Holy Basin

Update Paper: The new government’s resolutions on Jerusalem, the place of archeology in these plans, and ministerial responsibility for the Israel Antiquities Authority

At its second session, the new government (the 34th government of Israel, headed by Netanyahu) has taken a number of decisions to strengthen Jerusalem’s economy and its status as the...

International guidelines for protection, development, management, presentation and interpretation of historic cities/cultural heritage sites

Download the full report as PDF  Contents Introduction International regulations concerning cultural heritage UNESCO Conventions UNESCO General Assembly Recommendations Charters – ICOMOS and ICCROM International conventions and guidelines concerning archaeology,...

The 2015 Elections and the Political Struggle over the Temple Mount, Silwan and Jerusalem’s Old City

The next Knesset will be comprised of a right-wing and ultra-Orthodox majority. However, the weakening of far-right elements and their removal from the Likud list of MKs is of great...

Antiquities in the Basement: Ideology and Real Estate at the Expense of Archaeology In Jerusalem’s Old City

Introduction The present volume is a series of abstracts based on longer reports by Emek Shaveh which draw on internal documents of the Israel Antiquities Authority (henceforth: IAA),[1] obtained under...

UNESCO’s latest decisions on Jerusalem – November 2014 update

In, 2010, UNESCO decided to send a joint World Heritage Centre/ICCROM/ICOMOS[1] reactive monitoring mission to Jerusalem, in order to report on the progress of UNESCO’s Action Plan for the Safeguarding...

Why is the Mughrabi Ramp a political issue?

In early September, the newspaper Haaretz published an article about the dismantling of a new Mughrabi ramp whose construction began in August. That ramp, like the existing one, was declared...

Update—‘Kedem Compound’ and ‘Beit HaLiba’

The ‘Kedem Compound’ was approved following a hearing of objections; the Appeals Committee decided to send ‘Beit HaLiba’ to the Planning and Building Committee for additional discussion Last Wednesday (11...

The Opening of Underground Area in the Old City is Clear Example of Archaeology serving Political Goals

On Sunday, June 1 2014, an educational visitors’ center is opening in an underground site from the 14th century in the Muslim Quarter. The site will be inaugurated by the...

El’ad’s involvement in archaeological sites and projects in East Jerusalem

Introduction Over the past few years, the Israeli-Jewish campaign for control and sovereignty over Palestinian East Jerusalem has been closely tied with the development and operation of several archaeological sites...

Cultural heritage protection in international conventions

Introduction Currently, there are five international conventions which regulate the protection of cultural heritage 1, the main issues being intended and unintended destruction during armed conflict, plunder and illicit trafficking of cultural...