Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Monday that Israeli public relations should emphasize the Jewish historical rights to the Land of Israel. The Prime Minister referred to “impressive archaeological revelations recently made on the Golan Heights” as an example of ammunition for such an Israeli PR campaign.
Archeologist Dr. Hayim Ben-David says that Sharon was referring to an ancient synagogue which he and his team uncovered in recent weeks in the central Golan, near the Kanaf agricultural community. The large and impressive synagogue, according to Ben-David, is indicative of an economically successful Jewish community during the Talmudic period (following the era of the Second Temple), but he pointed out that “these Jewish communities existed for hundreds of years throughout the Second Temple period and thereafter.”
The latest revelation is one of 25 synagogues from the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods unearthed thus far on the Golan Heights. The Golan synagogues constitute a quarter of all synagogues unearthed in archaeological digs throughout Israel. Dr. Ben-David estimates that the Golan was the home of between 20,000 and 40,000 Jews during the periods of the Mishnah and the Talmud, with Gamla as the capital of the region. The archaeological digs have yet to reveal the remains of any significant non-Jewish settlement prior to the period of the Turkish Empire, approximately 200 years ago.
Archeologist Dr. Hayim Ben-David says that Sharon was referring to an ancient synagogue which he and his team uncovered in recent weeks in the central Golan, near the Kanaf agricultural community. The large and impressive synagogue, according to Ben-David, is indicative of an economically successful Jewish community during the Talmudic period (following the era of the Second Temple), but he pointed out that “these Jewish communities existed for hundreds of years throughout the Second Temple period and thereafter.”
The latest revelation is one of 25 synagogues from the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods unearthed thus far on the Golan Heights. The Golan synagogues constitute a quarter of all synagogues unearthed in archaeological digs throughout Israel. Dr. Ben-David estimates that the Golan was the home of between 20,000 and 40,000 Jews during the periods of the Mishnah and the Talmud, with Gamla as the capital of the region. The archaeological digs have yet to reveal the remains of any significant non-Jewish settlement prior to the period of the Turkish Empire, approximately 200 years ago.