MKs visit Temple Mount-debris sifting project

TEMPLE MOUNT WATCH: Some MKs have visited the Temple Mount-debris sifting project and have made some pointed political comments:

In honor of Jerusalem Day, MKs get to dig into past

By ABE SELIG (Jerusalem Post)
12/05/2010 09:58

Land of Israel Lobby members spend a day sifting through more than 2,000 years of history at the Temple Mount.
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Ahead of Jerusalem Day, members of the Knesset’s Land of Israel Lobby spent Tuesday sifting through more than 2,000 years of history inside a large tent at the Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation.

The ongoing archeological project is located in the capital’s Tzurim Valley National Park, where workers have spent the last five years carefully combing through thousands of tons of debris removed from the Temple Mount nearly 10 years ago.

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On Tuesday afternoon, Knesset members got a firsthand look at the site’s operations and were even given a chance to do some sifting of their own, as they paid a visit to the tent where Barkay, Zweig and a slew of volunteers were conducting their work.

“This could have part of a vessel one of my ancestors carried olive oil in to make sacrifices in the Beit Hamikdash [the Temple],” said MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union), as he held up a shard of pottery he discovered in a pile of the discarded debris.

Other MKs echoed Ben-Ari’s observations, expressing the importance of the site’s offerings for “all Israelis, and all of the Jewish people.”

“This is a clear sign that Jerusalem is ours – that its beginnings belong to the Jewish people, and the basis of its holiness is rooted in Judaism,” said Kadima MK Otniel Schneller, who was also in attendance.

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For background on the Temple Mount sifting project go here and follow the links.