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1. Police Force in 'Revenge' Raid on Yitzhar
by Hillel Fendel
Early this morning, hours after a Shomron news agency publicized an internal anti-settler IDF directive, a large police force raided its offices, confiscated computers, and made two arrests.
An unusually large force of 100 policemen arrived in Yitzhar, north of Tapuach in Samaria, and swooped down on the offices of HaKol HaYehudi (the Jewish Voice). Officials in Yitzhar say the raid is most certainly linked directly to the agency's publication of an IDF Division Head's memo against soldiers who live in Judea and Samaria (Yesha).
The Jewish Voice reported yesterday on the internal letter by Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon, head of the Judea and Samaria Division in the IDF. The memo states that soldier-residents of the Jewish communities in Yesha must be "interviewed" in advance to ensure that they do not plan to leak advance information of planned outpost demolitions. He said their background must be carefully investigated, and that they must be deployed accordingly.
Alon cited two incidents over the past several months in which soldiers are suspected of having leaked such information, thus preventing demolitions. The two soldiers were suspended, tried, and distanced from their units.
Yitzhar: Freedom of Expression Under Attack
The Jewish Voice issued this statement in response to today's police action: "Freedom of expression has once again been trampled by the Shabak (Israel Security Agency) and Shai Nitzan. Their use of secret information against the media that acts openly shows who is in the right."
The agency stated that Shai Nitzan's behavior is "problematic, as shown by the document publicized yesterday. Reports like yesterday's frighten the establishment, which would rather hide its activities from the public."
MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) condemned this morning's arrests, saying, "The arrest of those who revealed the document calling for the distancing of Yesha residents in the IDF is a strong blow to our democratic rule. Instead of trying to figure out where they went wrong, they send the police to settle accounts with the Jewish Voice."
Comment on this story
by Hillel Fendel
Early this morning, hours after a Shomron news agency publicized an internal anti-settler IDF directive, a large police force raided its offices, confiscated computers, and made two arrests.
An unusually large force of 100 policemen arrived in Yitzhar, north of Tapuach in Samaria, and swooped down on the offices of HaKol HaYehudi (the Jewish Voice). Officials in Yitzhar say the raid is most certainly linked directly to the agency's publication of an IDF Division Head's memo against soldiers who live in Judea and Samaria (Yesha).
The Jewish Voice reported yesterday on the internal letter by Brig.-Gen. Nitzan Alon, head of the Judea and Samaria Division in the IDF. The memo states that soldier-residents of the Jewish communities in Yesha must be "interviewed" in advance to ensure that they do not plan to leak advance information of planned outpost demolitions. He said their background must be carefully investigated, and that they must be deployed accordingly.
Alon cited two incidents over the past several months in which soldiers are suspected of having leaked such information, thus preventing demolitions. The two soldiers were suspended, tried, and distanced from their units.
Yitzhar: Freedom of Expression Under Attack
The Jewish Voice issued this statement in response to today's police action: "Freedom of expression has once again been trampled by the Shabak (Israel Security Agency) and Shai Nitzan. Their use of secret information against the media that acts openly shows who is in the right."
The agency stated that Shai Nitzan's behavior is "problematic, as shown by the document publicized yesterday. Reports like yesterday's frighten the establishment, which would rather hide its activities from the public."
MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) condemned this morning's arrests, saying, "The arrest of those who revealed the document calling for the distancing of Yesha residents in the IDF is a strong blow to our democratic rule. Instead of trying to figure out where they went wrong, they send the police to settle accounts with the Jewish Voice."
Comment on this story
2. Commander's Letter Targets Soldiers who Live in Judea & Samaria
by Elad Benari
Brigadier General Nitzan Alon, commander of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria division, has distributed a letter to commanders in his division in which he asks them to investigate soldiers who are residents of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. The reason for the request, according to Alon, is a concern that these soldiers may leak information regarding future evacuation of outpost communities.
“As commanders we must thoroughly check and characterize the backgrounds of our soldiers,” Alon wrote in the letter, the contents of which were revealed by Israel’s Channel 10 News on Sunday. “We have to interview those soldiers who have the potential to harm national security and give them roles in which they are not exposed to sensitive information.”
