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Friday May 11, 2007

Shorts: Mideast

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Herod’s tomb unearthed

The grave and tomb of King Herod has been discovered in Israel, at Herodium. The most outstanding among Herod’s building projects, the Herodium is the only site that carries his name and is where he chose to be buried, said Hebrew University professor Ehud Netzer.

Netzer, who is credited with the site’s discovery, has been working on the project since 1972. The tomb was discovered on the northeast side of the Herodium, just above previously uncovered water cisterns. The location and unique nature of the findings leave no doubt that this was Herod’s burial site, Netzer said.

The site was uncovered by the Hebrew University archeologists at the beginning of April. Spread among the ruins are pieces of a large sarcophagus, nearly 2.5 meters long, made of a reddish Jerusalem limestone and decorated by rosettes.

Herodium was one of the last strong points held by Jewish rebels fighting against the Romans, and it was conquered and destroyed by Roman forces in 71 CE, a year after they destroyed the Second Temple in Jerusalem. — ap and jps

Rice visit cancellation ‘unprecedented’

A senior diplomatic official called the cancellation of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Israel visit unprecedented, Israel Radio reported.

According to the official, Washington’s decision could be interpreted in the region as meaning that the U.S. believed the peace process could not move forward due to the unstable political situation in Israel.

Rice was scheduled to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders following a stop-off in Moscow.

U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday, May 7 that the cancellation would not get in the way of U.S. efforts to move forward with Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. “It’s a change in plans, yes,” McCormack admitted, adding that the U.S. would “continue efforts to advance the Israeli-Palestinian track. “The political situation in Israel has become a bit more complex in the near term,” he said. — ap and jps

Arabs in Jerusalem growing twice as fast as Jews

The Israeli capital’s Arab population has increased at more than twice the rate of its Jewish inhabitants over the last decade, according to a survey released Monday, May 7 by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies.

By 2020, if current trends continue, 60 percent of Jerusalem residents will be Jews, while the remaining 40 percent will be Arabs. The city’s population is currently 720,000, 66 percent Jews and 34 percent Arabs. — jps

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