The Temple Mount: Is it REALLY Jewish? -History and Archaeology - YJD

Greg Gulbrandsen                                                                                                                                     Kilns College

December 2008                                                                                                                           Biblical Archaeology

The Temple Mount: Is it REALLY Jewish?

By Greg Gulbrandsen

Introduction

The Jewish Temples never existed, the Western Wall was really a hitching-post for Muhammad’s horse, the Al Aqsa Mosque was built by angels, and Abraham, Moses, and Jesus are Muslims. So says Sheikh Taysir Tamimi, Chief Justice for the Palestinian Authority and one of the most influential Muslim leaders in Israel.¹ To quote Tamimi,
“About these so-called two temples, they never existed, certainly not at the Haram Al-
Sharif (Temple Mount).”²

Another Palestinian Muslim leader, Ahmed Qurei, states, “The world must be
mobilized against these Israeli attempts to change the symbols and signs of Jerusalem.
There was no so-called Jewish Temple. It is imaginary. Jerusalem is one hundred percent
Muslim.”³

Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas entered the fray when he released a statement via his Chief-of-Staff Rafiq Al Husseini, indicating “Jerusalem is Muslim. The blessed Al Aqsa Mosque and Haram Al-Sharif is one hundred percent Muslim. The
Israelis are playing with fire when they threaten Al Aqsa with digging that is taking
place.”⁴ That is an interesting statement considering that most, if not all, of the digging at the Temple Mount is being performed under the auspices of the Waqf, the Muslim
religious authority in charge of the Temple Mount.

Are these bold statements true, either religiously or historically?

Biblical Background

According to the Bible (or Torah), David conquered the Jebusite city of Jerusalem circa 1000 BC and formed what is known as the United Kingdom. Do we have any nonbiblical evidence of this? First we must visit the pages of the Bible again. We know from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 35, that David’s progenitor, Jacob, had his name changed by God to that of Israel, idiomatically meaning “(he who) prevails by God.”  His
descendents became known as Israel.

In the mid-thirteenth century BC, the Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah, son of

Ramesses II, recorded his military victories on a slab of black granite. Carved in this
granite are the names of his conquests in Canaan, including the line “Israel is laid
waste.”⁵

Figure 1: Merneptah Stele with inscription “Israel is laid waste…”⁶

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Thus, we have two extra-biblical points with which we can work; the name of a people in the Land of Canaan with the name of Israel and a date of around 1220 BC. There is more.
            The Moabite Stone, a black basalt stele over three feet in height, was discovered
in 1868 by a German missionary. When translated, it contained the following inscription from the Moabite king Mesha about his rebellion against Israel:

…take Nebo against Israel…and I went by night and fought against it

from break of dawn till noon, and I took it and slew all…and I took from there the altar-hearths of Yahweh.⁷

This time we have three data points. First, the date of the battle was in the reign of King Mesha, 930 BC. Second, he rebelled against a nation called Israel. Lastly, he raided the Temple and took off with some accoutrements to a deity named Yahweh.

Figure 2. The Moabite Stone dating from circa 930 BC.⁸

This war with Israel is recorded in the Bible in 2 Kings 3:4-27.

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In 1993, according to Israel Finkelstein of Tel Aviv University, “the single most significant inscription for the historical validation [of Israel] was discovered at the site of Tel Dan in northern Israel.”⁹ Named the Tel Dan Stele for its place of discovery, it
records the victory of the Aramean King Hazael over the king of the “House of David” in the ninth century BC.¹⁰ Interestingly, Finkelstein, not an avid proponent of a large Israel kingdom, still regards this inscription, like the Moabite inscription, as an “anchor for the history of ancient Israel.”¹¹ Thus, we have yet another data point.

Figure 3. A photo of the Tel Dan Stele taken by the author in Israel¹²

In 70 AD, Rome destroyed the Temple at Jerusalem. This is an historical fact as
recorded by the Flavius historian Josephus, in his book The Jewish Wars. His description
includes the account of the triumphal return to Rome of General Titus with the spoils of
war:

The spoils, in general, were borne in promiscuous heaps; but conspicuous
above all stood those captured in the Temple at Jerusalem. These consisted
of a golden table, many talents in weight, and a Menorah, likewise made

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of gold ... After these, and last of all the spoils, was carried a copy of the Jewish Law. They followed a large party carrying images of victory, all made of ivory and gold. Behind them drove Vespasian [who initially led the Roman forces before he was proclaimed emperor in 69 C.E.], followed by Titus [who finally suppressed the rebellion]; while Domitian [his
brother and future emperor] rode beside them, in magnificent apparel and mounted on a steed that was in itself a sight.¹³

Figure 4. The relief in Rome commemorating the return of Titus…with the menorah from the Temple at Jerusalem.¹⁴

From these extra-biblical data points, we know the following:

1.  A people with the name Israel existed in Canaan in the Thirteenth Century BC.

2.  In 930 BC, there was a war between Moab and Israel; that there was a Temple
      in Jerusalem at that time; and the name of the God of Israel was Yahweh.

