Palestinians, according to a Sky News report Friday, which featured mobile phone video footage. According to the report, the archaeological project is funded by settlers, and aims to uncover a road which led...
September 11, 2009 Row as Jerusalem tunnel is extended in Silwan Dominic Waghorn, Sky NewsA controversial tunnel under Jerusalem has been extended in a move that is angering Palestinians, Sky News can exclusively reveal. Mobile phone footage shows the extent of the excavations Footage filmed on a mobile phone shows the extent of the excavations Mobile phone footage proves that archaeologists,...
September 10, 2009 Jerusalem court halts Silwan construction Abe Selig, The Jerusalem PostThe Jerusalem Magistrate's Court this week ordered a halt to a number of construction projects in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, after residents and two local NGOs filed a petition claiming the projects were illegal. Judge Noam Sohlberg ordered a halt to the projects on Tuesday in response...
August 31, 2009 Fifteen minutes of hate in Silwan Meron Rapoport , The GuardianIt's searing hot, but there's some pleasantness about the stone-flagged path rising from the centre of Silwan, Jerusalem. Maybe it's the breeze, or the stone houses oozing coolness into the air, or maybe it's the wide-open mountain landscape. There are three of us – Ilan, the director, Michael, the...
August 6, 2009 Irving Moskowitz's bingo madness Richard Silverstein, The GuardianHow an American gambling mogul is forcing a showdown between the Obama administration and Israel over settlements. Irving Moskowitz has come a long way since he began his medical career as an young internist in California 60 years ago. Shortly after earning his medical degree in 1952, he bought...
August, 2009 Damage control: is een eerlijke opdeling van Jeruzalem nog mogelijk? (Dutch) Sofie Van Der Straeten, University of GentDe geïntensiveerde geografische en demografische strijd in de ‘Holy Basin’ van Jeruzalem en Silwan als case study van de vergevorderde judaïsering van een Palestijns dorp. Op één dag tijd: negen Palestijnse families worden door de Israëlische politie in het Palestijnse dorp Sheikh Jarrah...
July 30, 2009 The City and the Dogs: A Psychedelic Tour through Jerusalem's More Peculiar Districts Yizhar Be'er, The Huffington PostYou have to see it to believe it. The photographs that appear here document the murals that stretch dozens of meters down the length of the road that leads from the neighborhood of Silwan -- that is, the City of David -- along the Eastern Wall of the Old City on the way to Dung Gate. The murals decorate...
July 26, 2009 Two-day-old Silwan info center in jeopardy Abe Selig, The Jerusalem Post"We built this place last Sunday, and on Tuesday, the police arrived with orders to knock it down," said Ahmad Qara'een, as he sat inside the Wadi Hilwah Information Center, a 35-sq.m. covered wooden deck erected by residents of east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood. Qara'een does not dispute the...
July 19, 2009 Gambling with peace: how US bingo dollars are funding Israeli settlements Chris McGreal, The GuardianFor the winning punters chancing their luck at Hawaiian Gardens' charity bingo hall in the heart of one of California's poorest towns, the big prize is $500. The losers walk away with little more than an assurance that their dollars are destined for a good cause. But the real winners and losers live...
July 19, 2009 Wadi Hilwah Information Center - Silwan Silwanic, Silwanic
June 30, 2009 Private security costs in e. J Abe Selig, The Jerusalem PostGovernment funding allocated to a private security firm tasked with protecting Jewish residents in Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem has more than doubled over the last 10 years, and now exceeds NIS 54 million, according to a new report released by Peace Now. The report, which was based on information...
June 27, 2009 IDF weekend trips hosted by East Jerusalem settlement group Anshel Pfeffer, HaaretzAn organization advocating Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem has led several Israel Defense Forces groups on weekend trips there, and the trips were approved and partially funded by the army. The trips, which have taken place over the past several months, include tours of Jewish homes in the area...
June 24, 2009 Holy Land Grab Jacky Rowland, Al-Jazeera English
June 3, 2009 War of the Graves: The Mount of Olives vs. Mamilla Yonathan Mizrachi, AIC - Alternative Information CenterDuring the past two to three years, the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem has enjoyed a flourishing period of development. The cemetery overlooks the Old City from the East and according to tradition is the place from which the Messiah will arrive during the resurrection of the dead....
