When the Stones Speak: The Remarkable Discovery of the City of David and What Israel's Enemies Don't Want You To Know

by Doron Spielman

This is the untold story of the rediscovery of the ancient City of David in Jerusalem and the powerful evidence that proves the Jewish people’s historical and indigenous connection to the Holy Land.

Since the founding of Israel in 1948, the Jewish people have faced nine wars against multiple enemies. Yet, beyond the physical conflicts, a deeper ideological battle has been waged against Israel and the Jewish people. This war, crafted by certain Arab leaders and echoed by international organizations like the United Nations, seeks to erase the Jewish people’s ancestral ties to the land, casting them as outsiders, imposters, and “settlers.”

One thing, however, stands in the way of the the 3,800-year history of the City of David, a site lying just south of the Old City. Archeologists at the site are unearthing evidence that proves the Jewish people’s origin story in the land for over three millennia. Every shovel of dirt reveals that while others may claim to be indigenous to Jerusalem, the Jewish people are, in fact, more indigenous to the Land of Israel than perhaps any other group living anywhere in the world.

This is the timely story of those who transformed City of David from a neglected hilltop village into one of the most important archeological heritage sites in the world, while facing powerful global institutions and terror groups that would do almost anything to keep this truth hidden. Highly relevant to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this book foreshadows the events and historical denialism that unfolded with Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Israel, Religion, Jewish, Archaeology, Spirituality

278 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 13, 2025

Reviews

[robert a. maness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book if you have any delusional thoughts that Palestine is indigenous to Israel. Free Israel.

[Elbert Marcom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic First Hand Account of an Unbelievable Story

Beautifully written record of an intriguing archeological project which confirmed biblical stories critical to both Jewish and Christian Faith. Couldn’t put it down!

[Lissa Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. God WILL NEVER abandon His people!

Loved history, was never aware of the City of David's struggles and ultimate victory through recent times. Not surprised at the propaganda being disseminated by the evil one, and the way it is accepted by the world. God has promised the Jewish people are the apple of His eye and he would never abandon them-and He hasn't!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished reading When the Stones Speak: The Remarkable Discovery of the City of David and What Israel's Enemies Don't Want You To Know, by Doron Spielman. Excerpt:

In Jerusalem the stones have a story to tell, a story not only about Jerusalem. Rather, it is all the stories of our people, both in the Land of Israel and in exile. It is as if the stones of Jerusalem gather the stories in our absence, catching them out of the air, storing them away safely, until a time we need to hear them, to remind us how we longed to come home.

The City of David is not just an excavation of Jerusalem; it is an experience that encapsulates Jewish history….(A tourist asked)"Hey, where are you guys from?" Without even missing a step, Raanan called back to them nonchalantly. "We are from long ago..." Raanan could not have said it better: The Jewish people are from long ago…. Little did they (the conquering Romans) know that two thousand years later, Jews would still be around, and from wherever they were scattered among the four corners of the earth, they would turn to face the Temple when offering up a prayer.

The book is truly spellbinding; one of the best I have read. This is the author's maiden books. He is a spokesman for the IDF. Charitably, I have felt that Israel's PR could use some work. If this book is any guide, they are making progress. Doron Spielman reviews the lengthy history of The Temple, and makes a good case for its connection to the nearby City of David. These archaeological developments understandably make surrounding people unhappy, as did the Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in the 1940's and/or 1950's. The case successfully made is that the Hebrews are a true indigenous people, and constitute a rare if not unique case of a return to prior lands.

Definite "five stars." I literally could not put the book down!

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the Stone Speaks is a haunting, lyrical masterpiece—timely, timeless, and deeply moving. With poetic prose and symbolic power, it explores memory, identity, and the legacy of trauma in a way that feels both ancient and urgently relevant.

As the world grapples with rising antisemitism, cultural division, and historical amnesia, this novel speaks directly to our moment. The stone—silent yet enduring—becomes a metaphor for bearing witness when truth is under threat. It reminds us that remembering is resistance, and that healing begins by listening to history’s whispers.

