(8 Nov 2019) LEAD IN: The French Consulate General has reopened one of Jerusalem's most magnificent ancient tombs for the first time in over a decade.
But day to day operations have become problematic at the site because of tensions between the French authorities, Israeli nationalists and ultra-Orthodox Jews who seek open worship at the tomb.
STORY-LINE
The Tomb of the Kings is a large underground burial complex dating to the first century BC.
Access to the interior burial chambers is prohibited.
Now, after several aborted attempts, the French Consulate General has finally reopened it.
But the move is sparking conflict over access rights, because of its location in the city's predominantly Palestinian eastern half.
Jews who worship at the tomb believe it is the resting place of several prominent Jewish figures from antiquity, including a revered queen, Queen Helena, a Mesopotamian monarch who converted to Judaism in the first century BC
They believe praying there will help bring about prosperity and much-needed rain.
Isomer Leifer is an Orthodox Jew visiting the site. He says it has huge historical and religious importance.
"The traditional people in my Shulim (Jewish religious school) say here is the grave of Nakdimon Ben Gideon (a Jewish righteous person); somebody that the Gemara (religious writing) and Bavli (the Babylon Talmud) brings him and he was at the time of the Tenahim (religious scholars who wrote the Talmud) and he was a big Tzadik (righteous person)," he says.
"And once there was no rain for a long time. He was mispalel (Hebrew for praying) and Hashem (The Holy Name – Hebrew expression for God) answered him and it started raining very hard and his grave is over here. So we feel it's a good time to come right here now because in Israel it doesn't rain all the time, so now is the time in a few days we start to pray for rain."
However, the site of the tomb is causing unease.
In this volatile city, visits by large numbers of religious Jews to a spot in the heart of a Palestinian neighbourhood runs the risk of raising tensions, or even sparking violence.
The surrounding east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, however, is predominantly Palestinian.
Archaeologist Yonathan Mizrachi, is the head of Emek Shaveh, an Israeli organisation against the politicisation of archaeology:
"We archaeologists consider this as an archaeological site. And the conflict begins when religious people, but I think also settlers or right-wing people, try to claim possession over the grave because of the location in East Jerusalem, he says.
"And we cannot ignore that it's in Sheikh Jarrah, a place that a lot of tension of settlers and prayers are coming. So, it's definitely the context of the conflict over East Jerusalem. And I think this is what makes it much more tense."
The past decade has seen a rise in Israeli nationalists buying properties and evicting longtime Palestinian residents in Sheikh Jarrah and other east Jerusalem neighborhoods.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews are calling for the site to open without restrictions for prayer.
Currently, entrance to the site is limited to 60 people on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and visitors must pre-purchase tickets online and register with a passport or ID card.
But some Orthodox Jews contend the consulate's rules are designed to deter worshippers. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews avoid Internet use and object to paying entry to a place of worship.
In 2009, France closed the site for an extensive $1.1 million restoration.
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