The Temple Institute: The Temple Mount: Mount Moriah: Recent Visit: Elul 14, 5767/August 28, 2007

The Temple Mount		Bird's-eye View and Aliya Guide
Temple Mount Liberation		Guide to Ascending the Mount
Temple Mount Awakening		Response to the Rabbinical "ban"
Police Discrimination		Maimonides
The Continuing Destruction		Rabbi Moshe Feinstein
Archaeological Finds		Recent Visits
Antiquities Law		Wakf Guidebook
		Israeli Law

Continuing Destruction of Temple Remnants at the Hands of the
Moslem Wakf

The following is an urgent message (translated from the Hebrew) by Jerusalem-based architect, Gideon Charlap. Charlap is an expert on the physical layout of the Temple Mount, both during the time of the Second Temple, and today. His eye-witness account both confirms the outraged reports of concerned archaeologists and exposes once again the government of Israel's complicity to the crimes being perpetrated by the Moslem Wakf on the Temple Mount:

On the 14th of Elul (August 28), I paid a visit to the Temple Mount to inspect first hand the illegal excavation being conducted by the Moslem Wakf, of a trench running from north to south, parallel to the elevated platform at the center of the Mount. The trench is to the north of the elevated platform, beginning at the location where the illegal excavation ended off one month ago, and heading eastward. At the north-east corner of the elevated platform the trench turns southward running down the length of the eastern walkway.

Within the trench, the depth of which averages one and one half meters, I was able to identify in four different locations, archaeological remains of the ancient wall, which, based upon their location, must belong to the original wall of either the Ezrat Nashim, (the Women's Courtyard), or perhaps the chail, the wall which ran outside of the Temple Courtyards, denoted the point beyond which only Israelites who had purified themselves could enter. Because of the presence of these remains, the J.S.B. tractor being used for the excavation was unable to continue to dig to the aforementioned depth of one and one half meters.

When I began photographing these remnants of Second Temple walls, which were facing east to west, the Wakf officials covered them up and attempted to camouflage them. An Israeli policeman, by the name of Rassim, seeing that the tractor driver was attempting to shatter one of these (southernmost) sections of ancient remains, leapt up into the cabin of the J.S.B. tractor in order to prevent him from carrying out his intentions. The tractor operator and a Wakf overseer immediately attacked the policeman and forced him from the cabin. The policeman proceeded to stand in the trench and position himself in from of the remnants of ancient wall preventing the tractor operator from destroying it.

Needless to say there were no Antiquities Authority inspectors present on the Temple Mount.

All the above photographs were taken by and are the exclusive property of Gideon Charlap.

If you would like to register your outrage at the destruction being conducted my the Moslem Wakf, please click here.

We have received additional photographs. Click here to see.

To arrange a trip to the Temple Mount, in accordance with the strict requirements of Jewish law, click here to contact Rabbi Chaim Richman.

The Temple Institute website is an ongoing project of the International Department of the Temple Institute, Jerusalem, Israel.
Web site hosting and programming copyright ©2000-2013, graciously provided by Electric Scribe (SM).

Web site contents, including all text and images, copyright ©1991-2013, The Temple Institute.
Reproduction in any form whatsoever, for any purpose, is strictly forbidden without written permission of the copyright holder.