By Gökalp Erbaş
Israel is using its archaeological excavations in the Silvan neighborhood of East Jerusalem not only for historical findings, but also as a strategic tool to displace Palestinian communities and alter the identity of the area.
The Silvan town of occupied East Jerusalem has become the center of a systematic Judaization operation carried out under the guise of archaeology and tourism in recent years. The intensified activities in the Hilve Valley neighborhood are displacing local residents while expanding the sphere of influence of settler organizations. Experts and archaeologists point out that the excavations are being staged not as a scientific search but rather to reinforce the narrative that the region is an ancient Jewish city and to erase the existence of Palestine.
Elad: State-supported settler strategy
The Elad organization was founded in 1986, whose name stands for ‘Towards the City of David’, is the main actor in the region’s dispossession activities. The organization, which receives millions of dollars in support from the Israeli state, is applying the methods such as using the ‘Unclaimed Property Law’ to seize properties in Silvan, making secret purchases through intermediaries and applying judicial pressure. The organization, which controls approximately 40 percent of the Hilve Valley, is implanting a one-sided historical narrative into the minds of tourists through the archaeological site it operates, known as ‘City of David’.
“Archaeology not just uncovers soil, but creates narratives“
Talya Ezrahi, External Relations Coordinator at Emek Şave, an archaeology-focused non-governmental organization, emphasizes that archaeology is ‘a very powerful tool’ used to displace communities. Ezrahi states that, “Archaeology does not merely change the status of a piece of land; it also creates a narrative. Over the past 30 years, we have seen archaeological sites being used by ideological institutions to legitimize and expand settlements.” According to Ezrahi, the special government mechanisms established since the Ariel Sharon era are the real power behind the success of these settler organizations.
Ideological excavations far apart from science
Israeli archaeologist Alon Arad states that only a very small portion of the excavations conducted in East Jerusalem and the West Bank serve scientific purposes. Arad argues that the excavations focus solely on Jewish history, ignoring or damaging findings from other periods. Arad states that the Elad organization uses archaeology as a shield of legitimacy, explaining this situation with the following striking analogy:
‘The situation of Elad is similar to oil companies or tobacco companies that fund environmental research. When they bring people there and show the excavations, it loses the importance of what was found; only the story that the organization is trying to tell becomes legitimate.’
Arad emphasizes that many archaeologists in Israel do not adhere to international ethical rules and are acting against the science of archaeology by using it as a tool in efforts to Judaize East Jerusalem. These excavations continue to be carried out just 30 meters from the southern wall of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.