Ir David, Silwan and why we can’t rebuild the temple
There is an ongoing battle in the modern world between those who want
to dig and those who want to build. In Bristol, where I was briefly living,
there is a beautiful stretch of hilly grass called Castle Park. Below it lays
the remains of the ruined ‘Bristol Castle’ and above is a public garden and
a church. Those in the dig camp believe that the castle (which features on
the city crest) is such an important part of Bristol’s heritage that,
regardless of the modern day park and church, Bristol Council should
allow it to be dug up in its entirety. At the same time many locals, who
get a lot out of walking through the park with its flower beds, trees and
view of the river, are content creating an image of the castle in their
minds out of the many turrets sticking up out of the grounds of the park.
In Bristol the possible ramifications of either side winning a full
victory are minimal as ultimately the land belongs to the council and is
not inhabited. If we look over to Israel though and what is going on in
many parts of the West Bank we have a very different story.
Ir David (in English, David’s City) is an area of land starting from
the temple mount and stretching out east. Whilst there is no historical
evidence to suggest that King David actually existed, the area known as
Ir David was undoubtedly the main part of Jerusalem during the period of
the First Temple. There is ample proof that the tunnel built there to
channel water from Gihon Spring (which is located outside of the old city
walls) to inside the city was built in the time of King Hezekiah (8th
century BCE). There is also evidence that when the First Temple was
destroyed in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon, this area was
also destroyed. Without excavations much of what I’ve just mentioned
would not be know. Ir David was very much part of the Jewish story in
Israel and the more we dig, the more we can find out about our past.
The flip side of this is that Ir David is not the only name for the strip
of land east of the walls of Jerusalem’s old city. To the Palestinians who
live there now and who have been living there for centuries, Ir David is
part of the village of Silwan, a village with over 50,000 residents. To
these people, the excavations are not only damaging to their property (by
digging underneath houses several buildings have collapsed) but are a
constant reminder of how their lack of citizenship denies them the legal
and human rights granted to all Israelis. These excavations are politically
motivated as part of a plan to completely annex East Jerusalem into part
of Israel, depriving the future Palestinian state of a capital. The
organization responsible for the running of the various archaeological
sites (which in themselves have been called into question for lacking
scientific merit and being politically motivated; knowing what you want to
find and then ‘finding it’), Elad, is boycotted by LJY-Netzer as it actively
funds settlements in the West Bank and has played a large and crucial
role in the eviction of Palestinians in Silwan from their homes, all in the
name of archaeological discovery.
The argument that this land is part of our heritage as Jews does not
hold firm. The Dome of the rock stands on the remains of the First and
Second Temples and some of the same people who dig in Silwan would
have the third most important Muslim site taken over using the same
argument. History is important but what’s more important are the lives of
people living today, the people denied of citizenship whose homes are
being repossessed and knocked down. Every time a Jew pays entrance
fee to one of the Ir David sites they are directly funding the settlement
movement.
It is not enough just to boycott. We must be vocal in our opposition,
spreading their word through the Jewish and wider community that this
government supported behaviour is unacceptable and that it is not done
in our name! Only with support from the Jewish community can the
people of Silwan get the rights which they deserve!