In the letter, Alon details two recent cases in which soldiers disrupted the activities of the division. The first case occurred in February, when a soldier in the Givati Brigade received a report on the construction of an illegal outpost in Samaria and decided not to report to the unit that was supposed to evict the residents.
The soldier was later sent to the brig for 30 days after being found guilty of lying to his commanders.
Another case described in the letter occurred in March, when soldiers from Battalion 82 were ordered to prevent local residents from going to Homesh, a Jewish community in northern Samaria that had been evacuated during the 2005 disengagement but was resettled by a group of activists in 2007. Since then, the community has been a target for evacuation several times.
In the letter, Alon describes how one of the soldiers in Battalion 82 passed information to the residents so they could avoid military forces. This soldier too was suspended from his position and was later tried and removed from the IDF.
“These are serious incidents which cause damage and are a behavioral failure on the part of the soldiers,” writes Brigadier General Alon. “There is no room to involve political opinions in operational tasks, and commanders must to act to prevent similar incidents in future.”
The IDF said in response that the document is designed to serve as a tool for commanders in Judea and Samaria.
“We suggest reading the whole document and not portions of it which were distributed by interested parties whose aim was to distort its content and distort reality,” read the IDF’s response.
MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz, chairman of the National Union party also responded to the document, saying, “it should be said in praise of Brigadier General Nitzan Alon that he does not hide his disgust of hundreds of thousands of residents of Judea and Samaria.”
Katz, whose seven sons serve in elite IDF units and who himself served in Sayeret Shaked and lost his leg during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, added: “Religious IDF officers and soldiers have been brought up with the values of construction and planting in the land of the forefathers and not with values of destruction and displacement. Since every soldier and officer who wears a skullcap prays at least three times in favor of building the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount, according to Brigadier General Alon they are suspected of violating state security. I call on the Prime Minister to order the immediate suspension of Brigadier General Alon, followed by his removal from the ranks of the IDF.”
Benny Katzover, chairman of the Samaria Residents’ Committee, also responded to Alon’s letter, saying: “Only a leftist officer such as Brigadier General Nitzan Alon would push away from military service soldiers who have different political views from his own. This is an intolerable discrimination between soldiers simply because of political affiliation, and it should be examined by the officials in charge of the division commander.”
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
Brigadier General Nitzan Alon, commander of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria division, has distributed a letter to commanders in his division in which he asks them to investigate soldiers who are residents of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. The reason for the request, according to Alon, is a concern that these soldiers may leak information regarding future evacuation of outpost communities.
“As commanders we must thoroughly check and characterize the backgrounds of our soldiers,” Alon wrote in the letter, the contents of which were revealed by Israel’s Channel 10 News on Sunday. “We have to interview those soldiers who have the potential to harm national security and give them roles in which they are not exposed to sensitive information.”
In the letter, Alon details two recent cases in which soldiers disrupted the activities of the division. The first case occurred in February, when a soldier in the Givati Brigade received a report on the construction of an illegal outpost in Samaria and decided not to report to the unit that was supposed to evict the residents.
The soldier was later sent to the brig for 30 days after being found guilty of lying to his commanders.
Another case described in the letter occurred in March, when soldiers from Battalion 82 were ordered to prevent local residents from going to Homesh, a Jewish community in northern Samaria that had been evacuated during the 2005 disengagement but was resettled by a group of activists in 2007. Since then, the community has been a target for evacuation several times.
In the letter, Alon describes how one of the soldiers in Battalion 82 passed information to the residents so they could avoid military forces. This soldier too was suspended from his position and was later tried and removed from the IDF.
“These are serious incidents which cause damage and are a behavioral failure on the part of the soldiers,” writes Brigadier General Alon. “There is no room to involve political opinions in operational tasks, and commanders must to act to prevent similar incidents in future.”
The IDF said in response that the document is designed to serve as a tool for commanders in Judea and Samaria.
“We suggest reading the whole document and not portions of it which were distributed by interested parties whose aim was to distort its content and distort reality,” read the IDF’s response.
MK Yaakov “Ketzaleh” Katz, chairman of the National Union party also responded to the document, saying, “it should be said in praise of Brigadier General Nitzan Alon that he does not hide his disgust of hundreds of thousands of residents of Judea and Samaria.”
