Photo: Avishai Teicher

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Photo: Judy Lash Balint

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Photo: Intermountain Jewish News

Remnants of an ancient city, of mysterious inscriptions, caves and catacombs, not to mention gorgeous scenery—all are to be found in Bet She’arim, one of Israel’s most impressive UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Source: Wander among the ancients at Bet She’arim

National park, which includes a synagogue and a necropolis and was a major center of Jewish life in the 2nd century, daubed with slogans associated with Hasidic Jews…

Source: UNESCO World Heritage Site at Beit She’arim found vandalized with graffiti

Israel – Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of Jewish Renewal

Background information and travel tips when visiting Necropolis of Bet She’arim, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Israel.

Hewed into the limestone slopes of hills bordering the Vale of Jezre’el, a series of man-made catacombs was developed from the 2nd century AD as the necropolis of Bet She’arim. It became the primary Jewish burial place outside Jerusalem following the failure of the second Jewish revolt against Roman rule and the catacombs are a treasury of eclectic artworks and inscriptions in Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Palmyrene. Bet She’arim is associated with Rabbi Judah the Patriarch, the spiritual and political leader of the Jewish people who composed the Mishna and is credited with Jewish renewal after 135 AD.

Unlike many of the other World Heritage Sites in Israel, it primarily deals with post-Christian era Jewish Heritage, so it only tends to attract Jewish visitors. Nonetheless, it deals with an interesting part of Jewish history and is worth a visit if you are in the Haifa area.

About the Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of Jewish Renewal

Source: Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of Jewish Renewal – UNESCO World Heritage Site