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| Disputed facts under ground in Jerusalem | Disputed facts under ground in Jerusalem |
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| In 1996 riots over the opening of the tunnel left 80 Palestinians dead By Tim Franks BBC News, Jerusalem | In 1996 riots over the opening of the tunnel left 80 Palestinians dead By Tim Franks BBC News, Jerusalem |
| CRUCIBLE OF A CRUCIBLE OF A CRUCIBLE | CRUCIBLE OF A CRUCIBLE OF A CRUCIBLE |
| Broadcast journalism does not just depend on accuracy and impartiality. Unfortunately, it also demands concision. | Broadcast journalism does not just depend on accuracy and impartiality. Unfortunately, it also demands concision. |
| And, so pity the reporter who has to deal with a story about that - albeit important - bit of Jerusalem "known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary". That's five seconds of what may be your 40-second news piece for radio. | And, so pity the reporter who has to deal with a story about that - albeit important - bit of Jerusalem "known to Jews as the Temple Mount, and to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary". That's five seconds of what may be your 40-second news piece for radio. |
| There is no proof of a temple here. None at all Said Rabieh, Palestinian guide | There is no proof of a temple here. None at all Said Rabieh, Palestinian guide |
| The reason for this circumlocution is what we politely call "competing narratives". | The reason for this circumlocution is what we politely call "competing narratives". |
| If Jerusalem is the crucible of the Middle East conflict, then the Old City is the crucible of the crucible, and the area "known to etc," is the crucible of the crucible of the crucible. | If Jerusalem is the crucible of the Middle East conflict, then the Old City is the crucible of the crucible, and the area "known to etc," is the crucible of the crucible of the crucible. |
| Which is what led me to take two tours, on consecutive days, of the Western Wall tunnel. One was led by a Palestinian man, the other by an Israeli woman. | Which is what led me to take two tours, on consecutive days, of the Western Wall tunnel. One was led by a Palestinian man, the other by an Israeli woman. |
| The Western Wall was built by King Herod, 2,000 years ago. Jewish tradition - and western scholarly consensus - holds that it was one of four walls which supported the huge plaza on which the Second Temple was rebuilt. | The Western Wall was built by King Herod, 2,000 years ago. Jewish tradition - and western scholarly consensus - holds that it was one of four walls which supported the huge plaza on which the Second Temple was rebuilt. |
| The part which you can see is imposing enough. But in fact the wall is much deeper and wider than what is visible, these days, at ground level. | The part which you can see is imposing enough. But in fact the wall is much deeper and wider than what is visible, these days, at ground level. |
| You get a measure of the scale of the project from the tunnel which has been excavated alongside. Those excavations were started by British explorers 140 years ago; Israeli archaeologists continued the work after the Old City, along with the rest of East Jerusalem, was captured in the war of 1967. | You get a measure of the scale of the project from the tunnel which has been excavated alongside. Those excavations were started by British explorers 140 years ago; Israeli archaeologists continued the work after the Old City, along with the rest of East Jerusalem, was captured in the war of 1967. |
| Not everyone agrees that the wall is the only remaining part of the Temple complex, destroyed by the Romans in AD70. | Not everyone agrees that the wall is the only remaining part of the Temple complex, destroyed by the Romans in AD70. |
| Al-Quds University states, on its website, that "the Al-Aqsa compound (ie the Haram al-Sharif - site of al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest site in Islam) cannot possibly be in the same place as the first or second temple". | Al-Quds University states, on its website, that "the Al-Aqsa compound (ie the Haram al-Sharif - site of al-Aqsa Mosque, and the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest site in Islam) cannot possibly be in the same place as the first or second temple". |
| The first tour I went on was organised by al-Quds University's Centre for Jerusalem Studies. The organiser, Rasmieh Ali Tabaki, told our group that "every day we are under threat", and that she was often "harrassed" by the Shabak (the Israeli internal intelligence service). "They tell me that we do is political. For me it's cultural." | The first tour I went on was organised by al-Quds University's Centre for Jerusalem Studies. The organiser, Rasmieh Ali Tabaki, told our group that "every day we are under threat", and that she was often "harrassed" by the Shabak (the Israeli internal intelligence service). "They tell me that we do is political. For me it's cultural." |
| Wherever we dig, we find history Basha Zusman, Israeli guide | Wherever we dig, we find history Basha Zusman, Israeli guide |
| In this part of Jerusalem, dividing lines are rarely neat, between culture and politics. | In this part of Jerusalem, dividing lines are rarely neat, between culture and politics. |
| Our Palestinian guide, Said Rabieh, cited descriptions of the Second Temple from ancient Jewish literature, but cautioned: "There is no proof of a temple here. None at all." | Our Palestinian guide, Said Rabieh, cited descriptions of the Second Temple from ancient Jewish literature, but cautioned: "There is no proof of a temple here. None at all." |
| Pressed whether he himself believed the Second Temple was on this site, he said, "Maybe but I don't have archaeological evidence." | Pressed whether he himself believed the Second Temple was on this site, he said, "Maybe but I don't have archaeological evidence." |
| Shortly after you enter the tunnel, you walk across thick glass, which has been cut into the stone floor to reveal, deep beneath you, a staircase leading to a carved space in the stone. Said told us that Jewish archaeologists were claiming this to be an ancient "mikveh" (ritual bath). | Shortly after you enter the tunnel, you walk across thick glass, which has been cut into the stone floor to reveal, deep beneath you, a staircase leading to a carved space in the stone. Said told us that Jewish archaeologists were claiming this to be an ancient "mikveh" (ritual bath). |