Katz, whose seven sons serve in elite IDF units and who himself served in Sayeret Shaked and lost his leg during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, added: “Religious IDF officers and soldiers have been brought up with the values of construction and planting in the land of the forefathers and not with values of destruction and displacement. Since every soldier and officer who wears a skullcap prays at least three times in favor of building the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount, according to Brigadier General Alon they are suspected of violating state security. I call on the Prime Minister to order the immediate suspension of Brigadier General Alon, followed by his removal from the ranks of the IDF.”
Benny Katzover, chairman of the Samaria Residents’ Committee, also responded to Alon’s letter, saying: “Only a leftist officer such as Brigadier General Nitzan Alon would push away from military service soldiers who have different political views from his own. This is an intolerable discrimination between soldiers simply because of political affiliation, and it should be examined by the officials in charge of the division commander.”
Comment on this story
3. Egypt Holds American-Israeli for Spying
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Egypt has arrested a New York native and former Israeli paratrooper on suspicion of spying. Israel says the claim is nonsense.
"I can't imagine that there will be any Israeli reactions, but anyone who knows even a little bit about these things knows that you don't have an Israeli with an Israeli passport sitting in a foreign capital collecting things," said Channel 2 news analyst Ehud Ya'ari.
The Foreign Ministry denied the accusation and has said it has not received any verification of the arrest of Ilan Grapel, who was wounded in the Second Lebanon War. Several Israeli politicians said the arrest was carried out only in order to show Egyptians an anti-Israeli policy.
Egyptian authorities took Grapel into custody on Sunday from a Cairo hotel and will be held for 15 days while being investigated, according to the Egypt Gazette. His picture covered the front pages of newspapers in Egypt, and the state-owned Al-Akhbar described the arrest as a "painful Egyptian hit against the Mossad."
One picture showed him in an IDF army uniform and shaking hands with Muslims at a mosque in Cairo. Another photo shows Grapel supposedly holding a microphone in a mosque and apparently preaching.
A third picture shows him wearing sunglasses in Tahrir Square and holding a large sign starting, "O stupid Obama, it is a pride revolution, not a food revolution.”
Grapel is accused of having posed as a foreign journalist while trying to create chaos after the uprising that forced the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. Grapel had learned Arabic and is known to have traveled to Arab countries.
If he did try to create disturbances towards the regime, it is more probable that he did so as an activist and not as a spy, acquaintances have indicated.
Egypt's provisional military regime has shown an anti-Israeli stance amid calls for an abolition of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries. Until two days ago, the regime had suspended the flow of natural gas following another disruption to the flow and is demanding a higher price than stated in the original contract. Terrorists have sabotaged the pipeline at least twice.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Egypt has arrested a New York native and former Israeli paratrooper on suspicion of spying. Israel says the claim is nonsense.
"I can't imagine that there will be any Israeli reactions, but anyone who knows even a little bit about these things knows that you don't have an Israeli with an Israeli passport sitting in a foreign capital collecting things," said Channel 2 news analyst Ehud Ya'ari.
The Foreign Ministry denied the accusation and has said it has not received any verification of the arrest of Ilan Grapel, who was wounded in the Second Lebanon War. Several Israeli politicians said the arrest was carried out only in order to show Egyptians an anti-Israeli policy.
Egyptian authorities took Grapel into custody on Sunday from a Cairo hotel and will be held for 15 days while being investigated, according to the Egypt Gazette. His picture covered the front pages of newspapers in Egypt, and the state-owned Al-Akhbar described the arrest as a "painful Egyptian hit against the Mossad."
One picture showed him in an IDF army uniform and shaking hands with Muslims at a mosque in Cairo. Another photo shows Grapel supposedly holding a microphone in a mosque and apparently preaching.
A third picture shows him wearing sunglasses in Tahrir Square and holding a large sign starting, "O stupid Obama, it is a pride revolution, not a food revolution.”
Grapel is accused of having posed as a foreign journalist while trying to create chaos after the uprising that forced the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. Grapel had learned Arabic and is known to have traveled to Arab countries.
If he did try to create disturbances towards the regime, it is more probable that he did so as an activist and not as a spy, acquaintances have indicated.
Egypt's provisional military regime has shown an anti-Israeli stance amid calls for an abolition of the 1979 peace treaty between the two countries. Until two days ago, the regime had suspended the flow of natural gas following another disruption to the flow and is demanding a higher price than stated in the original contract. Terrorists have sabotaged the pipeline at least twice.
