OPINION:
In “Under Jerusalem, the search for Solomon’s Temple” (Web, July 25), Robert Knight writes, in part: “Part of the Temple Mount structure constitutes the Wailing Wall, which Jews believe is the sole remaining section of Herod’s Temple and which is the holiest site in Judaism.” The Wailing Wall is a term that was used to describe the Western Wall until 1967. Following the unification of Jerusalem in 1967 and the Jewish people’s regaining access to the site, that term is rarely used. Today the place is commonly known as the Western Wall.
More importantly, while the Western Wall is the holiest site where Jewish prayer is permitted by rabbinic authorities, its sacredness derives from its proximity to the Holy of Holies, the site of the innermost sancta of both the First and Second temples. Unless and until the hypothesis advanced by Mr. Knight regarding the site of the Temple farther south in the City of David is confirmed by archaeologists and concurred in by rabbinic authority, the Temple Mount itself will continue to be Judaism’s holiest site.
ZIC KAUFMAN
Media assistant
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America
Washington
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