AISH Honest Reporting

The search for the lost Ark was not just an innovation of Hollywood, but a real adventure that took place in the secret tunnels of Jerusalem.
The iconic film Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, tells the epic story of a globetrotting archaeologist racing against time to recover the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis get their hands on it. According to the Bible, the Ark was a wooden box overlaid with gold built by Moses in the Sinai desert to house the tablets of the Ten Commandments that represent the supernatural covenant between God and Israel. The Ark remained inside the Tabernacle (a portable version of the Temple) during the wandering of the Israelites through the desert and was later kept inside an off-limits chamber known as the Holy of Holies inside the Temple built by King Solomon in Jerusalem.

What happened to the Ark? This question has boggled the minds of historians and archaeologists alike.
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The Ark of the Covenant, Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Bible does mention that when the Temple of Solomon was destroyed by the armies of Babylon some 2500 years ago, the Temple vessels were extracted and brought as loot to Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), but no mention is made of the Ark. We also know from historical sources that during the Second Temple period, the Ark was not present in the Holy of Holies.
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So what happened to it? (Harrison Ford obviously doesn’t have it.)
The Book of Chronicles indicates that 22 years prior to the destruction of Solomon’s Temple, King Josiah had the ark moved out of the Holy of Holies and transferred to the “House that Solomon the son of David, the king of Israel, built” (2 Chronicles 35:3). This is perplexing because the house built by Solomon is typically associated with the Temple that was already where the Ark was being housed.

According to a Jewish Oral Tradition, the Ark was in fact moved to an underground chamber that could only be accessed through a complex system of hidden tunnels beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This underground chamber would have been built by King Solomon who foresaw the future destruction of the Temple centuries earlier and prepared for the survival of the Ark in the architectural plans of the building itself. When the time arose and danger became more apparent, the Ark was relocated to its designated hiding place where it remains until today.

Now this is where the story starts to get juicy.

Indiana Jones, the fictional character, is actually based on a real archaeologist by the name of Vendyl Jones who did in fact conduct a tremendous amount of research in Israel seeking out the lost Ark. Jones traced the location of where he thought the Ark might be to the Judean desert some 20 miles east of Jerusalem. He claimed that it was connected to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem via a long subterranean passageway. Such a belief may actually not be so far-fetched.

Vendyl Jones
While Jones didn’t find the Ark, another figure may have come even closer. After the Six Day War when the Old City of Jerusalem came under Israeli sovereignty for the first time, archaeologists dashed to the area around the Temple Mount to conduct excavations. Over the next few decades, a series of tunnels that follow the street level from 2000 years ago beneath the Western Wall Plaza were uncovered. The site today is open to the public and is popularly known as the Western Wall Tunnels.

In 1981, just one month after the Indiana Jones film was released, Rabbi Yehuda Getz, the rabbi of the Western Wall, was called to descend into the tunnels while they were still being excavated in search of the lost Ark. While most of the tunnels follow parallel to the Western Wall, there is one point in which the wall opens up into a gigantic passageway. This magnificent corridor popularly known as Warren’s Gate is about 18 feet wide and 36 feet high. Its association with the name Warren is because it was originally discovered by a British archaeologist called Charles Warren back in 1867.
Rabbi Yehuda Getz
While the large gate was sealed centuries earlier by Saladin after his conquest of Jerusalem, it would have theoretically operated as a passageway through the Western Wall underneath the Temple Mount in earlier centuries. In the times of the Second Temple, this was used as one of the gate entrances to Temple Mount, and not just any gate, but the gate in closest proximity to the Holy of Holies where the Ark would have been stored.
Inside the tunnels of the Western Wall
Although the gate was blocked when Rabbi Getz approached the area, a small 2-foot-wide opening was uncovered by the excavation team. After saying a short prayer, the rabbi descended into the passageway that had been abandoned for hundreds of years. The area was filled up with water and sewage so in order to properly excavate the site, it would have to be cleared out. Rabbi Getz called an engineering crew to enter the passageway, but the loud noises attracted attention from the Muslim worshippers above who dashed into the tunnel through manholes.

Carrying tools to seal up the hole, confrontations broke out between the Muslim worshippers and yeshiva students who came to support the rabbi. According to the Israeli Status Quo law, access to the Temple Mount is supposed to be for Muslim worshippers only with permitted visits by non-Muslim tourists at certain designated times. Nevertheless, Rabbi Getz claimed that the law was inapplicable to areas beneath the surface of the Temple Mount and that excavations should be permitted there. Due to the sensitive nature of the holy site, the opening was sealed up by Israeli authorities and the passageway remains unexplored.

