Western Wall plaza

Court Petition: Western Wall Tunnels a Holy Site for Christians, Muslims

The High Court of Justice has agreed to hear a petition asking why the Western Wall Tunnels have been declared a holy site for Jews and not for Muslims and...

(Under)mining the Status Quo

Ancient sites play an important role in the political struggle over Jerusalem, particularly in the historic basin.  In this short video we describe the organisations engaged in archaeology and how...

Press release: Emek Shaveh’s response to UNESCO’s Executive Board’s decision on Palestine (Executive Board 199th session)

In response to UNESCO’s Executive Board’s decision on Palestine from last week (Executive Board 199th session on Occupied Palestine) we would like to say the following: We regret that in...

Selectively Sacred: Holy Sites in Jerusalem and its Environs

Introduction In this document, we examine how the Israeli government authorities and legal system address the issue of holy places. The government, legal and judicial authorities in Israel attempt to...

Archaeological Activities in Politically Sensitive Areas in Jerusalem’s Historic Basin

 Preface Jerusalem’s Old City and the Historic Basic (also called the Holy Basin) contain some of the most important sites to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. On account of its religious...

High Court Petition: The Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee will hear objections to Beit Haliba

September 2, 2015 Emek Shaveh submitted an objection to the construction of ‘Beit Haliba’ at the Western Wall (No. 8 on map). We claim that the building will harm the...

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...