June, 2009 ELAD co-funds municipal construction plans in East Jerusalem Ha'im Rivlin, Israel Channel 2
May, 2009 Shady Dealings in Silwan Meron Rapoport, Ir Amim
May 26, 2009 "Unser Herz schlägt hier"(In German) Von Clemens Höges, Der SpiegelGeheime Tunnel, meterdicke Mauern, 3000 Jahre alte Siegel: Archäologen suchen nach dem Ursprung Jerusalems und wollen König Davids Palast entdeckt haben - aber unter einem arabischen Viertel. Das Rauchen hat sich Jawad Siyam angewöhnt, als die Israelis ihn mal wieder eingesperrt hatten. Er war...
May 19, 2009 Barkat may relocate Silwan residents Etgar Lefkovits, The Jerusalem PostJerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat hopes to reach an agreement on the relocation of Arab residents living in illegally constructed homes in east Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood, to make way for a planned archaeological park adjacent to the City of David. "This is one of the most strategic sites in the city,...
May 9, 2009 Parks Fortify Israel’s Claim to Jerusalem Ethan Bronner and Isabel Kershner, The New York TimesIsrael is quietly carrying out a $100 million, multiyear development plan in some of the most significant religious and national heritage sites just outside the walled Old City here as part of an effort to strengthen the status of Jerusalem as its capital. The plan, parts of which have been outsourced...
May, 2009 The State of Human Rights in East Jerusalem ACRI, ACRI - The Association for Civil Rights in Israel
April, 2009 The very eye of the storm Akiva Eldar, HaaretzJawad Siam pulled out a brochure issued by the Jerusalem municipality heralding development plans for his place of residence, the village of Silwan in East Jerusalem. He pointed to the map in the brochure, where the neighborhood's streets were marked. "You see this, Hashiloah Road?" he asked. "All these...
April 5, 2009 Yishai vows to settle Jews in east Jerusalem Roni Sofer, YnetInterior Minister Eli Yishai said Sunday that he was developing a plan to settle Jews in the City of David in Jerusalem. "The City of David and everywhere in Jerusalem that was the origin of our growth is our sovereign right," he said. Yishai was speaking at a meeting with Jewish entrepreneurs who...
March, 2009 Where's King David's Garden? Yonathan Mizrachi, From Shiloah to SilwanRecently, some articles praising the archaeological significance of the Al-Bustan neighborhood in Silwan have appeared in various newspapers, in attempt to justify the plan to demolish the 88 houses in the neighborhood. Most of the houses in the neighborhood, which is located at the feet of the archaeological...
March, 2009 Archaeology in Jerusalem 1967 - 2008 Raphael Greenberg, Public ArchaeologyThe village of Silwan, in East Jerusalem, contains the remains of most ancient Jerusalem, often termed “The City of David”. In recent years the excavation and presentation of the archaeology of Silwan has been placed in the hands of a Jewish settler non-governmental organization. Their incorporation...

December 6, 2008 New Tensions in Jerusalem’s Arab Neighborhoods Isabel Kershner, The New York TimesA series of recent Israeli actions in the mainly Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem have raised tensions there, with Palestinian and Israeli critics contending that they are part of a wider plan to “Judaize” historically charged areas around the Old City. The actions, ostensibly unconnected,...
November 14, 2008 Court orders state to explain construction in Jerusalem's Holy Basin Akiva Eldar, HaaretzThe High Court of Justice last week ordered the state to explain the unauthorized construction and earthworks by government bodies near the Western Wall and the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Arab residents of the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan and Peace Now activists had petitioned the court...
November, 2008 Archaeological Views: Archaeology Adding to the Powder Keg David Ilan, Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR)
July 30, 2008 Archaeological Digs Stoke Conflict in Jerusalem Adina Hoffman, The NationSomething of the street punk and village elder mingle in Jawad Siyam. Wiry, dark and stubble-chinned, with a cigarette often dangling from the side of his mouth and a slightly amused look in his eye, he bears more than a passing resemblance to Jean-Paul Belmondo--if, that is, one can imagine the star...
July 9, 2008 The City of David Sergio Yahni, AIC - Alternative Information CenterThe City of David Visitor's Center is ranked among the top five tourist attractions in Israel, growing from 25,000 visitors in 2001 to 350,000 visitors in 2008. Like other Palestinian neighborhoods, the barbed wire, security guards, and Israeli flags hanging from houses speak the true story, a story...
June 1, 2008 Islamic-era skeletons 'disappeared' from Elad-sponsored dig Meron Rapoport, HaaretzDozens of skeletons from the early Islamic period were discovered during excavations near the Temple Mount, on a site slated for construction by a right-wing Jewish organization. Contrary to regulations, the skeletons were removed, and were not reported to the Ministry of Religious Services. The Israel...
