King David’s Palace found?

Related: Pool of Siloam

This is obviously a very exciting story: King David’s Palace Is Found, Archaeologist Says

So, why should I feel a little let down? Well, take a look at the way the NY Times wrote it:

Line 1) An Israeli archaeologist says she has uncovered in East Jerusalem what may be the fabled palace of the biblical King David.

Line 2) Her work has been sponsored by a conservative Israeli research institute and financed by an American Jewish investment banker who would like to prove that Jerusalem was indeed the capital of the Jewish kingdom described in the Bible.

Line 3) Other scholars are skeptical that the foundation walls discovered by the archaeologist, Eilat Mazar, are David’s palace.

Am I the only one annoyed that before we get to read anything specific about what has been found, we must first be warned by the Times that this research is funded by “conseravtive(s)” and (paraphrased) “a Jew with an agenda?” That before I have read one interesting revelation, the Times inserts the “doubt?”

Later in the article, of course, we read this: The find will also be used in the broad political battle over Jerusalem – whether the Jews have their origins here and thus have some special hold on the place, or whether, as many Palestinians have said, including the late Yasir Arafat, the idea of a Jewish origin in Jerusalem is a myth used to justify conquest and occupation.

Ah, yes…so you see, it was necessary to begin the article with a debunking, because if you are a Palestinian sympathizer, you wouldn’t want to give fresh impetus to the idea that – gasp – the Jews might have some rights to East Jerusalem. The NY Times made sure it did its part.

Interspersed within the piece are some interesting lines about the archeological site, but we read repeatedly that maybe biblical Jerusalem wasn’t much to write home about, after all. In every way, the idea that Jerusalem and Jews belong together is downplayed. Much space is given over to doubt, to questioning the methods of means of the archeologist (she’s trying to fit history…blah, blah…”)

An annoying article…but I do love the last line, which seems almost like God Having Fun, and which will attract many folks interested in “end-times” postulations: Ms. Mazar continues to dig, but right now, three families are living in houses where she would most like to explore. One family is Muslim, one Christian and one Jewish.

Imagine that…a little microcosm of interested conflict, reflecting a worldwide one, right there on a tiny plot of land that might be incredibly – earthshakingly – important.

Yes, I do think God has a sense of humor.

UPDATE: Greg at rhymes with right brings up another news story, this time in the WaPo, about the discovery of the remains of a Coptic Monastery. He notes that the article does not cast doubt on the Christian presence in Egypt. Good catch.

WELCOME readers of The Corner. What’s nicer than a Friday afternoon K-Lolanch? While you are here, please look around. In the last day or so we’ve been talking about what might be behind the snooping into adoption records by the NY Times, how President Bush got ZERO PROPS from anyone on negotiating a workable alternative to the Kyoto treaty, why the EU is worrying about cleavage and whether Every Sperm is Sacred.