[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 28, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S11577]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   THE DEDICATION OF THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD TRIPLE GATE MONUMENTAL 
                      STAIRS AND OBSERVATION PLAZA

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise to honor the dedication of 
the Second Temple period Triple Gate Monumental Stairs and Observation 
Plaza which will take place this weekend in Jerusalem. This is a new 
site in the Jerusalem Archaeological Park which has been developed by 
the Israel Antiquities Authority, focusing on the southern wall of the 
Temple Mount Enclosure. This restoration project has been dedicated and 
supported by Dorothy Davidson Gerson and Byron Gerson in loving memory 
of Sarah and Ralph Davidson. The dedication ceremony for Gerson 
Observation Plaza will take place on Sunday, October 3 and will be 
attended by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the Mayor of 
Jerusalem Ehud Olmert among many others.
  The Triple Gate and the Double Gate, also known as the Huldah Gates, 
were a key entrance to the Temple Mount for pilgrims during biblical 
times. This area of the southern wall was badly damaged following the 
destruction of the Second Temple. The western Huldah Gate, or Double 
Gate, now lies below the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The eastern Huldah Gate, or 
Triple Gate, consisted of three arched entryways at the time of the 
Second Temple. Now parts of the threshold and the doorjamb are all that 
remain of the Triple Gate. In front of the Triple Gate was once a 
monumental staircase. Much of this staircase has now been reconstructed 
affording visitors the opportunity to envision the southern entrances 
to the Temple Mount during the Second Temple period.
  This important archaeological restoration effort would not have been 
possible without the generous support of Dorothy Davidson Gerson and 
Byron Gerson. They have made possible an extraordinary view of an 
ancient treasure which has transcendent meaning. I know my Senate 
colleagues join me in honoring this historic event and thanking Dorothy 
Davidson Gerson and Byron Gerson for their extraordinary 
efforts.

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