In the Eastern quarter of Jerusalem at the corner of Saladin Street and the Naplouse Road, there’s nothing to indicate that behind an iron door a unique place is hidden : the Tomb of the Kings, a building of over 2000 years old. The site, which has belonged to France since 1886 has been fully renovated but before it’s open to the public again, France has asked for some guarantees.
A unique place in Israel
The Tomb of the Kings is one of the most important tourist sites in Israel situated outside the Old City. It was discovered in 1860 by a French archaeologist Jean-Baptiste Humbert. Three years later, Felicien de Saulcy, a leading biblical archaeologist, carried out digs there which indicated that the site held remains of Kings David and Solomon. However, several archaeological digs some years later showed that this hypothesis wasn’t verified. The site held the tomb of Queen Helene of Adiabene, a kingdom in Mesopotamia, which is now Kurdistan.
The queen converted to Judaism about 30 BC and is thought to have made the site the tomb for her dynasty. However, the name “Tomb of the Kings” was kept and several other theories query this hypothesis. In any case, everyone agrees about the beauty of the site.
Orthodox Jews’ prayers and protests
The tomb of the Kings is a holy place for Jews and they have started to seek access to it again. One of these groups, led by Rabbi Zalman Grossman, have been protesting in front of the door twice a week since December 2018. They are supported by several Israeli groups as well as political and religious authorities such as the Israeli Ministry of Religious Affairs and Shlomo Amar, the Grand Rabbi of Jerusalem.
Guarantees sought before the reopening
The location of the Tomb of the Kings is quite sensitive. It is situated in the Palestinian part of Jerusalem, one of the areas at the heart of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Allowing Jews to pray there may cause tension, disturb the relations between France and Palestine and turn this tourist site into a soley religious site.
Also, French soverainity over the Tomb of the Kings was questioned before the Rabbinical Court in 2015 by Yitzhak Mamo and Yaakov Saltzman. In order to prevent a similar situation in the future, France is demanding before the reopening that the Jewish State officially recognises the site as French property and that there won’t be any new court cases undertaken.
The French flag flies over three other holy sites in Israel: Saint Anne’s Church, The Benedictan Abbey of Abu Gosh and the Monastery of Eleona.
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