While we don’t know whether or not the Ark of the Covenant was in that particular shaft, what is clear is that Jerusalem is full of hidden tunnels and concealed archaeological gems. In future articles, we will probe through other passageways in Jerusalem discovering their stories and secrets along the way.

Inside tunnels of the City of David

Aside from Jerusalem, there are a few groups around the world that have historically claimed to possess the lost Ark ranging from the Vatican, to Ethiopia, South Africa, Yemen, and even Ireland! Wherever the Ark is actually located, according to Jewish tradition, it will be restored to its original chamber in a rebuilt Third Temple for which we hope and pray.

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HENRY KISSINGER IN 10 QUOTES
DR. YVETTE ALT MILLER
A complex and controversial man, Kissinger was both marked by his Jewish identity and at times publicly rejected it.
Born in 1923 in the German town of Furth, Henry Kissinger, who has died aged 100, rose to become one of the most influential National Security Advisors and Secretaries of State ever to serve in the United States - and one of the most consequential and well-known Jews of modern times.

Kissinger advised 12 American presidents, wrote dozens of books on politics and foreign policy, and helped bring about some of the most consequential political breakthroughs of the 20th century. Kissinger helped open American diplomacy to China in 1972, orchestrated America’s controversial extrication from the Vietnam War, helped end the Yom Kippur War in 1973, pave the way for the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty in 1979, and helped rachet down tensions between the USA and USSR during the peak of the Cold War.
A complex and controversial man, Kissinger was both marked by his Jewish identity and at times publicly rejected it. Here are 10 quotes by and about Henry Kissinger that give a sense of the many contradictions of this brilliant, complicated statesman.

1. “I have reached a stage where I speak no language without an accent.” - Henry Kissinger https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-30/as-heinz-and-henry-kissinger-brought-germany-redemption
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https://aish.com/ben-and-gali-both-lost-their-right-legs/?src=ac
Ben and Gali, An Engaged Couple, Both Lost Their Right Legs
by Yehudis Litvak November 28, 2023
They were at the Nova music festival in southern Israel when Hamas attacked.
Before attending the Nova music festival in the south of Israel on October 7th, Gali Segal and Ben Binyamin were a regular Israeli engaged couple, planning their wedding. They got engaged on a trip to Italy, where Ben presented Gali with a ring and a beautiful bouquet of roses.

The couple have known each other for seven years. Gali is studying interior design and Ben works in real estate, but his passion is soccer. He played in the national league as a defender. “Soccer is my whole life,” he says.
About Israel’s War with Hamas
Together with some friends, Ben and Gali went to the Nova music festival to celebrate Ben’s birthday. The celebration turned into a nightmare.

“Suddenly, we saw mortars exploding,” says Gali. “We started running towards our car.”

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Ben Binyamin (right) and his fiancee Gali Segal speak to Channel 12 news from hospital, November 17, 2023. (Channel 12 news screenshot: used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
The couple and their friend Shani got into their car and began driving, but other people warned them not to continue. They saw a mobile shelter and a policeman motioned to them to go inside.

The tiny shelter was full of people, squeezing inside to stay safe. Then Ben, Gali, and Shani heard gunshots coming closer and closer. People were screaming. The terrorists were shooting at the people crowded at the entrance to the shelter.

“I pulled Ben and Shani down so they wouldn’t get shot,” says Gali.

Ben adds, “Several minutes after the shooting, I saw a grenade.”

There was a loud explosion.

“I thought to myself that we stood no chance of getting out of there,” says Ben.

“We must have lost consciousness,” says Gali.

When they opened their eyes, everything was black.

Gali says, “I remember seeing Shani walking out of the mobile shelter, talking on the phone. She said, ‘Gali and Ben are injured, maybe dead.’ She wasn’t sure if she should run away or stay. And I couldn’t call out to her. I couldn’t speak.”

Many were hurt in this explosion. Surrounded by cries for help, Gali felt around her body.

“I went into complete shock,” she recalls. “I screamed, ‘I don’t have a leg!’ And Ben, next to me, said, ‘Save your strength! Stop screaming!’ He said to me, ‘If that’s our fate, if that’s what’s supposed to happen to us, at least we’re together.’ It felt like the end.”