| Said looked profoundly sceptical. "I don't know: you tell me what you think. I don't know how they can be so sure. It's just a space." | Said looked profoundly sceptical. "I don't know: you tell me what you think. I don't know how they can be so sure. It's just a space." |
| POINTS OF DEEP CONTENTION | POINTS OF DEEP CONTENTION |
| The following day, on the tour organised by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, our guide held a rather different view of this "space". | The following day, on the tour organised by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, our guide held a rather different view of this "space". |
| Basha Zusman wears a wig, in the style of a highly religious Jewish woman. Every sentence she uttered finished not just with a full stop, but a full stop and a smile. | Basha Zusman wears a wig, in the style of a highly religious Jewish woman. Every sentence she uttered finished not just with a full stop, but a full stop and a smile. |
| Different faiths find themselves in close proximity in the heart of Jerusalem | Different faiths find themselves in close proximity in the heart of Jerusalem |
| She may have imparted this information a thousand times before, but she infuses her words with apparent joy and wonder. | She may have imparted this information a thousand times before, but she infuses her words with apparent joy and wonder. |
| "Wherever we dig, we find history," she told the group. | "Wherever we dig, we find history," she told the group. |
| "Eighteen months ago we dug down and found this mikveh. It's the largest ritual pool to date found outside the Temple Mount. It may have been used by the priests." | "Eighteen months ago we dug down and found this mikveh. It's the largest ritual pool to date found outside the Temple Mount. It may have been used by the priests." |
| When asked what made her sure it was indeed a mikveh, she said, "the dimensions meet those set out in Jewish law". | When asked what made her sure it was indeed a mikveh, she said, "the dimensions meet those set out in Jewish law". |
| Later, she brushed off those who dispute the existence of the temple on this site. She compared them to people who deny the Holocaust despite the welter of irrefutable evidence. | Later, she brushed off those who dispute the existence of the temple on this site. She compared them to people who deny the Holocaust despite the welter of irrefutable evidence. |
| The tunnel itself is a point of deep contention. When, in 1996, the then Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, opened an exit from the tunnel at the Via Dolorosa, in the Muslim quarter, there were riots, in which more than 80 Palestinians died. | The tunnel itself is a point of deep contention. When, in 1996, the then Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, opened an exit from the tunnel at the Via Dolorosa, in the Muslim quarter, there were riots, in which more than 80 Palestinians died. |
| The Palestinians contend that the excavations have, at the very least, undermined the Muslim quarter of the Old City - and at the worst, have been a plot to undermine the Haram al-Sharif itself. | The Palestinians contend that the excavations have, at the very least, undermined the Muslim quarter of the Old City - and at the worst, have been a plot to undermine the Haram al-Sharif itself. |
| But, Said told our group, "there's been no reaction from the international community or the United Nations to these 'facts under ground'". | But, Said told our group, "there's been no reaction from the international community or the United Nations to these 'facts under ground'". |
| On our slow walk down the 400m long tunnel, we stopped in a square room with the sign, "Medieval Cistern". | On our slow walk down the 400m long tunnel, we stopped in a square room with the sign, "Medieval Cistern". |
| "This is the well of the house (in the Muslim quarter) above," Said explained. "This is a breach of international law. In 1992, it still held water." | "This is the well of the house (in the Muslim quarter) above," Said explained. "This is a breach of international law. In 1992, it still held water." |
| "One day, the family in the house went to get water and found their well had been blocked." | "One day, the family in the house went to get water and found their well had been blocked." |
| On the official tour, the next day, the group whisked through the "Medieval Cistern" without stopping. | On the official tour, the next day, the group whisked through the "Medieval Cistern" without stopping. |
| All of which underlines that those who hold the microphone hold the power. | All of which underlines that those who hold the microphone hold the power. |
| Said told us that when he first applied, in 1980, to be a tour guide, sanctioned by the Israeli authorities to visit the key sites, he was told that there was no law against his application, but that he was whistling in the wind. | Said told us that when he first applied, in 1980, to be a tour guide, sanctioned by the Israeli authorities to visit the key sites, he was told that there was no law against his application, but that he was whistling in the wind. |
| He quoted the famous, and possibly apocryphal saying of Moshe Dayan, Israel's celebrated former Minister of Defence, and amateur archaeologist: "I'd rather a Palestinian train as a fighter pilot than a tour guide." | He quoted the famous, and possibly apocryphal saying of Moshe Dayan, Israel's celebrated former Minister of Defence, and amateur archaeologist: "I'd rather a Palestinian train as a fighter pilot than a tour guide." |
| In the end, Said received his badge of accreditation 12 years ago. | In the end, Said received his badge of accreditation 12 years ago. |
| Basha, who lives in the Old City, has been guiding groups through the tunnel for the last eight years. | Basha, who lives in the Old City, has been guiding groups through the tunnel for the last eight years. |
| During that time, she says she has had just two Muslim groups. "They were wide-eyed with wonder. I wish we had more." | During that time, she says she has had just two Muslim groups. "They were wide-eyed with wonder. I wish we had more." |
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