A 1700-year-old oil lamp with a Jewish Temple menorah symbol was found in Jerusalem. This discovery is significant because there is little evidence of a Jewish presence in Jerusalem after the Roman Emperor Hadrian expelled Jews in 135 CE. This lamp shows that Jewish identity and memory of the Jewish Temple were present in the city around the 4th century CE.
1,700-year-old lamp uncovered in Jerusalem (Photo: Emil
Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority
THE CHRISTIAN POST: The Christian population in areas
governed by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas has plummeted drastically by up
to 90% in some communities, a new study suggests, attributing the decline to
violence, discrimination and economic hardships that threaten the survival of
Christianity in its historical heartland.
The Christian demographic in Palestinian territories has
experienced a dramatic reduction over the past century. In 1922, Christians
made up 11% of the population in geographical Palestine. By 2024, this number
had dwindled to 1%, marking a nearly 90% decrease, according to a study conducted by the Israeli think tank Jerusalem
Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
"The international community often disregards the plight
of the Palestinian Christian community. While minor clashes with some Israeli
Jewish extremists are reported in hyper-focus in the media, the PA represses
the reporting of grave incidents of Christian systemic oppression, the stories
never seeing the light of day," the report, authored by Lt. Col. (res.)
Maurice Hirsch and attorney Tirza Shorr, states….
Christian
population nearly wiped out under Hamas, PA rule in Christianity's birthplace
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| The City of Bethlehem in the Distance. 2018. Photo by LFL. |
This news article took me by surprise. A group of indigenous leaders gathered in Jerusalem from around the world to support the historical basis of Israel’s connection with the land. They marched from the Jaffa Gate to the Western Wall to show their solidarity. According to Sheree Trotter, co-director of the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem,
There is a false narrative that has taken hold of the Western world, including the country where I live, that paints the Jews as the foreign colonizers who have dispossessed the indigenous Palestinians. We want to change that narrative.
There are those who try to nullify the existence of the State
of Israel with the argument that Israelis are settlers and colonizers that
should be replaced with a Palestinian state "from the river to the sea.” So, it is encouraging to see a group that stands in solidarity with Israel.
Online Source: Indigenous Leaders Rally in Jerusalem, https://www.timesofisrael.com/indigenous-leaders-rally-in-jerusalem-to-affirm-historical-jewish-ties-to-the-land/. November 3, 2024.
An international delegation of indigenous leaders at the Western Wall, Jerusalem,
October 28,
2024 (Gianluca Pacchiani/Times of Israel)
I came across an article by Leo M. Abrami on Father Alexander Glasberg. Father Glasberg was part of the French Resistance during World War II and worked to save Jewish children during that turbulent time. He helped create the State of Israel and received the Yad Vashem Medal of the Righteous posthumously.
https://www.tribunejuive.info/2016/04/26/la-mission-de-labbe-glasberg-par-leo-m-abrami/
With
all that being said, there are those
who argue against the “status quo” and
for Jewish freedom to pray on the Temple Mount. In a recent opinion
piece, Michael
Freund insists there is no
Temple Mount “status quo” because the Wakf and Palestinians trampled it. Jeremy
Sharon reports that Israeli
Police have been allowing Jewish worshipers to prostrate and pray on the east
side of the Temple Mount in recent weeks; this practice is said to have begun
around 2018 but has increased since August 13, 2024.
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| Jewish worshippers prostrate themselves on the Temple Mount during a prayer service at the holy site, August 28, 2024. (Jeremy Sharon/Times of Israel) |