Right then, a SWAT officer, part of the security team at the festival, arrived at the mobile shelter. He exchanged fire with a terrorist shooting at the shelter and managed to get inside where he found many people screaming for help.

“Thanks to him, we’re here,” says Gali. “If he hadn’t come at that exact time and had managed the situation the way he’d done, we wouldn’t be here.”

The officer stopped cars fleeing the festival and asked them to take the wounded to the ambulances waiting at the entrance.

When Gali and Ben were pulled out of the shelter and taken to the ambulances, neither of them knew if the other one was still alive.

Gali says, “The whole time in the ambulance, I was in shock. I was screaming. And when we got to the hospital, I kept asking everyone, ‘Where is Ben?’”

Ben recalls, “When I arrived at the Soroka Medical Center, my vitals were low. They thought I wouldn’t make it.”

When Gali was wheeled through the hospital hallway, she saw Ben in a bed nearby. He saw her too, and they called out to each other.

Gali says, “The moment we realized we were both alive was such a relief!”

Their joy was marred by the realization that they both lost their right legs.

Two days later, Ben and Gali were transferred to the Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera. In the following weeks, Ben underwent three surgeries, and Gali underwent seven. Throughout this time, they remained next to each other in the hospital, supporting each other as they came to terms with their losses and coped with physical and emotional pain.

Slowly, they learned of the extent of Hamas’s horrific terror attack. Their friend Shani was declared missing and later found dead.

The hospital staff is going out of their way to help the couple recover, from providing medical care to organizing a challah separating ceremony in the department.
Gali and Ben are still looking forward to their wedding, but they have a long road ahead of them.

WATCH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUJq8kU9Peo

Ben says, “We looked out the window, and we saw two soccer fields. I looked at them and started crying. Like I’ve lost what I’d devoted my whole life to… I don’t think it sunk in just yet.”

After a month in the hospital, the couple was transferred to the Tel Hashomer rehabilitation department where they are busy with physical therapy. This wasn’t how they’d expected to spend their engagement.

Gali says, “There are times when I’m optimistic and say that it’s just a leg, it’s not such a big deal. And there are other times, when I say, ‘It’s not me.’”

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WHY ARE WOMEN’S GROUPS BACKING HAMAS?
DR. YVETTE ALT MILLER
In the aftermath of Hamas’ brutal attacks on women, many women’s groups are strangely silent.

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 As the Times of Israel reports: “The sexual abuse committed by Hamas includes acts of gang rape, genital mutilation and necrophilia.” Hamas terrorists gang raped women before killing them. They raped young girls, old women, and disabled people. Many of their victims were attacked so savagely that they had broken pelvises and legs. Hamas terrorists cut open the abdomens of pregnant Jewish women, removed their fetuses, and beheaded both mothers and babies. Hamas fighters paraded naked and partially-naked bodies of women they’d killed through the streets of Gaza as people danced, cheered and shouted God is Great in Arabic.

Terrorists filmed their attacks and broadcast them on social media - including on accounts belonging to the victims themselves - thereby violating their victims a second time.

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With 240 Israeli hostages currently being held in Gaza - including babies, children, women, people with disabilities, and the elderly - many worry that some are being forced into sexual slavery.

Prosecuting Rape

Given the orgy of violence towards Jewish women that day, one might expect a groundswell of outrage and calls for prosecutions from many of the world’s women’s organizations. Israelis would have been buoyed by statements of solidarity showing they were not alone, that their intense national pain was shared by others.

The world’s foremost women’s organizations have shrugged off Hamas’ attacks, remaining silent about Hamas’ outrages while they bash Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Israeli investigators trying to build a case to prosecute the mass rapes could have used some practical help: with so many hundreds upon hundreds of dead to identify, valuable DNA evidence that could have been used to build cases to prosecute rape has been degraded and irrevocably lost.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) considers sexual violence during an armed attack to be a war crime. When rape is used as part of a widespread or systematic attack on civilians, the ICC considers it to be a crime against humanity, as well. International groups could have helped build cases against Hamas terrorists, holding them accountable for mass rape and sexual violence.

Instead there’s been only silence.

