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Palestine, Israel In Controversy Over King Herod's Tomb
An upcoming exhibit is causing friction between Palestinians and Israelis, the Associated Press reports.On February 13, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem will open "Herod the Great: The King's Final Journey." It will be the first exhibition dedicated to the architectural legacy of the infamous Jewish king, who ruled as a vassal of the Roman Empire from 37-4 B.C.
Best known for the Biblical story of his killing the male children of Bethlehem to try to get rid of the baby Jesus, he was also one of the region's great builders, expanding the Second Temple and erecting many other monuments.
The exhibition will display remains from his many building projects. The centerpiece will be his recently discovered tomb, shown here, and what may be his sarcophagus, painstakingly reconstructed from hundreds of shattered pieces. Archaeologists believe it was destroyed by Jews to show their hatred of Herod.
Almost all the artifacts are from the West Bank, part of Palestine, and here is where the problem lies. Palestinian Authority officials say they weren't consulted about the exhibit and that excavating and removing artifacts from Palestine without their permission breaks international antiquities laws. The Israel Museum denies this and says they have authority over the artifacts. They also say the material will be returned to the West Bank after the exhibition closes October 5.
In this part of the world, history frequently gets enmeshed in politics, with both sides trying to claim the land by historical precedent.
The BBC has an interesting article on the troubles archaeologists face in Gaza. Besides a shortage of funding, sanctions keep them from getting many of the materials needed for excavation and conservation. War has also taken its toll, with Israeli bombs hitting the antiquities office and also damaging an early medieval mosaic in a Byzantine Church.
[Photo of Herod's tomb courtesy Deror Avi]
Filed under: Arts and Culture, History, Learning, Israel, Middle East
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Mark the Artist Jan 24th 2013 2:46AM
Oh yes, Palestine, a Roman name meaning the land of the Philistines (as an insult to the Jews) was identifiable pre-1948 as a British mandate, which included present-day Jordan and present-day Israel. At that time, 'Palestinian' referred to the Jewish community living there. And in Europe, the graffiti said, 'Jews, go back to Palestine.' Having the term refer to the Arabs was an invention of the late 1960s and 1970s. The following two quotes may make that clearer:
"There is no such country as Palestine. 'Palestine' is a term the Zionists invented. There is no Palestine in the Bible. Our country was for centuries part of Syria. 'Palestine' is alien to us. It is the Zionists who introduced it."
- Auni Bey Abdul-Hadi, Syrian Arab leader to British Peel Commission, 1937
"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle [Jihad] against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism. For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."
- Zahir Muhsein, executive leader in the PLO, in an interview with the Dutch newspaper Trouw, March 31, 1977