July 2010
July 28, 2010
Bar-Ilan University Archaeologists Uncover Philistine Temple and Evidence of Powerful Earthquake at Tell es-Safi/Gath, the Biblical "Gath of the Philistines"
Ramat Gan – Bar-Ilan University archaeologists have uncovered two major finds in the biblical city "Gath of the Philistines" (the home of Goliath).
Prof. Aren Maeir, of Bar-Ilan's Martin (Szusz) Department of Land of Israel Studies and Archaeology, announced this morning that he and his international team have discovered a Philistine Temple, including a number of ritual items, dating back to the Iron Age (10th century BCE). "Interestingly, the architectural design of this Temple, with its two central pillars, is reminiscent of the architectural image that is described in the well-known Biblical story of Samson and the Philistines, when Samson knocks down the temple by standing between the pillars and pushing them down. Perhaps this indicates that the story of Samson reflects a type of temple that was in use in Philistia at the time," said Prof. Maeir, who has directed the excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath for 13 years. Tell es-Safi/Gath is located in the southern coastal plain of Israel, not far from Kiryat Gat, about half-way between Jerusalem and Ashkelon.
Prof. Maeir also indicated that his team had found impressive evidence of an earthquake in the 8th century BCE reminiscent of the earthquake mentioned in the Book of Amos I:1. The team uncovered walls moved from their place and collapsed like a deck of cards as a result of the powerful earthquake -- assessed at a magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale – reported Maeir.
This summer's excavations at Tell es-Safi/Gath have also uncovered further evidence of the destruction of the city by Hazael, King of Aram Damascus, around 830 BCE, as mentioned in Second Kings 12:18, as well as evidence of the first Philistine settlement in Canaan (around 1200 BCE) and different levels of the Canaanite city of Gath.
The Tell es-Safi/Gath Archaeological Project (www.dig-gath.org) is a long-term investigation aimed at studying the archaeology and history of one of the most important sites in Israel. Tell es-Safi/Gath is one of the largest tells (ancient ruin mounds) in Israel and was settled almost continuously from the 5th millennium BCE until modern times.
Participants in this summer's dig hail from the US, Canada, Australia, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, UK, Holland, Poland, and Israel.
(Courtesy of Bar-Ilan University, Office of the Spokesman, and the GPO)
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July 26, 2010
A first in Israel: cuneiform tablet uncovered by Hebrew University team at Hazor parallel to code of Hammurabi
Jerusalem, July 26, 2010 – For the first time in Israel, a document has been uncovered containing a law code that parallels portions of the famous Code of Hammurabi. The code is written on fragments of a cuneiform tablet, dating from the 18th-17th centuries B.C.E in the Middle Bronze Age, that were found in Hebrew University of Jerusalem archaeological excavations this summer at Hazor in the north of Israel.
The Hazor excavations, known as the Selz Fondation Hazor Excavations in Memory of Yigael Yadin, are under the direction of Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor and Dr. Sharon Zuckerman of the Hebrew University Institute of Archaeology. Previous excavations were directed at the site by the late Prof. Yigael Yadin in the 1950s and 1960s.
The fragments that have now been discovered, written in Akkadian cuneiform script, refer to issues of personal injury law relating to slaves and masters, bringing to mind similar laws in the famous Babylonian Hammurabi Code of the 18th century B.C.E. that were found in what is now Iran over 100 years ago. The laws also reflect, to a certain extent, Biblical laws of the type of “a tooth for tooth,” say the researchers.
The Hazor law code fragments are being prepared for publication by a team headed by Prof. Wayne Horowitz of the Hebrew University Institute of Archaeology. Thus far, words that have been deciphered include “master,” “slave,” and a word referring to bodily parts, apparently the word for “tooth.” The style of the text is similar to that of the Hammurabi Code, said Prof. Horowitz.
“At this stage, it is difficult to determine whether this document was actually written at Hazor, where a school for scribes was located, or brought from somewhere else,” said Prof. Horowitz. He said that this latest discovery opens an interesting avenue for possible further investigation of a connection between Biblical law and the Code of Hammurabi.
These two fragments are the 18th and 19th cuneiform finds from the Hazor excavations, which now form the largest corpus of documents of cuneiform texts found in Israel. Previous documents dealt with such subjects as the dispatch of people or goods, a legal dispute involving a local woman, and a text of multiplication tables. “These tablets point to Hazor’s importance as a major center for administration and scholarship in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages,” said Prof. Ben-Tor.
The Hazor excavations, sponsored by the Hebrew University and the Israel Exploration Society, take place within the Hazor National Park. The archaeological team is presently about to begin uncovering a monumental building dating to the Bronze Age, where they expect to recover additional tablets.
(Courtesy of the Dept. of Media Relations, the Hebrew University and the GPO)
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July 12, 2010
ALL-TIME RECORD FOR INCOMING TOURISM IN FIRST HALF OF 2010: 1.6 MILLION TOURISTS VISITED ISRAEL:
39% MORE THAN THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR AND 10% MORE THAN 2008, ISRAEL’S PREVIOUS RECORD YEAR
TOURISM MINISTER STAS MISEZHNIKOV: “THE INCREASE IN INCOMING TOURISM IS NOT TO BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED, ESPECIALLY AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF THE IMAGE AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY CHALLENGES WHICH ISRAEL IS FACING. ISRAEL’S MARKETING BUDGET MUST BE INCREASED IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THIS GROWTH MOMENTUM IN TOURISM WHICH BRINGS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO THE ECONOMY EVERY YEAR, CREATES THOUSANDS OF NEW JOBS AND SERVES AS AN IMPORTANT PUBLIC DIPLOMACY TOOL.”