3.  In the northern part of Israel at Tel Dan there was recorded the name of the
      “House of David.”

4.  The Temple of Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans in 70 AD and was

commemorated, in stone, by the Roman Arch of Titus and recorded by the Roman historian Josephus.

Without a doubt, one can say there is a true and historically recorded connection between the people of Israel and the site of the Temple in Jerusalem.

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Islamic Initial Conditions

The founder of Islam, Abu al-Qasim Muhammad Ibn Abd Allah Ibn Abd al-

Muttalib Ibn Hashim, or just plain Muhammad, was born in Mecca, Arabia, in 570 AD. There is no need to retell his biography; suffice to say that he had his first religious
revelation in 610 AD. By 622 AD, the start of the Muslim era, the prophet
institutionalized the foundations of Islam in Medina, the second most holy city in Islam.¹⁵ We notice that the first three relevant data points in Islam, the birth of Muhammad, the initial revelations, and the pilgrimage to Medina, all occurred over 500 years after the recorded destruction of Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.

The death of Muhammad in 632 AD marked the beginning of the Islamic

caliphate and the first four leaders were known as the “Rightly Guided” caliphs.  After an
internal struggle for leadership, the caliphate was first moved to Damascus and then later
to Baghdad. As one can investigate, not once was Jerusalem part of the Islamic political
or social infrastructure. The question then arises, why do Muslims call Jerusalem their
third most holy city?

When Muhammad started Islam, he was rejected by his own people. As a

merchant and caravan driver, he encountered many different people, cultures, and beliefs, including Jews and Christians. Since he was making little inroads with his own people, he decided on proselytizing to others; trying to convert the Jews of Medina to Islam. To
make his faith more amenable to the Jews, he commanded everyone to pray towards
Jerusalem. This mandate, however, is not in the Qur’an. Matter of fact, the name
Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Muslim holy book, not even once.

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William Montgomery Watt, the Professor Emeritus in Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh, writes:

Muhammad’s position in Medina was stronger, for the three main Jewish
clans had been eliminated. When Muhammad first went to Medina, he
expected the Jews there would accept him as a prophet. When they failed
to do so, and instead made hostile criticisms, his attitude changed. This
was the underlying reason for the change of quibla (direction of prayer) in
624. Hitherto the Muslims had followed the Jews in facing Jerusalem in
prayer, but now they turned round and faced Mecca instead.¹⁶

We now see that Muhammad never mentions Jerusalem in his Qur’anic

revelations and he only required the Jerusalem prayer direction as a way of enticing the Jews to follow him.  Muslims, however, point to his “Night Journey” as being to the
Temple Mount in Jerusalem. But in reading this passage in the Qur’an, it only mentions the journey as to being to the “furthest mosque.” As previously stated, it does not
mention Jerusalem. In Arabic, the “furthest mosque” is written “al aqsa.”¹⁷ The actual verse is found in Sura 17:1,

Glory be unto Allah who did take his servant for a journey at night from the Sacred Mosque [Mecca] to the Furthest Mosque.¹⁸

Actually, when Muhammad died in 632 AD, Jerusalem was not a Muslim city and
there were no mosques there to be found. So much so, Dr. Manfred R. Lehmann writes:

In the days of Muhammad…Jerusalem was a Christian city within the Byzantine Empire. Jerusalem was captured by Khalif Omar only in 638, six years after Mohammad’s death. Throughout all this time there were only churches in Jerusalem, and a church stood on the Temple Mount (now proven by Zachi Zweig), called the Church of Saint Mary of
Justinian, built in the Byzantine architectural style.¹⁹

The Dome of the Rock was built in 692 AD on the Temple Mount by Khalif Abd
El Malik. The Al Aqsa Mosque, in reality, the rebuilt Church of Saint Mary, was not

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completed until twenty years later by his son…80 years after Muhammad’s death.²⁰ These facts severely weaken the Muslim claim of no Jewish presence on the Temple Mount. Indeed, this claim is actually fairly recent.

