Time's McGirk Sides With Opponents of Jerusalem Archeology

Ricki Hollander
CAMERA
10 February '10

Tim McGirk, Time Magazine's Jerusalem bureau chief, is notorious for his lack of impartiality on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Time and again, he has departed from the code of journalistic ethics by failing to “distinguish between advocacy and news reporting,” and by misleading readers with false information. In a Feb. 8, 2010 article entitled “Archaeology in Jerusalem: Digging Up Trouble,” McGirk once again replaces objective reporting with advocacy journalism, this time promoting opponents of archeological excavations in the City of David.

Jerusalem's past, present and future is a subject of controversy that arouses passionate opinion and positions on both sides. One of the main obstacles to previous peace‑making efforts has been the issue of dividing Jerusalem and control over its holy sites. Muslim denial of Judaism's historical and religious ties to Jerusalem, the Waqf's illegal construction on the Temple Mount, and the violent response to Jewish archeological digs have long stymied Arab-Israeli peace negotiations. (See "The Battle Over Jerusalem and the Temple Mount".) While the strongest opposition to the archeological excavations taking place in Jerusalem comes from Palestinian and Muslim leaders who for political reasons deny a Jewish historic bond to the city's holy sites, opposition has also come from pro‑Palestinian activists who oppose Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem's holy basin and from revisionist or minimalist archeologists who reject the Bible as a guide to the history of ancient Israel.

Support for the archeological studies come not only from right‑wing Jewish nationalists but from archeologists, historians and scholars throughout the world who believe that the discoveries support biblical accounts of a united Davidian monarchy.

(Read full article)
.