Forced to Pause: The Sifting Site Faces Closure After Hanukkah

Over the past year, as the State of Israel has been engaged in a war that many have described as existential, each day has brought new casualties among our soldiers, and hundreds of our brothers and sisters remain in captivity in Hamas’ dungeons. In such a reality, it is incredibly difficult to speak about or capture the public’s interest in matters related to pottery shards, ancient artifacts, and distant history. Archaeology often feels like a luxury reserved for times of peace. However, in Israel, archaeology is no less existential than security matters. Yigal Allon famously said: “A nation that does not know its past has a meager present and an uncertain future.”

It is commonly understood that a nation cannot move toward a shared vision without knowing its roots in the past. But it is not enough to understand history intellectually; we must connect to it tangibly, and there is no better means for this connection than archaeology.

Now, more than a year since the war began, and in light of the IDF’s remarkable achievements, it seems that the existential threat to the State of Israel is behind us. In contrast, the Temple Mount Sifting Project now faces an existential threat of its own. Donations to the project have dropped by approximately 70%, and government funding processes have been frozen. These challenges, combined with a significant decline in visitors to the sifting site, force us to dramatically scale back our activities. Consequently, starting next month (after Hanukkah), we are regrettably compelled to suspend operations at the sifting site until appropriate funding is secured.

In 2011, we held a meeting with former Cabinet Secretary Zvi Hauser to discuss government assistance in funding the project. At the very start of our presentation, Mr. Hauser interrupted us, saying: “You don’t need to earn my sympathy. You already have it. I’ve visited the sifting site three times with my children. There is no doubt that this deserves funding. The state was responsible for the destruction that occurred on the Temple Mount, and therefore, it must also take responsibility to fix it.”. Since that meeting, we have held numerous meetings and discussions with various government officials, including the Prime Minister. While we have received many promises, not a single one has been fulfilled.

After twenty years of operation, the Sifting Project still has 22 truckloads of soil yet to be sifted, additional soil on the Temple Mount that has not been removed due to a court ruling, and years of work ahead in processing artifacts and conducting research for scientific and popular publication. Additionally, many researchers are involved in analyzing the findings. Over the years, we have accumulated tens of thousands of unique artifacts and hundreds of thousands of common items (pottery shards, animal bones, etc.), which have been classified into approximately 120 categories. Each category requires an expert researcher to process the findings for publication. This is a massive, multi-year effort that requires numerous researchers. If we fail to complete this work, the artifacts will sink into oblivion in storage, as though they were never discovered.

Twenty-five years ago, when Aren Yardeni and I (Z.D.) were archaeology students at Bar-Ilan University, we nervously arrived at the home of our professor, Dr. Gabriel Barkay. In our hands was a bag of archaeological artifacts we had collected from the Temple Mount debris dumped in the Kidron Valley the day after it was deposited there. We feared he would tell us that the archaeological waste was meaningless and send us away. Instead, we were surprised and moved by his excitement over the findings and his remarkable ability to identify and date nearly all of them. I will never forget the parting words he quoted to us as we left his home: “In a place where there are no men, strive to be a man” (Mishna Avot 2:5).

With this in mind, we appeal to the public with a call to action: In the absence of responsible government action, take responsibility yourselves. We therefore call upon you to continue taking part in supporting this vital work. Your contributions will help the facts and truth to continue spring from the earth (Ps. 85:12) and preserve the invaluable historical heritage we all cherish. Together, we can ensure that these important discoveries receive the attention and recognition they deserve.