Imagine a sewage tunnel built more than 2,100 years ago, which could still be used almost a century later by rebels attempting to escape a besieged city, but being fished out one by one and killed. Imagine a contemporary book which describes this all, which is still a popular read 2,000 years later. Imagine that the city above continues its life, repeatedly being built, destroyed, built and destroyed, while no-one ever returns to the long-forgotten sewage tunnel, which is assumed to have been a legend or an exaggeration or the figment of someone's fervid imagination.
Now imagine a team of professional archeologists who accidentally stumble into the ancient tunnel, then spend a few years carefully cleaning it out, thus demonstrating that it's still there, in its entirety, and is large enough to walk through from end to end. Soon, they announce, perhaps even as soon as May 2011, it will be open to the public, and everyone will be able to walk though it.
In any normal place in the world, this would be a wonderful story, it would be favorably reported in the world's media, and would be celebrated at least as a minor wonder of the world.
Alas, there's a snag to the story. The archeologists are descendants of the original builders and their grandchildren the rebels. They speak the same language, and regard the ancient city as their capital, just as their forefathers did. Uh oh. Not good. Bad, as a matter of fact. Very bad. Pernicious. Destructive. Horrendous.
Haaretz has a long report on the matter, which explains why opening Herod's sewage tunnel is a Zionist conspiracy designed to undermine Palestinian homes and destroy truth, or something of the sort. Thankfully, Nir Hasson, the author, also reports on the counter arguments, so it's a balanced report and you can judge for yourself. Balanced, that is, in the crazy reality which regards Jews unearthing Jewish history as a colonial conspiracy.
I've been through the southern half of the tunnel, by the way. Once it's opened it will be an ideal place to tour on hot summer days, which Jerusalem has many of.
first I don't know the ancient story of the tunnel but I've come across other sewage and/or water supply tunnels decisive role in history books or rather novels - is there a historical novel, a real rivetting page turner, centerin on the old event?
ReplyDeleteif not it should be written, at best on airport novel level, it might become a game changer.
Hmmm. OK, let's try a paraphrase of some of Judaism's most outstanding proponents of liberal progressivism:
ReplyDelete"Look.
"We know that a people called the "Jews" are only a figment of some people's imagination.
"(That is, "Jew" conveys a religion only. Not a people.)
"The Palestinians have told us this.
"And the Palestinians never lie.
"(Why would they?)
"We know that since there is no such thing as the "Jewish people" that there is therefore no connection between "Jews" and the Holy Land.
"The Palestinians have told us this.
"And the Palestinians never lie.
"(Why would they?)
"We know, therefore, that Jesus could not possibly have been Jewish.
"Jesus was clearly a Palestinian.
"The Palestinians have told us this.
"And the Palestinians never lie.
"Even certain Christian Groups, in their dauntless search for Truth and Justice for the Palestinian people, acknowledge that their God could not possibly have been Jewish.
"It is far more important that the world not lose its focus on the vital matter of the Zionist/Jew/colonialist fabrications (in this case, the so-called Herodian tunnel) and usurpations and oppression, even though the Zionists are trying to distract the world with more untruths---e.g., they lies that the Syrians are butchering their own people. (The Syrians never lie. Why would they?)
http://debka.com/article/20870/ ---
so as to hide the Zionists' own crimes against the Palestinian people and history and the whole world, etc., etc., etc. Since the Zionists are the main reason why there is no peace in the Middle East and in the world today, etc., etc., etc...."
How'd I do?
You didn't lie
ReplyDeleteAlso didn't proofread:
ReplyDelete"...they lies..." should be "...their lies..."
The one who lie that can not proof his or her history, The one who lie that can not proof to us one of their king or dynasty, the one who lie that can not proof in their history what kind of what kind of currency they were using, the one who lie that despite their holly book have mention that there is land in the west of Jordan river and that land belong to Al Yahood it mean the Jews, the one who lie that because of their hates to Jews many time they have denied their history too.
ReplyDelete