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Israeli archeologist: The finds in Khirbet Qeiyafa could belong to an Arab civilization

Palestine Information Center – 28/07/2013

DataFiles-Cache-TempImgs-2013-2-images_News_2013_07_28_finds-0_300_0OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel Finkelstein, a noted Israeli archeologist and academic at Tel Aviv university, questioned the Jewish claims about the discovery of King David palace in Khirbet Qeiyafa, west of occupied Jerusalem, expressing his belief that the finds belong to an ancient Arab civilization.

Finkelstein said that it could be true that the site discovered dates back to the eighth or tenth century BC, but it could have been built in that period by the Palestinians, the Arab Canaanites or other peoples in the region.

He said he believes that the site was probably built by other ancient kingdoms in the region, especially since there is no conclusive physical evidence suggesting it is the palace of King David.

Israeli archeologists had claimed to have discovered the site of King David Palace in Khirbet Qeiyafa, according to the Jerusalem Post. The report also said that the diggings have been going on for seven years at the site and had revealed two huge Jewish buildings, a palace and a storehouse.

July 28, 2013 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Science and Pseudo-Science | , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Invention of Ancient Israel, the Silencing of Palestinian History

By Roy Bard | Uprooted Palestinians | February 10, 2012

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Sheffield PSC last night hosted a talk by Professor Keith Whitelam, author of The Invention of Ancient Israel, the Silencing of Palestinian History and Palestine, the Bible and the Imperial Imagination.

Keith Whitelam’s book has caused some controversy in academic circles, as explained by Simon Targett

Like other sceptics, Whitelam, a soft-spoken Quaker with a Lincolnshire lilt, contends that ancient Israel is an invention of modern scholarship. He believes that the picture of a thriving Iron Age Jewish kingdom headed by David and Solomon is “a fiction”. Unlike other sceptics, he goes one key step further, contending that the scholarly debate has been driven by a dominant “biblical discourse” fuelled by a tankful of “unspoken and unacknowledged” assumptions. The main effect, he says, has been “the silencing of Palestinian history”.

According to Whitelam, the history of Palestine has been distorted by the deference shown to the Hebrew Bible. All the great biblical scholars – from the earliest explorers like Edward Robinson through mid-century biblical specialists like the German Albrecht Alt and the American William Albright, to modern scholars like Israel Finkelstein – have been diverted by the search for ancient Israel, and particularly the Davidic empire. This search, he maintains, has sometimes been underpinned by more controversial political assumptions, which have a bearing on the fraught contemporary politics of the Near East.

The audio provides an interesting introduction to the ideas that Professor Whitelam explores in his book, along with some up to date commentary.

In case you missed it:

Jerusalem does not belong to Jewish-Israelis: “The Bible Came From Arabia”,

February 10, 2012 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , | Leave a comment

Top Israeli archaeologists contest Jewish ties to Jerusalem

Palestine Information Center – 08/08/2011

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Top Israeli archaeologist Israel Finkelstein has denied the existence of Jewish roots in the city of Jerusalem, contrary to Israel’s claims that have prompted continued Judaization of the city.

Finkelstein, a professor at Tel Aviv University, said Jewish archaeologists have failed to unearth historic sites to support some of the stories in the Torah. Among those stories are the Jewish Exodus, the forty-year wandering in the Sinai desert, and Joshua’s victory over the Canaanites.

He also said there was no archaeological evidence that concludes that the alleged Temple of Solomon ever existed.

For his part, Professor of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University Raphael Greenberg said that the Israelis should have found something after digging for six weeks in the City of David in East Jerusalem’s Silwan district, but have found nothing in two years of continuous excavations.

Prof. Yoni Mihrazi, an independent archaeologist who has worked with the International Atomic Energy Agency, agreed with Finkelstein’s findings, saying that top settler organization Elad had not stumbled upon even a banner saying “welcome to the city of David”, given that claims were made to have been relying on sacred texts to guide them in their work.

August 8, 2011 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular | , , , , | 8 Comments