August 2012: Archeologists have discovered two Stone Age figurines which experts claim are 9,500 years old, and which were found in the Tel Motza area less than five miles south of Jerusalem.The figurines were found near a large round building whose foundations were built of fieldstones and the upper parts of the walls were apparently made of mud brick, according to directors of the excavation Anna Eirikh and Dr. Hamoudi Khalaily. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority the images of a ram and a wild bovine point to the existence of a cultic belief in the region in the New Stone Age.

Stone age figurine found near Jerusalem highway (Yael Yolovitch courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

The first figurine, in the shape of a ram with twisted horns, was fashioned from limestone and is approximately 15 cm (6 inches) in size. The sculpting precisely depicts details of the animal’s image in which the head and the horns protrude in front of the body and their proportions are extremely accurate. The body was made smooth and the legs of the figurine were incised in order to distinguish them from the rest of the body. The second figurine which was fashioned on hard smoothed dolomite is an abstract design but appears to depict a large animal with prominent horns that separate the elongated body from the head. The horns emerge from the middle of the head sideward and resemble those of a wild bovine or buffalo.

During the New Stone Age period, “Transition began from nomadism, based on hunting and gathering, to sedentary life, based on farming and grazing,” Dr. Khalaily stated. “It was at this time that mankind began to inhabit permanent settlements and started building settlements that extended across a large area. “In several sites that were exposed in our region remains were discovered indicating preliminary architectural planning of those same settlements and complex engineering capabilities including the construction of two story houses.” “The discovery reveals the religious life and beliefs of Neolithic society”. “It is known that hunting was the major activity in this period.” “Presumably, the figurines served as good-luck statues for ensuring the success of the hunt and might have been the focus of a traditional ceremony the hunters performed before going out into the field to pursue their prey.”

Another theory presented by archaeologist Eirikh links the figurines from Motza to the process of animal domestication, such as the wild bovine and different species of wild goat.

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh’s brother-in-law was treated in an Israeli hospital four months ago for a heart condition. After suffering a serious cardiac episode, Haniyeh’s brother-in-law filed an urgent entry request with Israel in order to receive treatment. After entry was granted, he and his wife, Suhila Abd el-Salam Ahmed Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister’s sister traveled to Israel and stayed for approximately one week where the husband received treatment. The two reportedly chose an Israeli hospital over their other option, one in Egypt.

According to an Israeli government source: “Although there are no diplomatic relations between Israel and Hamas, there are many occasions when requests for help based on purely medical decisions taken in Gaza are granted by Israel for humanitarian reasons.” It’s hard to imagine that, if the tables were turned, a Hamas government would say the same.

Over the last few years Israel has granted an increasing number of entry permits to Palestinians in need of medical attention. According to the World Health Organization, in February 2012, 91.5% of Palestinian requests for medical treatment in Israel were approved and carried out. According to a report released by Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, in 2011 Israel issued 197,713 permits to Palestinians from the West Bank in need of medical treatment and for their companions, representing a 13% increase from the previous year. In addition 9,245 Palestinians from Gaza received medical care in Israel in 2011 which was a 5% increase compared to 2010. An additional 9,111 permits were provided for family members from Gaza to accompany patients to hospitals.

The Israeli government and hospitals also hold workshops for Israeli and Palestinian doctors, provide training courses for doctors from the West Bank, airlift Palestinians in need from the West Bank, and coordinate outings and activities for Palestinian children in Israeli hospitals.

August 2012: Haifa University’s archeological digs at the Susita site just east of the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) has unearthed several artifacts, including what experts believe is a portrait of a local man from the 3rd century CE, carved into a basalt gravestone. Susita in the Aramaic was originally known by the Latin name Hippos. Both names refer to horses. It was destroyed by the earthquake of 749 CE. Susita was one of the towns known as the Decapolis, whose residents saw themselves as culturally Greek, as opposed to the surrounding communities, whose inhabitants were Jewish, Phoenician and Nabatean.

Gravestone or carving of man

Site Where Carving Found

Archeologist Dr. Michael Eisenberg explained that the “Susita man” rock was found in the course of a pre-season dig at the site of a small fortress guarding the main entrance to the road that led up to Susita. Eisenberg believes that the carved rock was removed from its original location at a cemetery where it had served as a gravestone and was used to build the fortress. “This is a simple work of art by a folk artist that fits the late Roman period around the 3rd century CE.,” he stated. “The portrait of the first Susita resident in our hands and we hope to be able to decipher his name soon, too,” referring to the Greek letters that were engraved next to the portrait. Archeologists also found what was likely the town’s garbage dump, which will determine how the residents’ lived day-to-day lives and their diet.

Pottery

Excavation Site