There are generally accepted historical and archaeological facts about a Jerusalem location which has become the subject of another dangerous Arab-Israeli dispute.
An Israeli repair project in the Old City of Jerusalem has touched off another round of violence with Palestinians and evoked calls for organized international violence from Arab religious leaders. This turn of events should surprise no one, because the repairs touch the holy places of both sides and, by extension, the world's Christians.
While the history of the early Biblical period remains much in dispute, most authorities agree that an Israelite ruler, known through the Bible as King David, established his capital some three thousand years ago in Jerusalem just south of the location in question. Most also agree that his son, King Solomon, built a national temple on or near the now disputed elevation called Har Habayit (literally, the mount of the House) by Jews, the Temple Mount by Christians, and the Noble Sanctuary by Muslims.
Solomon's Temple was destroyed by Babylonian conquerors in the 6th century BCE. A successor Temple, which, according to the New Testament, was visited by Jesus and his family, was destroyed by the future Roman Emperor Titus in the year 70 of the common era. Six hundred years later, after the Arab conquest of what came to be known as Palestine, the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock were built on that same elevation. This sequence is not challenged by any recognized historical authority.
The Dome of the Rock is believed by many to stand on the exact place of the Jewish Temples and the Al Aqsa Mosque somewhat to the south. Similarly, a high wall just below and to the west of these buildings is believed to be a retaining wall for the platform on which the earlier Temples stood. Venerated by Jews for nearly two thousand years as the last remainder of their sanctuary, it was Known for centuries as the Wailing Wall because of the lamentations which took place there. It has come to be more commonly designated as the Western Wall since the triumph of the Israeli armed forces in the battle for the Old City in 1967.
Jewish pilgrimages to the Wall were interrupted from time to time by the successive rulers of the Holy Land, who included the Romans and the medieval Crusaders. Under the Ottoman Empire and the post-World War I British Mandate, visits were permitted but restricted in space and ritual. In 1948, in the war following the establishment of Israel, Jordanian troops captured the Old City and expelled its entire Jewish population. Until the 1967 war, Jews were not allowed into that section of Jerusalem.
While reopening and expanding the plaza in front of the Western Wall after the taking of the Old City, the Israeli government left the management of the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary to the Muslim religious authority, the Wakf. In recent years, the Wakf used its authority to do extensive excavations within the mount to build another mosque. Israeli archaeologists protested that valuable antiquities were being lost in the process, but no government action was taken. On the other hand, with security control of the entire area in Israeli hands, Muslim authorities have expressed their suspicions from time to time that their conquerors would attempt to destroy the mosques and rebuild the Temple. The predominantly secular Israeli governments have always disavowed any such intentions, and all recognized Jewish religious authorities believe that any such rebuilding must await the advent of the Messiah. However, the opening of a tunnel for tourists running parallel to the Wall and entirely outside the Mount/Sanctuary in 1996 provoked riots in which dozens werre killed.
The history recited above should be considered not only by the parties to the current dispute but by all interested observers. The Israelis have announced that they are builing a ramp to the Mount/Sanctuary from the level of the Western Wall plaza to replace one that they say has been dangerously weakened by rain and an earthquake three years ago. In response to Muslim protests, the government has announced it will hold further consultations and open a web site showing the actual work done, but that the repair must continue for safety reasons.
Will an appreciation of history help avoid another bloody confrontation?