Islamic Revisionism

Research has uncovered that the claim of Jerusalem as the Third Most Holiest site
in Islam is basically an invention of the Twentieth Century by the Grand Mufti of
Jerusalem, Haj Amin al Husseini. In the 1920 - 1930’s, there was an immigration of
Jewish refugees to the Holy Land. Some of this immigration was in response to the
world-wide call of Zionism and the creation of a Jewish State, but most of it was from the
need to escape the fascist anti-Semitic governments of Europe and Russia. But even
before this immigration, Jerusalem was a Jewish city. The conclusion of various census
numbers from the late 1800’s indicate, “The city of Jerusalem has had a Jewish majority
since about 1896.”²¹ The Grand Mufti, a rabid Jew-hater and Nazi sympathizer, alarmed
at this situation, wanted a way to rally the Muslim world to his cause. The Mufti knew
that slogans alone would not do the trick. Therefore, he created a religious conflict by
calling for a holy war. He addressed the Muslims of Palestine by radio and in large
gatherings with the rally cry, “Down with the Infidels.”²²

From the moment the British Mandate appointed him as Grand Mufti, al Husseini
worked endlessly to raise Jerusalem’s status as an Islamic holy center. Before he started
on this project, the Temple Mount had been severely neglected by the Muslim
community. Al Husseine renovated some of the Temple Mount structures and started an
unceasing campaign regarding the imminent “Jewish threat” to Muslim holy sites.²³

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Figures 5 and 6. These two photos taken in the 1920’s clearly show the neglect the Temple Mount suffered over the year’s under exclusive Muslim control²⁴

Emanuel A. Winston, the eminent Middle East Analyst, writes,

Joseph Goebbels said that “if the lie is big enough and told often enough,
it will be believed.” This myth of Jerusalem as Islam’s third holiest city
based on the mythical ascension of Muhammad from Al-Aksa to Heaven
has grown exponentially in the recent telling since 1967. When you tell a
Big Lie and repeat it often, it achieves credibility and has legs of its own.
In Islam, telling a lie to an infidel for the sake of enlarging your own

believer’s faith or defeating the infidel is acceptable, even desirable.²⁵

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Recent Archaeology Refutes Muslim Claims

In 1999, the Muslim Waqf (The Islamic Trust) that controls the Temple Mount
allowed an illegal construction program on the southeast corner of the site known as
Solomon’s Stables. This project resulted in much irreversible historical destruction. The
reason given, ostensibly, was to create an emergency exit for the new el-Marwani
Mosque located in the underground vaults.²⁶ Another new mosque was also built in the
passage-way area of the ancient Hulda Gates.²⁷ All of this new construction seems to
have been executed in order to increase the Muslim claim to the Temple Mount, to take
control of any vacant areas, and thus mitigate any Jewish claims. These actions are
indicative of an escalating trend by the Israeli Islamic movement to prevent any scholarly
archaeological research on the Temple Mount which would then lend credence to a
historical Jewish claim.

Figure 7. The southeast corner of the Temple Mount. Underneath the area
labeled “The Pit” material from Solomon’s Stables was illegally removed.²⁸

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Zachi Zweig, a researcher from Bar-Ilan University who specializes in Temple Mount research, quotes the Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of
Antiquities on the Temple Mount; “For over 30 years Israel has in fact delegated almost all authority over the Temple Mount to the Islamic Clerics. By doing this, Israel showed her commitment to respect the rights of Muslims.”²⁹

To a degree, the secretive and underhanded excavation (after all, some of it was performed at night) by the Muslim authorities may have backfired. During the
construction of the el-Marwani Mosque, dump truck loads of history-laden material were deposited in a garbage dump and along the slopes of the Kidron Valley. For even though the Waqf had forbidden archaeological examination at the Temple Mount, the debris, though disturbed and no longer in-situ, has revealed much to historical investigators. For it was this same Zachi Zweig, who as an archaeology student, first understood the
archaeological importance of the “discarded” material.