Comment on this story
4. Abbas Set to Fire Dahlan in PA Power Struggle
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Palestinian Authority PA Chairman and Fatah party leader Mahmoud Abbas is tying to fire Mohammed Dahlan, his former Gaza strongman, but the Fatah movement’s Revolutionary Council is resisting and wants Dahlan investigated for corruption.
The dispute underlines the fragility of the Palestinian Authority government and the increasing doubts that Abbas can win recognition for the PA as a country based on the Arab world’s demands.
The Fatah Central Committee announced the firing of Dahlan, who was in effect the leader of Gaza before the military coup five years ago. The Revolutionary Council refused to back the decision and said that investigations should continue concerning Dahlan’s alleged plot last year to reduce Abbas’ power.
"It is clear that the relations between Abbas and the Central Committee members in one hand [sic] and Dahlan in the other hand has reached an impasse," Hatem Abdul-Qader, a member of the council, told the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
He added that the Revolutionary Council is the only side which can decide on firing Dahlan from the Central Committee, but only when the committee "presents enough documents to convict Dahlan." An official said that Dahlan is suspected of “corruption and crimes.”
Dahlan, a native of Gaza, was reportedly one of the richest men in the region and allegedly made millions of dollars while leading Fatah before the Hamas coup.
Earlier this year, an Algerian newspaper claimed that Dahlan and other Palestinian Authority Arabs were "involved in a deal to supply weapons from Israel to Muammar Gaddafi" via a ship that sailed from Greece.
Libyan dissident Omar El-Khadraoui said, "The former leader of the Fatah movement, Muhammad Dahlan, and someone known as 'Muhammad Rashid', a Kurd from Iraq whose real name is Khalid Salam and who used to be an advisor to the late Yasser Arafat, are behind a deal to supply internationally proscribed weapons to Colonel Gaddafi, who used them to shell civilians in Misrata in western Libya."
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Palestinian Authority PA Chairman and Fatah party leader Mahmoud Abbas is tying to fire Mohammed Dahlan, his former Gaza strongman, but the Fatah movement’s Revolutionary Council is resisting and wants Dahlan investigated for corruption.
The dispute underlines the fragility of the Palestinian Authority government and the increasing doubts that Abbas can win recognition for the PA as a country based on the Arab world’s demands.
The Fatah Central Committee announced the firing of Dahlan, who was in effect the leader of Gaza before the military coup five years ago. The Revolutionary Council refused to back the decision and said that investigations should continue concerning Dahlan’s alleged plot last year to reduce Abbas’ power.
"It is clear that the relations between Abbas and the Central Committee members in one hand [sic] and Dahlan in the other hand has reached an impasse," Hatem Abdul-Qader, a member of the council, told the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
He added that the Revolutionary Council is the only side which can decide on firing Dahlan from the Central Committee, but only when the committee "presents enough documents to convict Dahlan." An official said that Dahlan is suspected of “corruption and crimes.”
Dahlan, a native of Gaza, was reportedly one of the richest men in the region and allegedly made millions of dollars while leading Fatah before the Hamas coup.
Earlier this year, an Algerian newspaper claimed that Dahlan and other Palestinian Authority Arabs were "involved in a deal to supply weapons from Israel to Muammar Gaddafi" via a ship that sailed from Greece.
Libyan dissident Omar El-Khadraoui said, "The former leader of the Fatah movement, Muhammad Dahlan, and someone known as 'Muhammad Rashid', a Kurd from Iraq whose real name is Khalid Salam and who used to be an advisor to the late Yasser Arafat, are behind a deal to supply internationally proscribed weapons to Colonel Gaddafi, who used them to shell civilians in Misrata in western Libya."
Comment on this story
5. Turkey: Erdogan Wins with 50% of Vote
by Gil Ronen
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a third consecutive term in office in parliamentary elections Sunday.
The BBC reported Sunday evening that with 98% of ballots counted, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had 50% of the vote, which give it 326 seats in parliament.
The result is 41 seats short of the two-thirds majority which Erdogan needed in order to make unilateral changes in the country's constitution and call a referendum to approve them.
The secular Republican People's Party (CHP) had 26% of vote and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a right wing party, had 13%.
Erdogan's AKP took power in 2002. In 2007 it received 46.5% of the vote.
