“The present-day Israeli-Palestinian conflicts over Jerusalem are rooted in a misconception of the highest order. So says Zvi Koenigsberg, an American Jew who spent 25 years living in Israel. For many of those years, he was part of an archeological team that excavated what he thinks is the first Temple of the people of Israel in the land of Israel. He details his findings in the new book, The Lost Temple of Israel (Arava Press, $17.95).

Koenigsberg explains, Early on, our excavation revealed that the Ebal site [in the West Bank] had been the scene of a remarkable series of events that we could tie to specific biblical texts. Working with those biblical and other texts, I was driven to examine related archaeological, anthropological, topological, geographical, and historical evidence. Subjecting the combined weight of that evidence to logical evaluation, I've come to what I believe is an inescapable conclusion. The site we excavated and not Jerusalem -- was the site of the First Temple of Israel.

• Core principles of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are, at best, fallible.
  
• The Crusades were a tragic 400-year long case of mistaken identity.

As we deal with the certainty of additional terrorist acts (which Koenigsberg deems religious attacks), the author would like to launch a dialogue about his findings.If we're going to fight for our lives, we should at least have our facts straight, he offers.

Koenigsberg has told his story to people with all levels of biblical, archaeological, and historical knowledge -- from those who have no background to top experts in these fields. Once they hear his conclusions, most people want to dismiss them. Where, they ask him, does he get the authority to make such claims? But everyone who has had the patience to listen to the details of my research withdraws that question and subjects me to extensive interrogation, Koenigsberg claims. And not even the greatest experts have been able to offer reasonable alternatives to my answers.

He adds, Once you understand my conclusions, you will have to recognize the insanity of fighting religious wars over Jerusalem or if you think about it religious wars over any place. Furthmore, on the basis of my findings, I feel confident asserting that no religion has a true understanding of the Bible.

Raised and educated in New York City, Zvi Koenigsberg spent 25 years in Israel. He presently resides in Massachusetts. His passions are: the Bible, history, and archaeology.

1. Describe the archeological project and your involvement in it.
2. What did you find?
3. What conclusions do you draw, and why?
4. What kind of scholarly backing do you have for your assumptions?
5. What implications are there for the monotheistic religions if your conclusions are correct?
6. What kind of political repercussions do you envision?
7. Does this have any effect on attitudes to Jerusalem?
8. What effect did this research have on you?
9. What are the implications for academic biblical scholarship?
10. What are the implications for religious biblical study?
11. How did it feel to be shot by Arab terrorists?
12. What kind of Middle East would you like to see one day?