The ministerial committee that deals with national heritage sites, under the auspices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, decided last week to embrace a new West Bank project: Thanks to a government allocation of NIS 5 million, archaeological excavations and other preservation work will take place at Tel Shiloh, a biblical site in the West Bank. A large tourist center is also planned as part of the project; visitors there will learn about life in the biblical era in Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was said to have been held for 369 years.
This is a precedent-setting decision, since Israeli governments up to now have not allocated funds for renovation and preservation of the site, located within the area of the Binyamin Regional Council. The committee’s decision to embark on the project states that “Tel Shiloh is a unique heritage asset” for the Jewish people, and mention was made of the fact that work at the site will be backed by supplementary funds totaling some NIS 10 million, to be provided by private sources.
In the months ahead, wide-ranging excavation work is to be undertaken at Tel Shiloh, with the assistance of the Department of Antiquities and the chairman of the head of the national heritage development department in the Prime Minister’s Office, Reuven Pinsky. Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited the site a few weeks ago, and declared that Tel Shiloh will become part of the tour circuit organized for schools by his ministry. Indeed, an examination by Haaretz shows that Tel Shiloh was added to the Education Ministry tour list just a few months ago.
It bears repeating.
^
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment