city of david

U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman (left) with White House Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt (center) and Senator Lindsey Graham seen during the opening ceremony of an the Pilgrimage Road at the City of David archaeological site in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, June 30, 2019. (Flash90)

Using archeology in the service of nationalism

The inauguration of a supposed ancient Jewish ‘Pilgrimage Road’ by Ambassador David Friedman and White House envoy Jason Greenblatt is a reminder that archeology is never as neutral as some would like to believe. By Chemi Shiff and Yonathan Mizrachi We tend to think of archeology as a neutral discipline. Archeologists dig up artifacts, date them, and try to build…

By +972 Magazine July 5, 2019

Palestinian workers squeeze themselves to pass through the Israeli checkpoint of Bethlehem while heading to their work in Israeli cities, Bethlehem, West Bank, March 19, 2017. (Ahmad Al-Bazz/Activestills.org)

50 reasons to resist the occupation in its 50th year

Fifty reasons to join a growing coalition united in creating a more just future in the region, in order to make the 50th year of the occupation its last. By Talia Krevsky and Isaac Kates Rose 1. January 1: The onset of the 50th year of violating the Fourth Geneva Convention through Israel’s military occupation over…

By +972 Magazine March 30, 2017

Elad Chairman David Be'eri meets with Silwan Mukhtar Abu Jamil in City of David, Jerusalem, April 22, 2010. (Abir Sultan/Flash 90)

A lifetime achievement award for normalizing settlements

David Be’eri won the state’s highest award for doing what decades ago would have seemed impossible: inspiring the Israeli people to identify with the settler enterprise. By Yonathan Mizrachi Following last week’s announcement that David Be’eri, the founder of the settler organization Elad, had won the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement, some who closely monitor Israel’s…

By +972 Magazine March 20, 2017

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The Old City of Jerusalem, September 26, 2014. (Photo by Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Activestills.org)

East Jerusalem streets given Hebrew names amid tensions

The city council pours oil on the fire by approving Hebrew street names in Palestinian neighborhoods as tensions run high. The move is part and parcel of efforts to ‘Judaize’ the eastern half of the city, which Palestine claims as its future capital. With all eyes on Jerusalem as tensions in the city continue to…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland September 21, 2015

An Israeli police van outside the City of David archeological park in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. (File photo: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Parks and Occupation: Archaeology is the new security

The Biblical blueprint is being dragged up around our feet, seeking to use what is under the ground as evidence of divine right and the political and territorial sovereignty it supposedly affords us. The past makes for prime real estate when you’re developing a national mythology. It’s also a fine way to exert control over…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland March 7, 2015

Tower of David, Jerusalem. (photo: Maglanist)

The Davidization of Jerusalem: On the politics of symbols

It’s no coincidence that images of the Tower of David are popping up everywhere in the holy city: right-wing settlers and real estate moguls alike have been using the symbol to gain power. By Dana Hercbergs Like mushrooms after the rain, the Tower of David seems to be popping up in new places in Jerusalem. Its…

By +972 Magazine December 28, 2014

Daoud Al-Ghoul, shown near properties taken over by Israel settlers in Jerusalem's Old City. (photo: Activestills.org)

Three Palestinian activists exiled from Jerusalem for five months

Without explanation, three Jerusalemite Palestinians are given five-month bans from the city of their birth and residence. One is banned from the West Bank as well. Text and photos by: Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org In early December, three Jerusalem-born Palestinians received orders from Israeli authorities banning them from the city for a period of five months.…

By Activestills December 15, 2014

Elie Wiesel and Amos Yadlin congratulate East Jerusalem settlers

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin of the centrist think tank is among the signatories of an ad praising the Jewish settlers who entered 25 apartments in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan last week. ‘By your act of settlement you make us all stand taller,’ the ad reads. Yadlin and Wiesel serve on the public council of…

By Noam Sheizaf October 10, 2014

The East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan is seen from a protest tent built by local activists, March 3, 2014. (Photo by Ryan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills.org)

In Silwan, the settlers are winning – big time

Seven years of struggle and Silwan’s residents can’t claim even one tangible and clear victory. Not one home has been returned to its original residents, not one settler has left and the police and Israeli authorities continue to target Palestinian residents. By Yonathan Mizrachi The East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan got its first-ever community center,…

By +972 Magazine October 1, 2014

An ancient sewer in Silwan (photo: Emek Shaveh)

Israel’s very own tunnels of dread in Jerusalem

While everyone is preoccupied with the Hamas tunnels in Gaza, Israel continues to dig under Palestinian houses in Jerusalem. The excuses are questionable, residents are angry and fearful, and a religious conflagration appears imminent. By Orly Noy With the Hamas tunnels dominating the Israeli narrative for the past several weeks, their inherent danger horrifying the…

By Orly Noy September 6, 2014

Exhibition on loan: How Israel’s cultural institutions contribute to occupation

Even if bringing the Herodium exhibit to the Israel Museum is not identical to wielding physical violence against Palestinians, it seems that in everything that pertains to the West Bank, those in charge exploit resources for their own needs, be it for exhibition or settlement expansion. By Yonatan Mizrachi The exhibition “Herod the Great –…

By +972 Magazine May 4, 2013

The City of David archaeological park, against the background of Silwan (photo: JC/Activestills.org)

Tel Aviv University to cooperate with settler group on East Jerusalem dig

Tel Aviv University’s spokesperson refuses to explain why its archaeologists will work with Elad, an organization notorious for its pursuit of Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem. Haaretz reported on Thursday that Tel Aviv University’s Institute of Archaeology plans to start digging in al-Bustan, located in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan in East Jerusalem, in cooperation with…

By Mairav Zonszein October 25, 2012

Activist group opposes cultural events in City of David

While I am not a member of the Sheikh Jarrah Solidarity Movement, I have been active with them and decided to post their appeal as I think it is an important cause and call to action By Silan Dallal and Ella Elbaz-Nir Under the misleading title “Israeli Culture at Heritage Sites” a series of musical…

By Mairav Zonszein August 23, 2011