Turkey’s economy has grown impressively under Erdogan and unemployment fell to 11.5% in March from 14.4% a year earlier.
Turks also appear pleased with Erdogan’s bellicose policy toward Israel, which included a sparring match with President Shimon Peres, anti-Semitic television shows and support for the Gaza flotilla.
The unofficial Israeli boycotts of Turkey as a tourist venue do not seem to have had the effect Israelis had hoped they would, but Israelis have to all effects stopped visiting the once popular vacations spot.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a third consecutive term in office in parliamentary elections Sunday.
The BBC reported Sunday evening that with 98% of ballots counted, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had 50% of the vote, which give it 326 seats in parliament.
The result is 41 seats short of the two-thirds majority which Erdogan needed in order to make unilateral changes in the country's constitution and call a referendum to approve them.
The secular Republican People's Party (CHP) had 26% of vote and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a right wing party, had 13%.
Erdogan's AKP took power in 2002. In 2007 it received 46.5% of the vote.
Turkey’s economy has grown impressively under Erdogan and unemployment fell to 11.5% in March from 14.4% a year earlier.
Turks also appear pleased with Erdogan’s bellicose policy toward Israel, which included a sparring match with President Shimon Peres, anti-Semitic television shows and support for the Gaza flotilla.
The unofficial Israeli boycotts of Turkey as a tourist venue do not seem to have had the effect Israelis had hoped they would, but Israelis have to all effects stopped visiting the once popular vacations spot.
Comment on this story
6. Jordan’s King Abdullah Seeks to Preempt Next Uprising
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
King Abdullah II of Jordan, worried about the Muslim Arab Spring spreading to his kingdom, has promised democratic reforms – but has set no date.
He promised Jordanians in a televised address Sunday that a "future" government will be elected instead of appointed by the king. The king appoints his cabinet ministers and can dissolve parliament, which is elected by the people.
He stated his “opposition to chaos that leads to destruction” and warned against the “dictates of the street.”
Jordan already has faced several protests in the kingdom, where most of the population is comprised of Bedouin and Palestinian Arabs. Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad (National Union) and other Israeli nationalists have declared that Jordan, and not Israel, is the natural home of the Palestinian Authority. King Abdullah has thoroughly rejected the idea.
His promised reforms are aimed at staving off the spread of the rebellions that have toppled or threaten the heads of the regimes in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain and Syria. His promises represent the first time he has outlined concessions to Jordanians, many of whom have demanded that he surrender much of his power. There have been few calls, for the time being, for the demise of the Hashemite monarchy, which is widely respected in the country.
Even the radical Muslim Brotherhood has said that King Abdullah is a “stabilizing influence,” but has called for reforms “avoid the tragedies taking place in the region.”
King Abdullah’s speech came during festivities that marked the anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt, Army Day and Coronation Day.
He also promised more rights for women. “In terms of social reform, I stress the importance of accelerating efforts to abolish all forms of discrimination against women in the legislative system through the political and representative institutions that emanated from our vision for a new, reformed Jordan,” he told the people.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
King Abdullah II of Jordan, worried about the Muslim Arab Spring spreading to his kingdom, has promised democratic reforms – but has set no date.
He promised Jordanians in a televised address Sunday that a "future" government will be elected instead of appointed by the king. The king appoints his cabinet ministers and can dissolve parliament, which is elected by the people.
He stated his “opposition to chaos that leads to destruction” and warned against the “dictates of the street.”
Jordan already has faced several protests in the kingdom, where most of the population is comprised of Bedouin and Palestinian Arabs. Knesset Member Aryeh Eldad (National Union) and other Israeli nationalists have declared that Jordan, and not Israel, is the natural home of the Palestinian Authority. King Abdullah has thoroughly rejected the idea.
His promised reforms are aimed at staving off the spread of the rebellions that have toppled or threaten the heads of the regimes in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain and Syria. His promises represent the first time he has outlined concessions to Jordanians, many of whom have demanded that he surrender much of his power. There have been few calls, for the time being, for the demise of the Hashemite monarchy, which is widely respected in the country.
Even the radical Muslim Brotherhood has said that King Abdullah is a “stabilizing influence,” but has called for reforms “avoid the tragedies taking place in the region.”
King Abdullah’s speech came during festivities that marked the anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt, Army Day and Coronation Day.
