Dir. of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordanian Waqf: No archaeological proof there was Jewish presence in Jerusalem, Israel ignores Arab Islamic heritage, tries to erase it
Official PA TV program Good Morning Jerusalem, on a new synagogue that opened in the Western Wall tunnels on Dec. 19, 2017, hosting Director of Tourism and Antiquities of the Jordanian Waqf Dr. Yusuf Al-Natsheh
Visual: On-screen caption throughout the item: “A settlement synagogue under the Al-Aqsa Mosque”
Official PA TV host: “Underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque (sic., it is not under the Al-Aqsa Mosque) a Jewish synagogue was inaugurated after 12 years of excavation and quarrying in the area… Even though the excavations continued for many years, the Hebrew finds or antiquities that they claim were found there were not found at all (sic., numerous Jewish artifacts were discovered at the site).” […]
Director of Tourism and Antiquities of the Jordanian Waqf Dr. Yusuf Al-Natsheh: “The matter of the antiquities and heritage is a fundamental part of the Israeli narrative, the Israeli existence, the justification of the state’s existence...
Since the 19th century, the matter of archaeology has occupied the Israelis (sic., archaeological research in Israel in the 19th century was conducted by Europeans) because they know the weak point, that Jerusalem is an Islamic Arab city with all of its findings, in its history. The antiquities constitute a fundamental matter in the Israeli Zionist thinking, because they want to prove to the world and to others… that they are not ‘coming’ to the country but rather ‘returning.’ In other words, that they have roots, and that these antiquities - they are exploiting Western science and the significance of the science of archaeology… and in this way they want to rely on finds that will justify their presence and justify the injustice of the cause of Palestine and the cause of Jerusalem… We also have problems with the way the antiquities are interpreted, with the way they are presented. This is a one-sided and selective way of presentation. They are focusing on a very thin thread of a Palestinian cultural fabric that stretches over hundreds of years.
They are ignoring the other layers and not relating to anything that has a connection to the Arab Islamic heritage, but rather are striving to erase it.” […]
Host: “The occupation authorities have transferred this activity from excavation and search actions to planting the Talmudic (i.e., Jewish) narrative in service of the Zionist narrative in the end, and their religious rights as you noted – that they are ‘returning.’” […]
Yusuf Al-Natsheh: “The intention is very clear. First of all, [Israel] is striving to convince the world… that the Israeli roots stretch through the city, and that they have a right to establish the state at the expense of the Palestinian people and at the expense of the Palestinian heritage, and this is the highest goal. But they are not declaring it this way. Rather they announce that they are carrying out these excavations in order to know history.”
Visual: On-screen caption throughout the item: “A settlement synagogue under the Al-Aqsa Mosque”
Official PA TV host: “Underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque (sic., it is not under the Al-Aqsa Mosque) a Jewish synagogue was inaugurated after 12 years of excavation and quarrying in the area… Even though the excavations continued for many years, the Hebrew finds or antiquities that they claim were found there were not found at all (sic., numerous Jewish artifacts were discovered at the site).” […]
Director of Tourism and Antiquities of the Jordanian Waqf Dr. Yusuf Al-Natsheh: “The matter of the antiquities and heritage is a fundamental part of the Israeli narrative, the Israeli existence, the justification of the state’s existence...
Since the 19th century, the matter of archaeology has occupied the Israelis (sic., archaeological research in Israel in the 19th century was conducted by Europeans) because they know the weak point, that Jerusalem is an Islamic Arab city with all of its findings, in its history. The antiquities constitute a fundamental matter in the Israeli Zionist thinking, because they want to prove to the world and to others… that they are not ‘coming’ to the country but rather ‘returning.’ In other words, that they have roots, and that these antiquities - they are exploiting Western science and the significance of the science of archaeology… and in this way they want to rely on finds that will justify their presence and justify the injustice of the cause of Palestine and the cause of Jerusalem… We also have problems with the way the antiquities are interpreted, with the way they are presented. This is a one-sided and selective way of presentation. They are focusing on a very thin thread of a Palestinian cultural fabric that stretches over hundreds of years.
They are ignoring the other layers and not relating to anything that has a connection to the Arab Islamic heritage, but rather are striving to erase it.” […]
Host: “The occupation authorities have transferred this activity from excavation and search actions to planting the Talmudic (i.e., Jewish) narrative in service of the Zionist narrative in the end, and their religious rights as you noted – that they are ‘returning.’” […]
Yusuf Al-Natsheh: “The intention is very clear. First of all, [Israel] is striving to convince the world… that the Israeli roots stretch through the city, and that they have a right to establish the state at the expense of the Palestinian people and at the expense of the Palestinian heritage, and this is the highest goal. But they are not declaring it this way. Rather they announce that they are carrying out these excavations in order to know history.”