As CAMERA’s Snapshots blog noted earlier this month (“Reuters Backgrounder on Jerusalem Misleads on Holy Sites“), Reuters incorrectly reported the Temple Mount in Jerusalem “was home to the Jewish temples of antiquity but all that remains above ground is a restraining wall for the foundations built by Herod the Great.” In fact, there are several surviving above ground remains in addition to the western, southern, eastern and northern retaining walls. Extant features abutting the southern wall include a broad stairway leading up to the Temple Mount’s entrance and two gates, known as Huldah Gates, which provided access to the Temple Mount (Hershel Shanks: Jerusalem: An Archeological Biography, p. 143). Some of the interior part of the Herodian Double Gate (which is one of the Huldah Gates) is also still intact. In addition, an area called “Robinson’s Arch,” in the south-western corner of the Temple complex, still remains. In his book, Shanks provides details concerning numerous other remnants.
In response to communication from CAMERA’s Jerusalem office, on May 23 Reuters commendably corrected the erroneous claim which had appeared in the May 14 article (“The U.S. is opening an embassy in Jerusalem. Why is there a furor?“) The amended wording now accurately states that the Temple Mount “was home to the Jewish temples of antiquity. The Western Wall, a restraining wall for the foundations built by Herod the Great, is a sacred place of prayer for Jews.”
In addition, a correction prominently appears at the top of the article, stating: “Corrects May 14 story to show Western Wall is one of the above-ground remains of the ancient temple complex.”
A separate shortcoming in the article was that it noted that Muslims regard the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif “as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina,” but ignores the fact that the site is also the most sacred place in Judaism.
For additional Reuters corrections prompted by CAMERA, please see here.