Archaeology and the struggle for Jerusalem

Here is an important article in BBC news about the beautiful city of Jerusalem.

The issue is about the realities of ancient Jewish lore and history sitting archeologically  beneath parts of East Jerusalem:

City of David archeological site

The City of David excavations, with their underground tunnels and ancient pools, centre around the Palestinian district of Silwan. It is in East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since its 1967 war.

“One religion or another may look at an excavation site and say – that land is ours,” Mr Mizrahi said.

But he qualified this by saying even if archaeologists were to find a big sign, reading ‘Welcome to King David’s Palace’, that wouldn’t give Jewish Israelis the right to claim East Jerusalem today.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47186000/jpg/_47186515_seligman226.jpg
The work we do here is not about looking
for a particular heritage of one or other. We find
what there is and display what there is

John Seligman
Israel Antiquities Authority

Yonatan Mizrahi, tour guide
“Just like if the Vatican found something here,
it wouldn’t give the church the right to take
ownership of this land. The bottom line is that
Palestinians are the majority in East Jerusalem,”

Yontan Mirza
Tour Guide

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