IDF rabbinate edits out Dome of the Rock from picture of Jerusalem’s Temple MountWhat were they thinking? Did they really think the media would not get hold of this?
Photo appears in army packet on Hanukkah describing the Jewish revolt against Hellenistic rule; IDF spokesman: Image meant to illustrate a period in which holy Muslim site did not exist.
By Gili Cohen (Haaretz)
You can get a better view of the photo at this Gawker post, where John Cook points out, somewhat less tactfully than I, that a reconstruction of the site in antiquity might better have included the Temple itself in the picture, or at least might have photoshopped out the people in modern dress and the electric lights.
For comparison, here's a reconstruction of how Herod's Temple might have looked. And here's another with a viewpoint closer to that of the IDF photo and with properly attired people. It would not have been at all difficult to find and use something similar, which would have avoided this negative publicity.