He also promised more rights for women. “In terms of social reform, I stress the importance of accelerating efforts to abolish all forms of discrimination against women in the legislative system through the political and representative institutions that emanated from our vision for a new, reformed Jordan,” he told the people.
Comment on this story
7. 1,500-Year-Old Building Discovered in Akko
by Elad Benari
A 1,500-year-old public building dating to the Byzantine Period has been found in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the northern Israeli city of Akko.
The building was found in an archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted approximately 100 meters west of Tel Akko, and it is believed that it may have been used as a church.
The large ashlar-built public building was found to have an abundance of roof tiles, parts of marble ornamentations, pottery, and coins, all of which point to a public structure that served the Bishop of Akko’s city in the Byzantine period. Terra cotta pipes survived below the wall levels and mosaic pavements adorned the floor in one of its rooms. The building’s inhabitants also had a readily available supply of water from a well that was situated in one of the courtyards of the building.
According to Nurit Feig, director of the excavation on behalf of the IAA, “Until now, the city was known from Christian sources which mention its bishop who took part in formulating the new religion. Now, the first tangible evidence is emerging in the field.”
She added that “this is an important discovery for the study of Akko because until now no remains dating to the Byzantine period have been found, save those of a residential quarter situated near the sea.”
Early Christian sources mention the bishops of Akko and Caesarea who participated in major international conferences and meetings that dealt with formulating religious doctrine. This, along with evidence of an anonymous pilgrim from the city of Piacenza in Italy regarding the richness and splendor of the city in the year 570 CE in which he mentions the beautiful churches within its precincts, attest to the centrality of Akko for the Christian religion in this period.
In the past, IAA has also uncovered a treasure trove of some 350 rare pieces of marble, hoarded beneath an ancient cellar floor during an excavation conducted approximately 100 meters north of the Old City wall of Akko.
The unique find, which dates back to the Crusader period (the thirteenth century CE), is a collection of items that were gathered from buildings that had been destroyed.
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
A 1,500-year-old public building dating to the Byzantine Period has been found in excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the northern Israeli city of Akko.
The building was found in an archaeological excavation the Israel Antiquities Authority conducted approximately 100 meters west of Tel Akko, and it is believed that it may have been used as a church.
The large ashlar-built public building was found to have an abundance of roof tiles, parts of marble ornamentations, pottery, and coins, all of which point to a public structure that served the Bishop of Akko’s city in the Byzantine period. Terra cotta pipes survived below the wall levels and mosaic pavements adorned the floor in one of its rooms. The building’s inhabitants also had a readily available supply of water from a well that was situated in one of the courtyards of the building.
According to Nurit Feig, director of the excavation on behalf of the IAA, “Until now, the city was known from Christian sources which mention its bishop who took part in formulating the new religion. Now, the first tangible evidence is emerging in the field.”
She added that “this is an important discovery for the study of Akko because until now no remains dating to the Byzantine period have been found, save those of a residential quarter situated near the sea.”
Early Christian sources mention the bishops of Akko and Caesarea who participated in major international conferences and meetings that dealt with formulating religious doctrine. This, along with evidence of an anonymous pilgrim from the city of Piacenza in Italy regarding the richness and splendor of the city in the year 570 CE in which he mentions the beautiful churches within its precincts, attest to the centrality of Akko for the Christian religion in this period.
In the past, IAA has also uncovered a treasure trove of some 350 rare pieces of marble, hoarded beneath an ancient cellar floor during an excavation conducted approximately 100 meters north of the Old City wall of Akko.
The unique find, which dates back to the Crusader period (the thirteenth century CE), is a collection of items that were gathered from buildings that had been destroyed.
Comment on this story
8. Second Temple Mount Rock Attack
by Gavriel Queenann
Arab youths Sunday morning hurled stones at Jewish worshipers who ascended the Temple Mount. The attack came just two days after Friday afternoon's stone throwing incident which forced the Israel Police to storm Judaism's holiest site.
Yoel Keren, a Land of Israel activist and regular visitor on the Temple Mount, told Israel National News that the attack came during his weekly ascent.
"It was the morning aliyah, my regular Sunday time, around 7:45," Keren related. "We went up... myself, attorney Baruch Ben Yosef, and four female [Jewish] worshipers."