May 30, 2008 Jewish tunnel worries Palestinians AFP, The Taipei TimesPalestinian and Israeli critics are wary of the principal financial backer of an archeological project, the Ir David Foundation, and its political agenda. Amin al-Siyam says he is awakened nearly every night by the sound of Jewish settlers tunneling under his east Jerusalem house toward the Old City's...
May 1, 2008 Archaeologists for hire Yigal Bronner , The GuardianIn the early 1990s, a settler organisation by the name of Elad (a Hebrew acronym for: "To the City of David") began to plot its takeover of Silwan, a densely populated Palestinian neighbourhood located a stone's throw from the Temple Mount and the al-Aqsa mosque. Silwan is also home to one of the...
April 17, 2008 A separate peace Meron Rapoport , HaaretzThe guests who arrived at the Jerusalem Van Leer Institute this week were archaeologists, as their footwear attested to. Most of them wore hiking boots, though some showed up in biblical-style sandals, toes poking out on a chilly Jerusalem evening, and others in slippers of the type kibbutzim once gave...
March 16, 2008 City of David tunnel excavation proceeds without proper permit Meron Rapoport , HaaretzThe excavation of a tunnel under Jerusalem's City of David has gone on for months without a license from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), as required by law. In addition, there is no operative plan for developing the site by the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority (INNPPA),...
March 2, 2008 Digging too deep? Michael Green, The Jerusalem Post'You can feel it here. It's life, real life," whispers a voice in the dim light illuminating a narrow tunnel hidden below the surface of Jerusalem's streets. "Life in Jerusalem ended here," says Doron Spielman, the Ir David Foundation's international director of development, crouching in the passage...
February 14, 2008 Archeologists battle over the history of Jerusalem Ben Lynfield, The Jewish ChronicleIn a softly lit subterranean passage at the City of David archeological park in East Jerusalem, guide Hila Levinger reads from the Bible an account of how King David captured the area, thought to be impregnable, before establishing his capital there. “It is possible he captured it through this...
January 17, 2008 Settler group refuses to vacate land slated for school for the disabled Or Kashti and Meron Rapoport, HaaretzThe right-wing Elad settlement organization is refusing to vacate an area in the Jerusalem Peace Forest that had been promised to the special education organization Hadvir Hahadash. The Jewish National Fund signed an agreement in 2004 with Hadvir, which wants to build a boarding school for young...
January 1, 2008 Digging for Trouble - Israel/Palestine Natasha Dudinski, DigressMedia

December 18, 2007 Das Klingelschild von König David (German) Alex Rühle, Süeddeutsche ZeitungWie politische Archäologie in Jerusalem die Gegenwart entsorgt und wo der gefährlichste Ort Israels entsteht: Tausende von Touristen pilgern täglich zum angeblichen Palast König Davids. Silwan. City of David. Ein Ort, zwei Namen. Zum einen zieht sich hier, südlich der Mauern der Altstadt von...
November 21, 2007 Group 'Judaizing' East Jerusalem accused of withholding donor information Meron Rapoport , HaaretzThe registrar of associations is considering demanding the dissolution of the Elad association, which promotes the "Judaization" of East Jerusalem. Elad has been operating in East Jerusalem for about 20 years. It has acquired and received many properties belonging to Palestinians in Kfar Silwan,...
November, 2007 Archaeology and The Battle For Jerusalem Raphael Greenberg, Jewish QuarterlyAny intellectual practice in Israel entails both the representation of politics and the politics of representation. The ideological implications of practising archaeology in Jerusalem are as many-layered as the cultures that lie buried beneath the city’s surface. Archaeology has always been implicated...

January 20, 2005 Land lords Meron Rapoport , HaaretzAs a result of a secret Israeli government decision, thousands of Palestinians living in the West Bank who own land or homes in East Jerusalem lost all rights to their holdings. And there are already plans to build on the expropriated land. On July 8, 2004, the cabinet met and adopted resolutions...

November, 2000 (Re)designing the City of David: Landscape, Narrative and Archaeology in Silwan Jeffrey Yas, Jerusalem QuarterlyThis article concerns the role of archaeological sites in the modern (re)creations of historical landscapes. Within the social sciences the word "landscape" increasingly refers to a subjective projection cast onto an ever-contested external terrain. In contrast to our positivist forebears, who so ambitiously...