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Neil Armstrong Walks on Jerusalem

Quote of the Week: Astronaut Edition

by
Adam Chandler
August 27, 2012
Hulda Gate(Agape)
Hulda Gate(Agape)

This is a paragraph from Thomas Friedman’s book From Beirut to Jerusalem and only seems appropriate given the news of Neil Armstrong’s passing (h/t Stephanie Butnick):

When American astronaut Neil Armstrong, a devout Christian, visited Israel after his trip to the moon, he was taken on a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem by Israeli archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov. When they got to the Hulda Gate, which is at the top of the stairs leading to the Temple Mount, Armstrong asked Ben-Dov whether Jesus had stepped anywhere around there.



“I told him, ‘Look, Jesus was a Jew,’” recalled Ben-Dov.
“These are the steps that lead to the Temple, so he must have walked here many times.”



Armstrong then asked if these were the original steps, and Ben-Dov confirmed that they were.



“So Jesus stepped right here?” asked Armstrong.
“That’s right,” answered Ben-Dov.
“I have to tell you,” Armstrong said to the Israeli archaeologist, “I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.”

Adam Chandler was previously a staff writer at Tablet. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, Slate, Esquire, New York, and elsewhere. He tweets @allmychandler.