Deafening Silence
The world’s foremost women’s organizations have shrugged off Hamas’ attacks, remaining silent about Hamas’ outrages while they bash Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

Take UN Women, the United Nations body responsible for ensuring women’s rights globally. A full six days after the Hamas attack, UN Women released a bland statement merely deploring “attacks on civilians in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.” They made no mention of Hamas’ brutal rapes; most of their surreal, corporate-speak report expresses sympathy not for Israeli victims of mass rape and is capable only of feeling empathy for Gazans affected by Israel’s war against Hamas.

The United States’ National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) finally issued a statement about the attacks on October 13, nearly a week afterwards. Instead of decrying mass rape of women and use of sexual violence acts of war, the NWSA lamented “extensive loss of civilians life in the past few days” among both Jews and Arabs, obfuscating who the victims were. The statement then went on to state Israel is illegitimate and to call for a mass boycott of the Jewish state. NWSA declared their support for “Palestinian liberation”; the word “rape” never appears.

Ms. Magazine remained silent about Hamas’ attacks for a week, then finally ran a column criticizing Israel for attacking Hamas. They did not use the word “rape” even once. Equality Now, a major international grassroots feminist organization, hasn’t condemned Hamas. Instead, they issued a statement “acknowledging” the “pain and suffering” of “all people”, a cruel gesture, given that Israeli women were targeted specifically for being Israeli and for being women.

Supporting Hamas
Supporting radical Palestinian movements has become a core value of some of the most prestigious feminist organizations in recent years. Two years ago, amidst previous fighting between Hamas and Israel, over 120 Gender Studies departments across the English-speaking world joined a statement denouncing Israel and proclaiming that their “inclusive feminist vision(s)” mandated that they support Palestinian opposition to the Jewish state.

Too many feminists today look at Hamas’ mass rape of women and girls and see nothing.

Feminist groups are placing fealty to a radical vision that excuses Hamas’ violence over their commitment to women’s safety and rights. Like Alice through the looking glass, too many feminists today look at Hamas’ mass rape of women and girls and see nothing. Only Israel’s perceived evil is worthy of comment and condemnation. Groups justify any and all “liberation struggles” against Israel. It’s a tacit way of endorsing Hamas’ extreme agenda.

One of the most visible feminist groups in Britain today, Sisters Uncut, is emerging as a major player trying to push public opinion against Israel. Originally formed to provide emergency support for victims of domestic violence, the group has become a strident apologist for Hamas. On October 31, Sisters Uncut arranged a demonstration demanding that Israel immediately cease fighting in Gaza, letting Hamas retain power and giving it space to rearm. When Sisters Uncut closed down busy Liverpool Station in London with a sit-in, 500 people joined them. They’ve promised more mass disruptions demanding that Israel cease fighting.

Britain’s Jewish Chronicle points out that Sisters Uncut’s demonstration came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke publicly about what he’d seen in footage of Hamas attacks. (Warning: the following italicized paragraph is highly graphic; sensitive readers might want to skip to the next non-italicized text.)

Blinken “described one Israeli family in a kibbutz who were tortured by Hamas terrorists. The father’s eyes were gouged out, the mother’s breasts sliced off, the eight-year-old girl’s foot cut off, the six-year-old boy’s fingers cut off. They were all then executed, and their killer sat down and ate the breakfast the family had been enjoying together before hell emerged in their home.”

For a feminist group to tacitly support Hamas after these atrocities became publicly known defies belief. Yet Sisters Uncut is hardly alone. Feminist group after feminist group is placing “intersectionality” - the belief that one struggle (say, for women’s rights) is inextricably linked to all other global struggles (such as Hamas’) - above their mandates to protect women and girls.

Hamas’ Dismal Record on Women
It’s doubly ironic that few women’s groups are condemning Hamas, given Hamas’ dismal record on women’s rights. In Gaza, Hamas courts have ruled that women need a guardian’s permission to travel. Hamas imposes draconian rules of modern dress on women and allowed discrimination against women in the workplace to increase. Hamas is openly tolerant of honor killings. It enforces rigid gender discrimination in school. Hamas blocked attempts to set up a women’s television station in Gaza, dashing hopes that women could be empowered even within the rigid gender barriers on which Hamas insists. Overlooking these and other assaults on women’s rights betrays the foundational principles of women’s organizations around the world.

While it’s too late to document Hamas’ sex crimes in Israel in a manner that could result in legal prosecution, women’s groups can still make the right choice and condemn Hamas’ barbaric assaults.

Dozens of Jewish women’s organizations have gone on record condemning Hamas’ attacks. It’s time for the major women’s groups to follow suit.