1.6 million tourists visited Israel in the first half of 2010 – an all-time record and an increase of 39% over the same period in 2009 and 10% in 2008 (Israel’s previous record year for tourism). June was also a new record for that month, with 259,000 tourists visiting, an increase of 24% over 2009 and 8% over June 2008.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, 214,000 visitors in June stayed at least one night in Israel, an increase of 19% over June 2009 and 4% over June 2008. 8,500 visited Israel on cruise ships, a seven-fold increase on June 2009 (1,200) and 2.7 times more than June 2008 (3,100).
According to Tourism Ministry estimates, income from incoming tourism only (excluding air travel) reached about $1.55 billion in the first half of 2010. This figure is about 35% higher than the income generated in the first half of 2009 and similar to that from the same period in 2008.
The ministry’s website (www.goisrael.com) has also registered an impressive increase in the number of “virtual tourists’ entering the site. In the first half of 2010, more than 2.7 users from over 220 countries entered the website, which is translated into 16 languages - an increase of 30% over the same period last year and double the number for Jan-June 2008. The highest number of entries came from the States, Russia, Germany, Italy, France and the UK.
Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov noted today that “The increase in incoming tourism during the first half of this year should not be taken for granted. It is the result of massive investment in marketing activities around the world with significant budgets, especially against the background of the public diplomacy challenges that Israel is facing. Therefore, especially now, it is necessary to increase the ministry’s budget in order to continue and increase its activities, because the lack of a serious budget will take us backwards and adversely impact on continued growth, revenue and employment. The tourism industry is one of the industries that generate employment and revenue at the fastest and most efficient rate in the economy. Significant government investment in this industry will lead to the creation of thousands of new jobs, most of them in the periphery, and revenue of hundreds of thousands of shekels into the economy.”
For every 100,000 extra tourists, about 4,000 new jobs are created and 450 million shekels are generated into the economy. Today, there are about 90,000 people directly employed in the tourism industry, with more than 160,000 employed indirectly in all areas of the Israeli economy.
(Courtesy of Israel Ministry of Tourism)
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July 6, 2010
THE MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEGEV AND GALILEE AND THE TOURISM MINISTRY TO INVEST
40 MILLION SHEKEL IN DEVELOPING TOURISM
IN THE NEGEV AND GALILEE
A joint committee of the Ministry of Development of the Negev and the Galilee and the Tourism Ministry has formulated a work plan for financing tourism infrastructure development in the Negev and Galilee. The purpose of the plan is to strengthen tourism centers in those areas in order to attract both domestic and incoming tourism.
During meetings that have taken place over the last few months between the Director General of the Ministry of Development of the Negev and the Galilee Orna Uzman Bachor and the Tourism Ministry’s Senior Deputy Director-General for Economy, Infrastructure and Planning Shai Wiener, decisions have been taken concerning the strengthening of dozens of tourism sites, including tourism villages and infrastructure development, as well as the establishment of new initiatives and attractions that will make these areas more attractive to visitors and tourists.
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Development of the Negev and the Galilee Silvan Shalom: “I see great importance in promoting tourism. Developing tourism initiatives and strengthening infrastructure represents an economic and social stimulus that generates additional sources of employment. We at the Ministry of Development of the Negev and the Galilee invest millions of shekels in establishing tourism villages in the Negev and Galilee that drives the local economy and makes the Negev and Galilee unique and original. The objective is to uncover the hidden Galilee and the tourism attractions in the Negev to as many visitors as possible so that they will prefer to take their family vacation in these areas – this is Israel’s shop window and, as a result of the investment in tourism, we can also attract others to live in the Negev and Galilee.”
Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov: “Most of Israel’s tourism activities and sites are located in the periphery, in the Negev and Galilee, and therefore the Tourism Ministry invests many resources there in order to develop the areas and turn them into places that attract both domestic and incoming tourism. Continued investment this year will lead to an increase in demand for visits to the region, its sites and attractions, to the creation of new jobs, to a decrease in unemployment and an increase in revenue for the economy.”
The following is a list of the projects and work plans as formulated by the professional teams from the Tourism Ministry and the Ministry of Development of the Negev and the Galilee:
Galilee: Safed fortress, Yavniel Founders’ Park, trail development in the Weiss Forest in Metulla, tourism planning in Sajur (Druze village), infrastructure development in Shaar Yeshuv , Mevo’ot Hermon, Rosh Hanikra, West Golan, Hamat Gader, Migdal, and tourism villages in Menahamiya and Dalton and the promenades in Karkom and Nahariya.
Negev: the Peace Path in Eilat, tourism village in Alumim, assistance to zimmers, hotels and attractions throughout the Negev, cycle paths on the Spice Route, in Meitar, Bnei Shimon and along the Israel Trail, strengthening infrastructure and establishing a motor park in Hazerim, a Visitors Center in Timna Park, the mosaic at Sussita, Yatir Forest and promoting Bedouin tourism.
In total, 40 million shekel will be invested in tourism development, to be split between the Tourism Ministry and the Ministry of Development of the Negev and the Galilee.
(Courtesy of Israel Ministry of Tourism)
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