Keren said the group was accompanied by a member of the Israel Police and a Waqf official onto the edge of the platform of the Al Aqsa mosque.
"We were on the northern end of the platform of the mosque," Keren explained. "Its closer [to the forbidden zone of the Mount] than most groups go, but still outside the halachic Temple Mount according to [Jewish sages] Radbaz, Rambam, Rav Tzvi Rogen... and most of the major archeologists," Keren explained.
"That's when I heard the rocks ricocheting near us and looked up to see three Arab kids throwing stones at us... kids from the school up there. They were about 20 meters away. I turned and asked Baruch if he saw it... and he had a rock at his feet."
Keren said the Israel Police officer present did nothing when the rocks and fleeing Muslim youths were pointed out to him and told the group to "keep going."
"I asked the officer if he saw what happened and he said he didn't know what I was talking about," Keren related. "When I pointed at the rocks and the kids, who were just kind of sauntering off, not sure what the cop would do, he just asked if we'd been hit [by the stones]. When we told him 'no' he just told us to 'keep going.' It probably woundn't have been a big deal if I was hit, but three of the ladies were elderly. He didn't do anything."
Israel police spokesman Mickey Rosenthal said in every incident, whether on the Temple Mount or elsewhere, the safety of the public is an officer's first priority.
"All incidents on the Temple Mount are investigated," Rosenthal told Israel National News. "Whether then and there, or using other means later, is something that has to be assessed by the officers on the scene, but our first concern in any incident anywhere is the safety of the public."
"A lone officer with a group on the Mount has to put the group's safety ahead of making arrests. We have CCTV cameras on the Temple Mount that we can and will review just like we did with Friday's incident. We made several new arrests over the weekend in that incident and more are coming. This incident will be investigated, too," Rosenthal promised.
Editor's Note: there are differing opinions on the permissability of ascending the Temple Mount among halachic decisors.
Comment on this story
by Gavriel Queenann
Arab youths Sunday morning hurled stones at Jewish worshipers who ascended the Temple Mount. The attack came just two days after Friday afternoon's stone throwing incident which forced the Israel Police to storm Judaism's holiest site.
Yoel Keren, a Land of Israel activist and regular visitor on the Temple Mount, told Israel National News that the attack came during his weekly ascent.
"It was the morning aliyah, my regular Sunday time, around 7:45," Keren related. "We went up... myself, attorney Baruch Ben Yosef, and four female [Jewish] worshipers."
Keren said the group was accompanied by a member of the Israel Police and a Waqf official onto the edge of the platform of the Al Aqsa mosque.
"We were on the northern end of the platform of the mosque," Keren explained. "Its closer [to the forbidden zone of the Mount] than most groups go, but still outside the halachic Temple Mount according to [Jewish sages] Radbaz, Rambam, Rav Tzvi Rogen... and most of the major archeologists," Keren explained.
"That's when I heard the rocks ricocheting near us and looked up to see three Arab kids throwing stones at us... kids from the school up there. They were about 20 meters away. I turned and asked Baruch if he saw it... and he had a rock at his feet."
Keren said the Israel Police officer present did nothing when the rocks and fleeing Muslim youths were pointed out to him and told the group to "keep going."
"I asked the officer if he saw what happened and he said he didn't know what I was talking about," Keren related. "When I pointed at the rocks and the kids, who were just kind of sauntering off, not sure what the cop would do, he just asked if we'd been hit [by the stones]. When we told him 'no' he just told us to 'keep going.' It probably woundn't have been a big deal if I was hit, but three of the ladies were elderly. He didn't do anything."
Israel police spokesman Mickey Rosenthal said in every incident, whether on the Temple Mount or elsewhere, the safety of the public is an officer's first priority.
"All incidents on the Temple Mount are investigated," Rosenthal told Israel National News. "Whether then and there, or using other means later, is something that has to be assessed by the officers on the scene, but our first concern in any incident anywhere is the safety of the public."
"A lone officer with a group on the Mount has to put the group's safety ahead of making arrests. We have CCTV cameras on the Temple Mount that we can and will review just like we did with Friday's incident. We made several new arrests over the weekend in that incident and more are coming. This incident will be investigated, too," Rosenthal promised.
Editor's Note: there are differing opinions on the permissability of ascending the Temple Mount among halachic decisors.
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