This is not just a beautifully written novel; it’s a mirror held up to today’s world—and a quiet call to conscience. A must-read.

[steven souder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never Gave up !

I'm a history buff. This book is the most documented history of biblical figures ever written. Backed up by archeological finds. World history,good times or bad conclude with Armageddon and the survival of the Jewish Nation and the Billions of Christians spiritually tied to king David and the Messiah born of Mary and Joseph from the lineage of King David .

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Facts are facts. Science is science. History is history.

[Lisa Hulett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to purchase the book! There is so much history in this book that I’m going to purchase it so I can refer back to it.

[Brian Katz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot.
I visited this site in the spring of 2022 and walked underground in the Drainage Channel from Gaviti Parking Lot to the Western Wall.
I am disappointed to learn that there was much more to see, that my tour guide did not include.

The lying, deception and actions taken by the Arab community to prevent excavation under or near the Temple Mount is disgusting.
History of unimaginable things are buried at that site, waiting to tell humanity its secrete.
Stupidity.

[gino mazzuchetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely an amazing book. I learnt so much about the Jewish history from before Christs birth to todays events shaping the Jewish nation. What interested me most was the archaeological artifacts that were found dating back to King Davids time.

[Susan Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book even more stars. It is excellent and a must read for anyone who loves Israel, or for even those who don't or have questions. It answers so many and proves beyond doubt that the land of Israel is the ancient land of the Jews.

[Gretchen S · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Truth

Let the truth be told that the Jews of Israel are indigenous and not settlers. If anything the Muslims are the newcomers just after the Christians. Facts are facts.

[Kellie Lepore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christians and Jews alike should read this book, because if you can't make the tour of the City of David you could experience the trials of the dig.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book. Knowing the Bible and the significance of the City of David really brings out some their discoveries.
Well done, sir.

[LAMONT D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me by a friend that will be joining me on our trip to Israel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a ton about the ongoing battles to excavate and execute archaeological research in the land of the nation of Israel including the City of David. What a fascinating and stimulating story of courage in the midst of wild propaganda, United Nations chicanery, physical threats and violence from the various terrorist groups and the media false claims that continue to this day. As he states on page 107: "These groups also deny the modern validity of how Israel came to possess the land within its borders. They overlook the historical reality of Israel's acceptance of the UN Partition Plan - which the Arbs opposed - and the fact that Israel obtained all the lands within its borders while defending itself from the attack by enemies that surround it." He also points out for example how the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, along with others has links to Hamas, and cannot be trusted as a reliable source of information. My hope is that we will be able to visit and see for ourselves the amazing progress made in the last few years of the City of Davide including the Pilgrim Roadway.

[linda d. anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intriguing read

A meticulously researched scholarly text delves into the intricate historical landscape, offering a comprehensive analysis of land ownership dynamics. Through rigorous examination of archival documents, the work unravels complex narratives, illuminating the profound cultural and socio-political dimensions underlying territorial disputes. The narrative provides readers with a sophisticated, multifaceted understanding of the region's contested history, presenting nuanced perspectives that transcend simplistic interpretations. Complemented by evocative photographic documentation, the work captures the profound complexity and emotional resonance of this contentious subject, inviting readers to engage with the layered historical discourse.

[Mannie Liscum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read!!! Well written, first-person (largely) accounts woven with 3500+ years of generally accepted (mainstream) history description of the archeological and cultural re-discovery and re-blossoming of Jerusalem’s City of David. Yes, Doron Spielman a proud Israeli of American birth, who yes works for the ‘City of David’ in Jerusalem, so he’s not an American unbiased party. Still this reader believes he has done a very nice job presenting scientific facts and accepted history (as well as acknowledging the disagreements and controversies) of the City of David as it has evolved in modern day as an archaeological and cultural site. Potential readers should set aside any biases they might have about Israel, the Palestinians, the conflict (whether pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian) in order to fully enjoy and experience the pure joy of Spielman’s work. No one with an open mind can walk away from this read not learning something new.

