Book review: "Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City" (RealJerusalemStreets)

 

By RealJerusalemStreets

In the opening Author's Note, Andrew Lawton begins "Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City" with a quote from author Simon Sebag Montefiore; "Writing about Jerusalem was very stressful; every word counts." Lawton adds, "Which word to select is part of that trial." 

I read carefully through the 355 pages of text which included impressive old and new photos. The extensive acknowledgments, endnotes, and index are extremely well done and a valuable resource I plan to keep to use in the future.

The Ark of the Covenant was the object of searches over a century before the 1981 "The Raiders of the Lost Ark" by Steven Spielberg starring Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.

The early chapters on the beginnings of archeology in the Holy Land, in the mid 19th century, led by Christian Zionists, Charles Wilson (Wilson's Arch), Charles Warren, British Royal engineers, Edward Robinson (Robinson's Arch), French explorer Louis-Felicien Joseph Caignart de Saulcy and German Conrad Schick are extremely well documented and informative. 

Lawton presents a vast amount of material in an interesting and engaging way. He is an excellent writer who has done extensive research on archeology and history. The work shared over centuries under the Jerusalem streets is seen in an engrossing manner to draw the reader along.

However, on two specific points, I must take exception. In the timeline, 1948 CE "The British withdraw, Israel is created, and war breaks out between Arabs and the new state, the Jewish Quarter is damaged in the fighting." 

Rather, the United Nations declared a partition plan on November 29, 1947, and the surrounding Arab nations attacked the new state and expelled the Jews from the Old City, and Jerusalem was divided and occupied by Jordan for 19 years.

The other point, on page 320 when discussing the US Embassy move to Jerusalem. "The United States, therefore, had refused to acknowledge the Israeli government's 1950 move to make Jerusalem its capital...The decision by President Donald Trump to reverse this policy..." 

When in fact, the US Congress had passed legislation in 1995 to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and subsequent US Presidents had waivers to not enforce the law and stopped the move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. 

"It is an act of brazen arrogance or naive foolishness- or both- to tackle the thorny history of Jerusalem," Lawton concludes. Indeed, however, he has done an excellent job to transverse the minefields and controversies, with an excellent result I truly appreciated. 

The Western Wall excavations are ongoing, with two new routes open to the public recently. It was fascinating to see the old photos and new rooms I visited, so similar after over a century.

Christian Zionists were the early excavators and it is impressive to realize how much of their work is still accepted, as the knowledge and acceptance of the Bible have waned over the years. 

The City of David and the Tower of David Museum continue to expose and share new layers of history as well as the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. 

It is good to learn of the past, to appreciate the present and future. 

Publisher: Doubleday    

ISBN 9780385546850 hardcover, also paperback and ebook available

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