National Library reunites 15th-century Portuguese mahzor ahead of Rosh Hashanah

2025-09-20 03:28:00

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reopened a decadeslong dispute over the Siloam Inscription, a 2700-year-old limestone tablet displayed at the Istanbul Archaeology Museums.

Speaking in Jerusalem on Monday, Netanyahu said he had asked then Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz to return the artifact during a 1998 visit but was turned down.

His comments have once again brought attention to the tablet’s history and its significance to both Israel and Türkiye.

The Siloam Inscription was discovered in 1880 inside Jerusalem’s Siloam Tunnel and brought to Istanbul two years later, when the city was under Ottoman rule.

For Israel, it is seen as a key link to Jewish history in Jerusalem, while Türkiye considers it a legally acquired cultural treasure that cannot leave the country.