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Minister of Religious Affairs, Rabbi Yaakov Avitan, praying at the Western Wall and touring the new excavations in the Western Wall Tunnels

Tomorrow, Tuesday, Erev Rosh Chodesh (eve of the new month of) Av, on July 21, 2020, Yom Kippur Katan, there will be a special prayer service and recital of slichot (penitential prayers) for the end of pandemic and for livelihood for all of the Jewish people in Israel and around the world, as per the request of leading rabbis.

Due to Health Ministry regulations, the prayer service will take place in the presence of only a minyan (quorum) and will be broadcast to communities around Israel and around the world. The event will take place in the presence of the Chief Rabbis of Israel, the Rabbi of the Western Wall, leading rabbis, and the Minister of Religious Affairs.

We call upon the public to take part in the prayer service from home via the Western Wall cameras.
The service can be watched on the Western Wall website or directly using the following link: https://youtu.be/Dvp8kgCuI-g

A Jordanian ammunition stash (known as a “slick”) was discovered today during Israel Antiquities Authority excavations under the lobby of the Western Wall Tunnels site.  The ammunition was hidden in the bottom of a British Mandate period water cistern.  The excavations are being conducted in cooperation with the Western Wall Heritage Foundation in preparation for a new and fascinating tour in addition to the classic Western Wall Tunnels tour.  Israeli police bomb-disposal experts came to the site to examine the findings.

According to Dr. Barak Monnickendam-Givon and Tehila Sadiel, directors of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority: “While excavating the water cistern, a surprise awaited us: about ten full magazines of Bern light machinegun , full clip chargers,   and two bayonets of a British Lee Enfield rifle.  Usually, in excavations, we find ancient findings from one or two thousand years ago, but this time, we got a glimpse of the events that occurred 53 years ago, frozen in time in this water cistern.  Apparently, this is an ammunition dump that was purposely hidden by soldiers of the Royal Jordanian Army during the Six Day War, perhaps when the IDF liberated the Old City.  The water cistern we excavated served the residential structures of the Moghrabi neighborhood that was built in the area of what is today the Western Wall Plaza”, added Dr. Monnickendam-Givon and Sadiel.

Assaf Peretz of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who identified the ammunition: “This is ammunition that was produced in Britain in the Greenwood and Batley Ltd factories in Leeds, Yorkshire.  Based on theheadstamp on the rim, the ammunition was produced in 1956 and reached the Royal Jordanian Army.”  “The discovery of the ammunition stash for Bern light machine gunsguns match two other Bren guns that were found about a year and a half  ago in a different water cistern in the Western Wall Plaza, in an excavation of Dr. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah of the Israel Antiquities Authority”, added Peretz. 

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation said: “Along with other glorious discoveries of our nation's past from the Second Temple period, we are also happy about discovering findings from the war of this past generation to return the Jewish nation’s heart and be able to cling to the stones of the Western Wall.  This discovery is a privilege for us – to be able to acknowledge the miracles of the Creator of the Universe at this site.”

About a month ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation publicized that an interesting subterranean network hewn into bedrock from the Second Temple period was uncovered in an archaeological excavation at the foot of an impressive 1400-year-old public structure.

As part of the visit of the Prime Minister of Greece to Israel, his wife, Mrs. Maria Grabowski and his son, Mr. Konstantinos Mitsotakis came for a personal visit and to pray at the Western Wall. 
This is the first official visit since the coronavirus outbreak

We invite you to experience a journey that begins with the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70 CE and continues through incredible adventures experienced by the Jewish nation for over 2,000 years. On this journey, you will visit almost every spot on the globe, pass through the most significant events in history, and then end up back at your starting point – the Western Wall.

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