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Where David Reigned: The Debate Over Jewish Identity in Israel
| Article
# : |
19830 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1991 |
3,164 Words |
| Author
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Nechemia Meyers
Nechemia Meyers, affiliated with the Weizmann Institute of
Science in Rehovot, Israel, has previously published two
articles in The World & I: Israel and the Far East: Growing
Links Between Jews and Asians (January 1989) and Bar Kokhba: A
Two-Millennia Debate (July 1990). |
The Holy Land, as one might expect, is full of holy places, some sacred to one religion and others sacred to two or more. Almost all have been centers of controversy at one time or another--even if they "belong" to a single religious group. For example, various Christian denominations struggle for control of every square inch of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem: and Jerusalem's Temple Mount is the subject of continual strife between Jews and Muslims.
At the same time, within the Jewish community, frequent clashes over holy places and other ancient sites occur. For example, Orthodox Jews are apt to berate (or even physically attack) archaeologists for allegedly disturbing the bones of long-dead Jews. Similarly, some years ago, Israeli archaeologists were taken to task by UNESCO, which charged that their excavations were "changing the character of Jerusalem." However, these accusations ring rather hollow in view of the generally respectful attitude consistently shown by Israeli archaeologists and governing bodies towards Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem. (Jordanian authorities, by contrast, showed little respect for Jews and Jewish holy places when they ruled East Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967. During that nineteen-year period, in contravention of the 1949 Armistice Agreement between Jordan and Israel, Jews were denied access to the Western Wall. Moreover, the Jordanians used tombstones from the sanctified Mount of Olives Jewish cemetery in the paving of roads and the construction of army camps.)
But religious conviction is not the only factor in Israel that influences attitudes and behaviors regarding places of holy significance or questions with strong religious overtones. Consider the case of Hebron, a West Bank town where, according to ancient tradition, the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people are buried in the Cave of Machpelah, which had been purchased by Abraham from Ephron the Hittite. Furthermore, Hebron was where King David reigned for seven and a half years before he captured Jerusalem and made it his capital. Finally, but less easy to prove, some legends claim that the cave is also the final resting place of Adam and Eve, who apparently lived in Hebron after their banishment from Eden.
Clearly, the site is of great historical and spiritual significance to Jews. But Abraham is also revered by Islam, and Hebron is a significant Islamic center. Muslims long ago took an existing Herodian building, enlarged it, and turned it into a mosque that rises above the Cave of Machpelah. For centuries, Jews were allowed to ascend only to the
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