Archaeologists Discover the Ancient Road Used by Jewish Pilgrims

Jan. 28 2016

The Bible requires all Jewish males to make a pilgrimage to the Temple on the holidays of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. Now two archaeologists, Yotam and Yigal Tepper, believe they have discovered the road used by these pilgrims in Roman times. Robin Ngo writes:

Many different types of roads crossed through Judea in the Roman period. The methodically planned imperial “highways” were standardized across the Roman empire, with milestones placed at fixed intervals listing the names of the builders as well as the distance and destination of the roads. . . . There were also “agricultural roads” that connected settlements with their fields and “rural roads” that connected villages with nearby sites, such as springs.

There is another type of ancient road: the road on which Jews would travel during their Jerusalem pilgrimage. One such road can be found at an upward pass at Beit Horon, about ten miles northwest of Jerusalem. . . . This road comprises curved rock-cut steps measuring five-and-one-half feet in width. Alongside this modest road is a Roman imperial road more than double the width of the pilgrimage road; both led to Jerusalem.

Read more at Bible History Daily

More about: Archaeology, History & Ideas, Jewish holidays, Pilgrimage, Second Temple

The Democratic Party Is Losing Its Grip on Jews

Since the 1930s, Jews have been one of America’s most solidly Democratic ethnic groups. Although, true to form, a majority again voted for Kamala Harris, something clearly has shifted. John Podhoretz writes:

Over the course of the past thirteen months, Jews in America have been harassed, threatened, seen their ancestral homeland derided as a settler-colonial genocidal state. They have seen Jewish kids mistreated on college campuses. And they have seen the Biden administration kowtow to Muslim populations hostile to Jews and the Jewish state in Michigan. They have heard the criticisms of Israel’s efforts to defend itself, and have noted the silence from the administration when it came to anti-Semitic assaults and the refusal of college presidents to condemn the treatment of Jews and Jewish topics under their ambit.

And Jews have acted.

The initial evidence from last night’s election is that there has been a significant shift in the Jewish vote from previous elections, a delta of anywhere from 10 to 40 percent overall.

Read more at Commentary

More about: 2024 Election, American Jewry, Anti-Semitism, Democrats, U.S. Politics