[Edie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

I can’t wait to see The Holy City when Jesus sets up His throne there, but until that time I so appreciate the vivid descriptions and added history that we don’t usually get in Bible studies. Thank you to everyone who made this book possible. God Bless you!

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a nonfiction book which I don’t read a lot of, but it was written so well it really pulled me along.
It’s about unearthing the “City of David” and a water pipe and a road connecting the pool of Shalom and the first temple - or the Western wall on the Temple Mount.

[Frannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put down. If you listen to the Audible version, there’s an accompanying PDF with good maps.

[JoAnn Moffitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing history

This is not an easy book to read, but please don’t let that discourage you. It is filled with so much history that fills your heart.

[Jeff Koloze · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mellifluous account of archaeological discoveries in the City of David should be read by every anti-Semite: American Democrats, Antifa domestic terrorists, fake “Palestinian” paid activists, Holocaust deniers, Islamic terrorists, “professors” who disgrace my profession by teaching hatred against Jews, and twenty-first century Nazis. (The reader is asked to forgive the obvious redundancy in the list.)

Although the author is neutral politically (Spielman is fair in mentioning how Obama opposed the City of David excavations while President Trump supports the State of Israel), any non-Jewish reader would ineluctably come to the conclusion that the forces which opposed archaeological discoveries demonstrating that the Jews are not “settlers” or "occupiers” but indigenous to the Holy Land do so because of deep ideological biases and anti-Semitism.

Thus, Spielman’s summary of excavations not only proves that the Jews have a right to exist in the Holy Land, but also suggests (to me, at least) that “Palestinian” efforts to erase Jewish history are a contemporary form of Hitlerian intellectual dishonesty.

The obvious political conclusions that the reader would reach, however, are ancillary. Spielman’s 248-page work reads like an exciting mystery novel, where details of a plot are slowly revealed to the reader.

Consider, for example, the drama in the following passage summarizing how the archaeologist

"Eilat Mazar predicted where King David's palace was located. Then she found a massive structure dating back to King David's time. Now she had a seal, unearthed from the excavation, that matched exactly with the name in the Bible. This was solid proof that the Bible was not just a book of fairy tales or myths, but that it reflected real people and real history." (64)

In a few sentences, Spielman recapitulates the several steps proving that the Jews “were there first” while arguing for an appreciation of the Bible as a valid historical record.

Similarly, Spielman writes convincingly about the importance of a tiny golden bell which archaeologists discovered that may have been torn off the High Priest's robe while he was either working at the Temple or fleeing the Roman army's advance: “Apparently, it had rolled through a crack in the road and had fallen down into the tunnel below, where it had rested—for two thousand years—until now” (220).

Rarely does Spielman wax poetic, but one epideictic struck me as particularly infused with poetic license:

"In Jerusalem, the stones have a story to tell, a story not only about Jerusalem. Rather, it is all the stories of our people, both in the Land of Israel and in exile. It is as if the stones of Jerusalem gather the stories in our absence, catching them out of the air, storing them away safely, until a time we need to hear them, to remind us how we longed to come home." (93)

One can easily see how, if the various phrases were separated into their own lines, the passage would read as some of our best free verse.

Besides the mellifluousness of the prose, several facts caught my attention and may be helpful for ordinary readers who defend Jews who are attacked by woke academics, their indoctrinated students, and leftist media.

