Were there two Holy Temples? || Israeli archaeologists uncover ancient temple just outside Jerusalem

Maybe this was the temple that half the population refused to set foot in.

archeologists found figurines in the temple and explain them with-idolatry- but may be they are only -ex-votos-as you can see in some churches today?

Your headline on the main page of Haaretz as “Second Branch of the Second Temple” made me laugh. There was a second temple already in the 9th century BCE? : )

"Jews" are religious community, not a people. A Dutch person, for example, cannot claim Palestine because he is Christian and Palestine has christian archaeological sites.

Is it not against the commandment forbidding the making of graven images to have representations of humans and animals? Did Israelites make such objects?

The reference to "a bimah (platform from which the Torah is read)" should be to "a bamah (a high place)".

Further proof of Jewish existence on the land is not needed, we have the bible. What is needed is proof that palestinians are different races from arabs.Has the world accepted that palestinians are not arabs?

Finkelstein's explanation is not sufficiently precise. The demand to limit Israelite/Judaean worship to the Temple in Jerusalem was, according to the best critical judgment, not raised before Josia, 622 BCE (or, according to a minority view that may be well-founded, before Hezekiah).

Dr. Finkelstein hit it right on the button. It is clear from the books of Kings and Chronicles that the Judeans (and certainly the Israelites) made bamoth, which were condemned by the authors and Deuteronomy but certainly existed. As seen in Arad, these weren't just simply altars but sometimes full temples. In all, this is a pretty neat find but it only confirms what we know.

It is kind of sad that all the comments try to assign political significance to this discovery. This sounds like an interesting and exciting find that will help scholars learn more about the history of this land and its people. Note that one of the team of archaelogists has an Arab name, one a Jewish name, and one is hard to identify. I hope all who read this will try to put aside their prejudices and take interest in the article at face value.

There will be no real peace, til the Prince of Peace returns to reign!