American-Jewish teenagers affiliated with the Conservative United Synagogue Youth of America will assist a leading Israeli archaeologist in 1969 to excavate what are believed to be the remains of the ancient city of Jerusalem, founded by King David shortly after he assumed the throne nearly 3,000 years ago. According to Paul Freedman, USY director, about 2,000 youngsters between the ages of 15 and 18 will be selected from 825 Conservative synagogues in the United States and Canada to participate in the program directed by Dr. Binyamin Mazar, former president of the Hebrew University.
Dr. Mazar is already digging near the site of the Western Wall in Old Jerusalem where he has uncovered remains of the Temple. This past summer he invited a visiting group of 250 USY youngsters to help him and the new project resulted, Mr. Freedman said. He said that each summer about 400 teenagers will enter the program and will work in group of 75-80 at a time after taking an orientation course and visiting at least one archaeological site. The USY members will be assigned to excavations at two levels, digging up both the Herodian floor and the Byzantine floor, Mr. Freedman said.
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