From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Western Wall stone on display at IDF HQ brought back to Jerusalem’s Old City
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleRossella Tercatin is The Times of Israel's archaeology and religions reporter.
A 2000-year-old stone weighing around five tons that had fallen off the Western Wall in Jerusalem and had been on permanent display at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv was returned to the Western Wall site yesterday, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation says in a statement.
“The stones of the Western Wall belong to the wall, and therefore it was clear that the stone must be returned to its natural place alongside the other stones in the Old City of Jerusalem,” Defense Minister Israel Katz says, according to the statement. “Each stone carries the story of the Jewish people — from prayers and hope, through destruction, to the strength and renewed sovereignty of the State of Israel.”
The Western Wall is one of the external walls that surrounded the Jewish holy Temple before it was razed by the Romans in 70 CE. During the destruction, several stones collapsed and were uncovered in excavations in the area of the Western Wall Plaza. Some of them have been exhibited around the country. One is on permanent display at the President’s Residence.
In the past year, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, which manages the site, has been asking to return the stones to their original location.
“The stones of the Western Wall are not only stones; they carry the soul of the Jewish people, the pain of exile and the joy of return,” says Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, head of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. “Even when there were attempts to bring this sanctity into the centers of national decision-making, their natural place is here, in their original home.”
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