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Security Chief Calls to Replace Temple Mount Bridge

reprinted from Arutz 7
1/31/2012, Shevat 7, 5772

Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said that the time has come to replace the Rambam Bridge and ramp used by non-Muslims to access the Temple Mount. Located next to the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City, the wooden bridge was erected in 2004 as a temporary replacement when a rare snow storm ruined the old one.

Aharonovitch said that although the bridge is currently sufficient, it should eventually be replaced. Recent warnings by officials deemed it a fire hazard. Sometimes known as the Mughrabi Bridge, the structure is the only access non-Muslims have to enter the holy site.

Uniformed IDF Soldiers on Temple Mount Again

reprinted from Arutz 7
1/19/2012, Tevet 24, 5772

For the second time, the police have allowed uniformed IDF soldiers to ascend to the Temple Mount for a tour. MK Tzipi Hotovely’s (Likud) efforts in the Knesset Interior Committee paid off, demanding with Mk Aryeh Eldad (National Union) and MK Danny Danon (Likud) that the police allow the ascent. "The next step is to allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. That will demonstrate our possession of the Mount," she said.

Danon: Temple Mount Ascent A Historic Victory

reprinted from Arutz 7
1/12/2012, Tevet 17, 5772

Deputy Knesset Chairman MK Danny Danon (Likud) is pleased with the approval of the ascent of uniformed IDF soldiers to the Temple Mount for the first time since 2000.

"The Temple Mount Struggle paid off. Uniformed IDF soldiers proudly walk all over Jerusalem, and so Israel declares 'The Temple Mount is Ours'."

Danon spearheaded the struggle to enable access to the Mount and after many demands from the government and security system and much promotion of the issue, he said, "The ascent of the soldiers is proof of the might of Israel, with its citizens able to proudly ascend to the Temple Mount."

Temple Menorah Stamp Affirms Jewish Claim to Land

reprinted from Arutz 7
1/10/2012

Like a historic seal of approval to Jews' claims to their Land, a stamp with Menorah is found in Akko.

by Gil Ronen

Just two weeks after a Temple era seal was displayed to the public, archeologists continue to dig up breathtaking proofs of the ancient and never-severed connection between Jews and the Land of Israel. This time, the find is a 1,500 year old tiny stamp discovered near the city of Akko, bearing the image of the seven-branched Temple Menorah.

The stamp was used to identify baked products and probably belonged to a bakery that supplied kosher bread to the Jews of Akko in the Byzantine period.

The ceramic stamp dates from the Byzantine period (6th century CE) and was uncovered in excavations the Israel Antiquities Authority is currently conducting at Horbat Uza east of Akko, prior to the construction of the Akko-Karmiel railroad track by the Israel National Roads Company.

This find belongs to a group of stamps referred to as "bread stamps" because they were usually used to stamp baked goods.

According to Gilad Jaffe and Dr. Danny Syon, the directors of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, "A number of stamps bearing an image of a menorah are known from different collections. The Temple Menorah, being a Jewish symbol par excellence, indicates the stamps belonged to Jews, unlike Christian bread stamps with the cross pattern which were much more common in the Byzantine period."

There were no Muslims in the region at the time - because the Quran had not yet been written.

According to Syon, "This is the first time such a stamp is discovered in a controlled archaeological excavation, thus making it possible to determine its provenance and date of manufacture. The stamp is important because it proves that a Jewish community existed in the settlement of Uza in the Christian-Byzantine period. The presence of a Jewish settlement so close to Akko - a region that was definitely Christian at this time - constitutes an innovation in archaeological research."

"Due to the geographical proximity of Horbat Uza to Akko, we can speculate that the settlement supplied kosher baked goods to the Jews of Akko in the Byzantine period," the excavators added.

The stamp is engraved with a seven-branched menorah atop a narrow base, and the top of the branches forms a horizontal line. A number of Greek letters are engraved around a circle and dot on the end of the handle. Dr. Leah Di Segni, of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem suggested they probably spell out the name Launtius, which was common among Jews of the period and also appears on another Jewish bread stamp of unknown provenance. According to Dr. Syon and Gilad Jaffe, "This is probably the name of the baker from Horbat Uza."

Horbat Uza is a small rural settlement where clues were previously found that allude to it being a Jewish settlement. These include a clay coffin, a Shabbat lamp and jars with menorah patterns painted on them.

Dr. David Amit of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who has made a study of bread stamps, added, "A potter engraved the menorah image in the surface of the stamp prior to firing it in a kiln, whereas the owner’s name was engraved in the stamp’s handle after firing. Hence we can assume that a series of stamps bearing the menorah symbol were produced for Jewish bakers, and each of these bakers carved his name on the handle, which also served as a stamp.

"In this way the dough could be stamped twice before baking: once with the menorah - the general symbol of the Jewish identity of Jewish bakeries, and again with the private name of the baker in each of these bakeries, which also guaranteed the bakery’s kashrut."

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