Turkey has agreed to return to Israel an ancient inscription from Jerusalem that is currently in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, an Israeli official told Zman Yisrael, a Hebrew-language sister site of The Times of Israel. It is considered one of the most important Hebrew inscriptions in existence.
The gesture came amid warming relations between Israel and Turkey and was discussed during President Isaac Herzog’s landmark visit to Ankara earlier this week, a senior official in the Israeli circle said.
Israel has long sought the return of the so-called Siloam Inscription, a 2,700-year-old Hebrew text that provides concrete historical support for the biblical account of the construction of a tunnel that brought water from the Pool of Siloam to the City of David, below the southern edge of the Temple Mount, during the reign of King Hezekiah.
The official said Israel had offered to send Turkey a valuable historical and religious item currently in an Israeli museum, most likely an ancient chandelier from the Ottoman era.
There was no immediate confirmation from Turkey.
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The archaeological gesture of goodwill was not raised during negotiations between Herzog and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but was flattened by dignitaries on both sides.
Pictured: Tourists wait to enter the Siloam water tunnel in East Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood. A 2,700-year-old Siloam tablet discovered in an ancient underground passage is kept in the Istanbul Museum. (AP Photo/Rachel Strecher)
A six-line Hebrew inscription engraved on the tunnel wall describes excavators working from opposite ends and calling to each other before completing the project. The construction of the tunnel is described in the biblical books of Kings and Chronicles.
The inscription reads: “… this is the story of the tunnel, while [the hewers lifted] their axes to their doubles, and while three more cubits were to be (cut down?), the voice of a man was heard calling his double, (for) was [a crack?] in the rock on the right and left. And on the day [the final barrier’s] piercing, the masons struck each in his direction, ax against an ax, and water flowed from the source into the pool for 1200 cubits, and 100 cubits was the height of the rock above the head of the masons … “
Israel has tried several times in recent years to get the inscription returned, most recently in 2017 when then culture minister Miri Regev offered to trade it for two elephants for a Turkish zoo. The offer was rejected.
Then-President Shimon Peres asked then-Turkish President Abdullah Gul in 2007 to at least lend Israel a tablet so that it could be put on public display at Israel’s 70th anniversary celebrations. Although Gul answered in the affirmative, the Turks never did so due to diplomatic tensions over Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip following the armed takeover by Hamas.
Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said that in 1998 he offered to exchange Turkish antiquities in Israeli museums for an inscription, but was refused.
The Siloam inscription at the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. (deror_avi via Wikimedia Commons)
Turkey has long insisted that the inscription is sovereign Ottoman property and therefore Ankara’s. The Ottoman Empire ruled Jerusalem and much of the Middle East from about 1516 to 1917 when it was driven out by British forces during World War I.
Thus, Ankara’s change of position regarding the inscription will be a strong signal that the countries are moving towards warmer relations.
The Duke met with Erdogan on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after landing in Ankara for a landmark 24-hour visit.
In comments to the media, Erdogan said that he believed “this historic visit will be a turning point in relations between Turkey and Israel.” Strengthening relations with the State of Israel is of great importance for our country.”
President Isaac Herzog (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential complex in Ankara March 9, 2022. (Haim Zach/GPO)
The Duke’s trip marks the highest-level visit by an Israeli official since former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made the trip in 2008 and is seen as an important step towards reviving long-standing relations between the two countries.
Turkey and Israel were once close allies, but relations have soured under Erdogan, who has openly criticized Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians. Israel has also been outraged by Erdogan’s embrace of Hamas, the terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip and seeks to destroy Israel.
The countries withdrew their ambassadors in 2010 after Israeli forces stormed a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for the Palestinians that broke through the Israeli blockade. The incident killed 10 Turkish activists.
Relations improved, then soured again in 2018 when Turkey, outraged that the US moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, once again withdrew its ambassador, prompting Israel to respond in kind. The two countries have not reinstated their ambassadors.
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