Saturday, January 25, 2014

Tel Shiloh Angers Anti-Zionist Archaeologists

The far-left and perhaps even anti-Zionist group of archaeologists who cannot tolerate the justification of the Zionist enterprise through archaeology, Emek Shaveh, has now dealt with my home town.

Here's the summary of their report:

New report: Tel Shiloh (Khirbet Seilun)
Tel Shiloh is located in southern Samaria, north of the Palestinian village of Turmus ‘Aya, and west of the settlement of Shiloh. In the past, the lands were owned by residents of the village of Qaryut, [not true] located north of the archaeological mount (the “Tel.”) Today, the site is included within the area of the Shiloh settlement. The name of the Biblical site, Khirbet Seilun, has been preserved at the site. [that should be: "The name Khirbet Seilun preserves the name of the Biblical site", but English may not be their best language - YM] Although in Israel and the West Bank, the Nature and Parks Authority operates the important antiquities sites, Tel Shiloh is operated by a non-profit organization, “The Mishkan Shiloh Association –The Center for the Study and Development of the Cradle of Settlement in the Land of Israel,” together with the Binyamin Regional Council.

At Tel Shiloh, faith and tradition infuse content into the archaeological site. The Tel itself is a site of small proportions (approximately 8.5 acres, as mentioned), testifying to very limited settlement during the Biblical period. Despite this, the government of Israel decided in 2010 to invest considerable sums in the site and to turn it into a key tourist and heritage center in Samaria. The archaeological excavations make it possible to generate public interest around new discoveries, and already, one can see that there is an attempt to “prove” the Biblical story through archaeological research.

The tremendous, disproportionate investment in a site of these dimensions would not be carried out were it not for political interests bent on bolstering the settlements in the area. These interests led to the eviction of the Palestinian residents from their lands [a lie], and appropriation of the site for the benefit of the settlement. Today, they are conducting a one-dimensional presentation of the site, massive building at the heart of the archaeological layers, and administration by a private-ideological organization rather than a government agency.

Don't you just love an angry Leftist?

Visit virtually the site and then come and really visit.




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