Figure 8.  Picture of the pit looking southeast from Temple Mount plateform³⁰
                At the mount, bulldozers, backhoes, and other heavy equipment dug down to a
depth of over 12 meters to allow for a grand staircase. When asked, a Muslim

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construction representative told Zweig that “All they did was just remove the ‘Christian
layers’ from the mount and returned it to its ‘Muslim’ state; as it has always been.”³¹

Figure 9. Tons of “debris” litter the side of the Kidron Valley”³²

Zachi Zweig realized the enormity of the destruction happening right in front of everyone. The Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) refused to act (out of fear of Muslim reaction) on his alarms. When he pressed the point by trying to get the Israeli media involved, the IAA had Zweig detained. He relates,

On early Monday morning, January 17^th, the head of the theft
unit…raided my home…I refused to cooperate in this political
investigation by the IAA, but agreed to be questioned by police. They
refused to let me see a lawyer, and after a few hours of trying to scare me
that if I wouldn’t talk to the IAA I would spend the night in jail, they gave
up, and allowed the investigation to be conducted by the police. After the
police heard the whole story, they laughed at the IAA and said that they
had nothing with which to press charges against me.³³

Conclusion: So it REALLY is Jewish!

It has been clearly shown in extra-biblical literature and archaeology the Jews

were in the ancient land of Canaan for over 1500 years before Muhammad was even born,
let alone the rise of the Muslim Empire. Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are Jewish; and

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were later shared by the Byzantine Christians even before one Muslim ever stepped foot
on its sacred soil. As for the disposition of the removed soil, in an interview with Israeli
National Radio, Dr. Gabriel Barkay stated, “What they [the Waqf] did was an
archaeological disaster…that material is the only material available from the Temple
Mount.”³⁴

Dr. Barkay was alluding to the lack of normal methods of archaeological

excavation. Normally, each stratum is individually excised in order to properly date the
material and found artifacts. In the Solomon Stables excavation, the material was
removed as if it were a regular construction operation, with absolutely no thought of
archaeological consideration. When the material was finally salvaged and moved to the
national park area, it was too mixed to use this type of analysis. Barkay and Zweig
decided upon a straight sifting analysis, hitherto unheard of in the world of archaeology.

Figure 10. Aerial view of the Temple Mount Sifting Project.”³⁵

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Started in 2004, through a series of sifts, both dry and wet, and with the help of
many volunteers, “The Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation,” as it’s officially
named, has uncovered a myriad of historical artifacts. Accurate dating is still
accomplished, but it is being achieved via pot-shard typography, artistic styling, coin-
dating, and other accepted scientific methods. Artifacts from the First Temple,
Hasmonean, Second Temple, and Early Byzantine periods have all been unearthed; all of
which predate even the birth of Muhammad, let alone the expansion of the Muslim
empire. Islam only arrived in Palestine in 638 AD. Except by the strength and fortitude of
an archaeological student and the unwavering support of his mentor, all would have lost.
Zachi Zweig, Dr. Gabi Barkay, and thousands of volunteers have mitigated what was
originally thought to be a disaster. The dark Islamic revisionist lie is shown to be false by
the archaeologist’s light of day. The Temple Mount really is Jewish…and always has
been!

Figure 11. Wet sifting helps expose artifacts from the dirt and ash.³⁶

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Figure 12. Zachi Zweig shows volunteers how to recognize important artifacts³⁷

Figure 13.  Half-Shekel Coin just unearthed (October 2008) from Temple Mount “debris.” Dated from 66/67 AD, its obverse Hebrew inscription reads,
“Holy Jerusalam.”³⁸

Indeed, the Thirteenth Century Muslim biographer Yakut wrote, “Mecca is holy to Muslims; Jerusalem is holy to the Jews.”³⁹

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Notes

1. Aaron Klein, “Moses, Jesus ‘really prophets of Islam’ Chief Muslim claims

Jewish Temples never existed, Al Aqsa by angels,” WorldNetDaily.com, March 15, 2007,
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=40628 (accessed December 1, 2008).

2. Ibid.

3. Hillel Fendel, “PA Official Claims Temple Mount Not Jewish,” IsraelNN.com, November 9, 2008,  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128306
(accessed December 2, 2008).

4. Aaron Klein, “Temple Mount ‘100% Islamic,’ Warning: ‘Any action thay

offends holt site will be answered by 1.5 billion Muslims” WorldNetDaily.com, June 1,
2008, http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=65919 (accessed December 1, 2008).

5. Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman, The Bible Unearthed:

Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and The Origin of its Sacred Texts (New York: The Free Press, 2001), 57.

6. Alfred Hoerth and John McRay, Bible Archaeology: An Exploration of the
History and Culture of Early Civilizations (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2005), 85.

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7. Wikipedia, Mesha Stele, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele (accessed December 2, 2008).

8. Hoerth and McRay, 121.

9. Finkelstein and Silberman, 19.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

12. Greg Gulbrandsen, Photograph: Tel Dan Stele, Jerusalem, June 2008.

13. Steven Fine, “The Temple Menorah - Where is it?” Bible Archaeology

Review 30 (04, 2005), http://www.cojs.org/stevenfine/files/The_Temple_Menorah.pdf (accessed December 1, 2008).

14. Ibid.

15. Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History (New York: The Modern Library, 2000), xiii.

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16. William Montgomery Watt, Islam: A Short History (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1999), 32.

17. Dr. Manfred R. Lehmann, “The Moslem Claim to Jerusalem is False: There were no mosques In Jerusalem in 632CE,” Emet News Service, May 11, 2004.
http://emetnews.org/analysis/false-claim.php (accessed December 2, 2008).

18. Ibid.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.

21. Ami Isseroff, “Population of Ottoman and Mandate Palestine: Statistical and Demographic Considerations,” Mideastweb, http://www.mideastweb.org/palpop.htm (accessed December 2, 2008).

22. Joseph E. Katz, “The Islamic Claim to the Temple Mount is Very Recent,” EretzyIsroel.org, 2001,  http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/templemount.html (accessed December 1, 2008).

23. Ibid.

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24. Ibid.

25. Emanuel A. Winston, “The Greatest Lie Ever Told About Jerusalem,” The Winston Mideast Analysis & Commentary, January 7, 2001.

http://www.gamla.org.il/english/article/2001/jan/win2.htm (accessed December 2, 2008).

26. Hershel Shanks, “Israeli and Palestinian authorities are failing to protect the
Temple Mount.” Biblical Archaeology Review, July 18, 2007. http://www.bib-
arch.org/online-exclusives/temple-mount-destruction-07.asp (accessed December 4,
2008).

27. Mark Ami-El, “The Destruction of the Temple Antiquities,” Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, August 1, 2002. http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp483.htm (accessed
December 3, 2008).

28. Zachi Zweig, “What Can We Learn from this Destructive Dig?” The Temple Mount Archaeological Destruction, November 21, 2007, http://www.har-
habayt.org/pictures/survey.html  (accessed December 3, 2008).

29. Zachi Zweig, “The Destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities.” The Temple Mount Archaeological Destruction, November 21, 2007, http://www.har-
habayt.org/destruct.html (accessed December 3, 2008).

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30. Wikipedia. “Construction works taking place on the southern tip of the

Temple Mount. The waqf is building a new mosque in the area of Solomons Stables.”

February 21, 2007, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_mount_works.jpg (accessed December 3, 2008).

31. Zachi Zweig, “The Story Behind Our Survey” The Temple Mount Archaeological Destruction, November 21, 2007, http://www.har-
habayt.org/behind.html (accessed December 3, 2008).

32. Zachi Zweig, “New Substantial Discoveries in Past Waqf Excavations on

Temple Mount” The Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation, December 26, 2005. http://www.zachi.info/bait/TMsifting1.pdf

33. Zweig, “The Story Behind Our Survey.”

34. Dr. Gabriel Barkay, “Exclusive: Dumped Temple Mount Rubble Yields Jewish Artifacts,” IsraelNN.com, April 14, 2005,

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/80176 (accessed December 2,
2008).

35. Greg Gulbrandsen, Photograph: Aerial View TMSP, Jerusalem, June 2008

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36. Greg Gulbrandsen, Photograph: Wet Sifting of Dirt and Ash, Jerusalem, June 2008.

37. Greg Gulbrandsen, Photograph: Zachi Zweig Shows Volunteers, June 2008.

38. Zachi Zweig, “Fourth Progress Update,” The Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation, October 29, 2008, http://www.echad.info/sifting/reports/4th_ Update.pdf (accessed December 4, 2008).

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Bibliography

Ami-El, Mark. “The Destruction of the Temple Antiquities,” Jerusalem Center for Public
            Affairs, August 1, 2002. http://www.jcpa.org/jl/vp483.htm (accessed December 3,
            2008).

Armstrong, Karen. Islam: A Short History. New York: The Modern Library, 2000.

Barkay, Dr. Gabriel. “Exclusive: Dumped Temple Mount Rubble Yields Jewish
            Artifacts,” IsraelNN.com, April 14, 2005.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/80176 (accessed December 2, 2008).

Finkelstein, Israel and Neil Asher Silberman. The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New
            Vision of Ancient Israel and The Origin of its Sacred Texts. New York: The Free
            Press, 2001.

