Destroying a Legacy
Near Jericho, hikers recently uncovered the largest burial ground in Israel. The burial caves date back to the Second Temple era, and “are apparently part of a Hasmonean palace burial ground recently uncovered at this site”, said Professor Rachel Hachlili, of Haifa University’s Zinman Institute of Archaeology.
The hikers are part of the organization “Protecting the Eternal,” which “seeks to protect historical sites being erased mostly through looting, but also in a targeted way by the PA (Palestinian Authority) through massive destruction to erase evidence of the Jews’ historical ties to the land of Israel.”
The hikers discovered that looters had removed sarcophagi and found body parts strewn around the area. Yakhin Zik, Director ofOperations at Regavim, the parent organization of ‘Protecting the Eternal’ group, explains the seriousness of these actions: “The loss of our archaeological record and the ongoing failure to protect and preserve our heritage is an incomprehensible disgrace. The government must approve increased manpower and create standards that will ensure the preservation of antiquities and the severe punishment of looters.”
I agree that this kind of activity needs to be exposed and ended, before the looters and thieves succeed in their efforts to remove the historical evidence of a Jewish presence in Israel, including in Jerusalem under the Temple Mount.
(Source: World Israel News Staff)
