Hollywood star John Voight: Ancient Shiloh is ‘one of holier sites’
Hollywood star Jon Voight was in Israel’s Binyamin region on Thursday visiting the Ancient Shiloh heritage site and the site of the Tabernacle.
Jon Voight at Ancient Shiloh. (Binyamin Regional Council)
The American actor, who won an Oscar for “Coming Home,” received a tour of the historic site, and when presented with the archeological potsherds from the Tabernacle period, he was moved and noted that “I think this is one of the holier sites [in Israel], I feel so much energy here, it is just extraordinary to be able to walk in this area.”
“It is just amazing that you can pick up a shard in your backyard that is 3,000-5,000 years old,” Voight told Binyamin Regional Council spokeswoman Eliana Passentin, whose backyard overlooks the site of the Tabernacle. It is assumed that the shards found in her backyard were left by Israelite pilgrims thousands of years ago.
At the end of the visit, Voight was given a copy of jar from the biblical period on behalf of the Benjamin Council and also received a designed bag with the name “Shiloh” written on it in five languages and a letter inviting Voight’s granddaughter Shiloh, Angelia Jolie’s daughter, to come and visit the site.
On Wednesday, Voight was in Samaria, where he met with regional council head Yossi Dagan.
Receiving a bottle of wine produced in Samaria as a gift, Voight said that “what I hold in my hand is not just a bottle of wine – 2,000 years ago the prophet Jeremiah promised that one day the people of Israel would return to their land, return to Samaria and plant vineyards. When the Jewish people returned here, to Samaria, 25 years ago, they began planting vineyards, and suddenly began growing vines that today yield wine winning international awards, and considered one of the best in the world.”
“I do not understand why Judea and Samaria is called the West Bank, since it is clear when you look at the map that Samaria is the heart of the Land of Israel,” Voight said.
TPS