Fendel, Hillel. “PA Official Claims Temple Mount Not Jewish,” IsraelNN.com

November 9, 2008, http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/128306 (accessed December 2, 2008).

Fine, Steven. “The Temple Menorah - Where is it?” Bible Archaeology Review 30 (04,
            2005), http://www.cojs.org/stevenfine/files/The_Temple_Menorah.pdf (accessed
            December 1, 2008).

Gulbrandsen, Greg. Photographs: Tel Dan Stele, Aerial View of Temple Mount Sifting
            Project , Wet Sifting, Zachi Zweig shows Volunteers, June 2008.

Hoerth, Alfred and John McRay. Bible Archaeology: An Exploration of the History and
            Culture of Early Civilizations. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2005.

Isseroff, Ami. “Population of Ottoman and Mandate Palestein: Statistical and

Demographic Considerations,” Mideastweb, http://mideastweb.org/palpop.htm (accessed December 2, 2008).

Katz, Joseph E. “Islamic Claim to the Temple Mount is Very Recent,” EretzyIsroel.org,
            2001, http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/templemount.html (accessed December
            1, 2008).

Klein, Aaron. “Moses, Jesus ‘really prophets of Islam’ Chief Muslim claims Jewish

Page 22

Temples never existed, Al Aqsa by angels,” WorldNetDaily.com, March 15, 2007,
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=40628 (accessed December 1,
2008).

Klein, Aaron. “Temple Mount ‘100% Islamic,’ Warning: ‘Any action that offends holy

site will be answered by 1.5 billion Muslims.’” WorldNetDaily.com, June 1, 2008,
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=40628 (accessed December 1,
2008).

Lehmann, Dr. Manfred R. “The Moslem Claim to Jerusalem is False: There were no
            mosques In Jerusalem in 632CE.” Emet News Service, May 11, 2004.
            http://emetnews.org/analysis/false-claim.php (accessed December 2, 2008).

Shanks. Hershel. , “Israeli and Palestinian authorities are failing to protect the Temple
            Mount.” Biblical Archaeology Review, July 18, 2007. http://www.bib-
            arch.org/online-exclusives/temple-mount-destruction-07.asp (accessed December
            4, 2008).

Watt, William Montgomery. Islam: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications,
            1999.

Winston, Emanuel A. “The Greatest Lie Ever Told About Jerusalem,” The Winston
            Mideast Analysis & Commentary, January 7, 2001.

http://www.gamla.org.il/english/article/2001/jan/win2.htm (accessed December 2,
2008).

Wikipedia, “Construction works taking place on the southern tip of the Temple Mount,”
            February 21, 2007, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_mount_works.jpg
            (accessed December 3, 2008).

Wikipedia, Meshe Stele, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesha_Stele (accessed December 2,
             2008).

Zachi Zweig, “The Destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities.” The Temple Mount
            Archaeological Destruction, November 21, 2007, http://www.har-
            habayt.org/destruct.html (accessed December 3, 2008).

Zachi Zweig, “Fourth Progress Update,” The Temple Mount Antiquities
            Salvage Operation, October 29, 2008,

http://www.echad.info/sifting/reports/4th_Update.pdf (accessed December 4,
2008).

Zachi Zweig, “What Can We Learn from this Destructive Dig?” The Temple Mount
            Archaeological Destruction, November 21, 2007, http://www.har-
            habayt.org/pictures/survey.html  (accessed December 3, 2008).

Zachi Zweig, “The Story Behind Our Survey” The Temple Mount Archaeological

Page 23

Destruction, November 21, 2007, http://www.har-habayt.org/behind.html (accessed December 3, 2008).

Zachi Zweig, “The New Substantial Discoveries in Paste Waqf Excavations on Temple
            Mount” The Temple Mount Antiquities Salvage Operation, November 21, 2007,
            http://www.zachi.info/bait/TMsifting1.pdf (accessed December 7, 2008.

I want to thank Dr. Gabi Barkay, Zachi Zweig, Gordon Franz,

Rabbi Chaim Richmond, and Mike Caba, for all their help in my research for this paper.

The author, Greg Gulbrandsen, retired from the State University of
New Paltz in 2003 where he was the Director of the Media Center. Prior to
his university experience, he was an engineer, a teacher, and photographer.
Greg now divides his time between writing and archaeology in the United
States and Israel. He can be reached at gulbrang@newpaltz.edu.

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