Olmert fails to halt destruction at the Temple Mount

Where's the outrage?

photo courtesy of One Jerusalem

I forgot today was Tuesday (can you tell I'm over 50?) and so missed an important conference call for bloggers sponsored by One Jerusalem, with guests Dr. Gaby Barkay (a world-renowned archaeologist) and Yisrael Caspi (a lawyer and activist) from the Committee for the Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount.

Needless to say, I'm kicking myself. While I do that, you can read about what's going on -- from Aaron Klein of World Net Daily:

Muslims caught red-handed destroying Temple artifacts

... Israel is blocking leading archaeologists from surveying massive damage Islamic authorities are accused of causing to what may be the outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple.

Last month, the Waqf, the Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount, were given permission by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to use bulldozers and other heavy equipment to dig a large trench they say is necessary to replace electrical cables. The dig is being protected by the Israeli police and is supposed to be supervised by the Israeli government's Antiquities Authority.

Earlier this month, after bulldozers pulverized a trench 1,300 feet long and five feet deep, the Muslim diggers came across a wall Israeli archaeologists believe may be remains of an area of the Second Jewish Temple known as the woman's courtyard.

The Antiquities Authority has not halted the dig and has not inspected the site. The Waqf has continued using bulldozers to blast away at the trench containing the wall.

The Antiquities Authority did not return repeated requests for comment.

Leading Temple Mount archaeologists, including Mazar and Gavriel Barkai, petitioned the Israeli government to immediately halt the dig and allow experts to inspect the emerging wall.

But Mazar and other archaeologists say they are being blocked by the Israeli government.

"The Antiquities Authority tells us to coordinate with the police. The police send us back to the Antiquities Authority," said Mazar, who is a professor of Hebrew University and member of the Public Committee for Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on Temple Mount.

Mazar also is the discoverer and lead archaeologist of Israel's City of David, believed to be the palace of the biblical King David, the second leader of a united Kingdom of Israel, who ruled from around 1005 to 965 B.C.

"It's crucial this wall is inspected. The Temple Mount ground level is only slightly above the original Temple Mount platform, meaning anything found is likely from the Temple itself," the archaeologist said....

As has been pointed out at One Jerusalem, "... the stop order for this barbaric destruction can only be ordered from the Prime Minister."

My thanks to Tom Glennon for the heads-up.