Newspaper Page Text
Friday, Dm. 29, 1967
THE SOUTHERN ISRAEUTE
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Carl Alpert
Hassle Over Landscape
The Israel army was able to
liberate, the Western Wall of the
Temple in old Jerusalem in
about 48 hours—but any action
connected with landscaping the
area around it has become bog
ged down in Israel political
bureaucracy. More than six
months after the Wall came into
Israeli hands there is still no
decision, and the differences of
opinion are becoming daily more
complex.
Part of the
problem is
j u r i s d i c-1
tional dispute
Who is to be
Responsible for
the Wall—the
Ministry of Re-j
1 i g i o n s, the
Ministry of the]
interior, or per-J
haps Tourism— Alpert
or the municipality of Jerusa
lem? Related to this conflict is
an even more basic problem: is
the-Wall a religious, holy place,
or a national secular shrine?
In the days immediately fol
lowing the end of the war the
problem was a different one.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis
wanted to visit the sacred and
historic place. The narrow little
alley, of which the Wall formed
one side, made such mass visits
a physical impossibility. Control
was still in the hands of the
military, and so, with the same
quick decision which character
ized the conduct of the war it
self, many bulldozers and trac
tors were mobilized. Families
resident in the adjacent slums
were evacuated to other homes—
and the entire area was levelled.
The approach to the Wall was
transformed into a large field
which could indeed contain the
huge throngs who came in the
weeks that followed.
Historians point out that the
180-foot length of exposed Wall
is only a section of the remnant
of Herod’s Temple. An estimated
additional 240 feet of the Wall
extend further, serving as part
of other existing buildings, some
of them claimed by the Moslems
as religious structures. Clear
ance would obviously create
friction.
But the Wall can be “en
larged” in another direction.
Archeological borings have re
vealed that there are an addi
tional 17 layers of the old stones
which lie beneath the present
surface of the ground. The area
before the Wall is filled with
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the accumulated rubble and
debris of the centuries, the ruins
of successive generations. At one
section the Israelis have made a
beginning at deepening the
ground. Two additional layers
of stone have been exposed, and
already the Wall has gained in
height and impressiveness. Be
fore any further digging, how
ever, there must be careful en
gineering and foundation tests
to assure that the Wall will not
be undermined and weakened to
the point of collapse.
The new lower area which has
been levelled is officially re
served as a synagogue for wor
shippers, with the usual separa
tion of the sexes. The upper
level, set back from the Wall at
normal ground height, is for
spectators and secular visitors.
Debate has waxed furiously over
such issues as whether the two
levels should be connected by a
stairway or a ramp.
Meanwhile the secularists re
fuse to stand back. They claim
historic rights to approach the
Wall, with or without head cov
ering; with or without their
lady friends on their arms.
The controversy continues. No
paving has been done. No green
ery has been planted. Recent
rains have transformed the
whole area into a bog, and re
ligionists and secularists alike
are smeared with the same mud.
Suez Opening
Plan Rejected
LONDON (JTA) — Prime
Minister Harold Wilson declined
a proposal in the House of Com
mons that Britain utilize its
newly-restored diplomatic rela
tions with Egypt to invite the
Prime Minister of Israel and the
President of Egypt to London
for a joint discussion, under'his
chairmanship, on reopening the
Suez Canal to navigation by
ships of all nations.
The proposal, submitted in
writing in question form, was
answered in writing by the
Prime Minister, who said that
the correct way to proceed in
this matter was on the basis of
the November 22 Security Coun
cil resolution on the Middle
East.
Sheikhs Call For Peace
JERUSALEM (WUP)— FOrty-
two sheikhs, representing twelve
tribes from the Sinai Peninsula
numbering some 30,000 Bedouin,
recently completed a three-day
tour of Israel as guests of the
Israeli Defense Forces. One of
them, speaking for the group,
stated that “after the Israeli oc
cupation we enjoyed true free
dom of spirit. We urge everyone
not to turn our desert into a bat
tlefield again. This is our only
home, where our sons, cattle and
camels grow free.”
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Announce New Plans
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NEW YORK (JTA) — New
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grams for college students, plans
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ters for troubled youth and
more active support in the gen
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programs have been cited as
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Lawrence B. Buttenweiser,
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