These facts move from (warning to the reader: a huge litany follows) the history behind the terms “Hebrews”, “Israelites”, and “Jews” (xxiii-xxiv);

to the fact that the origin of “Palestine” is a Roman invention [Emperor Hadrian renamed Judea to Syria Palestina as a (failed) effort to eradicate Jews from his empire (xxvii)];

to the fact that in 1880, a fifteen-year-old boy found “the oldest biblical inscription [written in the ancient Hebrew of the Israelites] ever discovered” (17);

to the fact that “History records that Jerusalem was attacked fifty-two times, captured or recaptured fifty-four times, and destroyed twice: once by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and once by the Romans in 70 CE” (31);

to the fact that “The road we had discovered wasn't just a Pilgrimage Road; it was the Hag Pilgrimage Road used by the ancient Israelites who came to Jerusalem more than sixteen hundred years before Islam was founded” (97);

to the fact that
"In research published by the National Academy of Sciences, genetic studies showed that contemporary Jewish communities can trace their roots to a common Middle Eastern source population several thousand years ago. The study showed that this ancient source population, from which modern Jews descend, shared distinct paternal and maternal lineages. Despite the wandering of the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora over the millenia [sic], they have maintained their unique genetic lineage going back to the Middle East." (111);

to the fact that “By the time Hadrian renamed the area ‘Palestina,’ the Philistines had already been extinct for over seven hundred years” (115);

to the fact that “The word Palestine never appears in the Quran, the central book of faith for all Muslims—not even once. / Neither does the word Jerusalem” (116; italics in original);

to the fact that
Perhaps most revealing that the choice to identify as “Palestinians” was one of expedience for some Arabs, and not part of a rich Islamic tradition, is that the very word Palestinian is of Latin origin, the language of Emperor Hadrian, and it cannot be pronounced in Arabic, which lacks the consonant P.
For this reason, one often hears native Arabic speakers referring to “Palestine” as “Balestine.” (118; italics in original).

With such an extensive litany of facts, Spielman is on solid ground when he asserts that, regarding whether the Palestinians could connect themselves to the ancient Canaanites, who “were there first” after the Hebrews left Egypt and entered the Holy Land, “there is no historical, genealogical, or archaeological basis for this claim” (114).

Although I am not Jewish, as a practicing Roman Catholic Christian, well aware that Our Lord deigned to come among us as a Jew and that the Jews of today are our brothers and sisters whom we must defend against those who would destroy their (and our) history and harm or kill them, Spielman’s work made me intensely proud of the Judeo-Christian heritage of the West, a heritage that I support in each daily Mass, in every rosary I pray, and in every Israel bond I purchase.

I trust that I am not alone, and it is encouraging to read that Spielman himself thinks so because, unlike the American media which views Israel as an aggressor in its defensive actions against Hamas terrorists or other belligerents, “average Americans, the ones whose voices you don't hear chanting on the news, have a clear moral sense of right and wrong, and appreciate and support Israel” (215).

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was recommended to me by my pastor who is also reading it. I love reading about archeology and the Biblical component adds to the appeal.

South of the Old City of Jerusalem, archeologists have found the buried and forgotten remnants of an even older city. The City of David. It’s exploration and evidence prove that the Hebrews have been indigenous to the area longer than accepted propaganda allows. Every new find is another fact, name and/or event proved in the Bible. This is the story of the uncovering and excavation of the city and the historic significance of what has been found there.

Unfortunately there are liberal, religious and terrorist elements of society who want this evidence hidden and are creating problems for the archeologists there. The writer of this book was a City of David site director and assisted in the organization and protection of the uncovered sites and it’s amazing discoveries. Then later, as an Israeli soldier, he personally saw the atrocities committed in the area against the Jews. The writer hopes that this book will aid in getting the truth out and protecting the evidence.

Favorite info (hard to pick just a few): the voices at the top of the shaft, sifting through piles of archeological refuse, Davidleh’s father’s story, the revelations about UNRWA, Huweida and the Judea Capta coin.

[Dan Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea the City of David was so controversial. It does make sense. I've seen pictures in BAR but haven't really read that much about it. it's almost like people don't want to talk about it. Maybe there is a reason.

So yes, very interesting how events in Israel play out on a world stage even today. Something as dry and boring as an archeology dig could spark global conflict. The author does a great job sharing just how fraught the excavations of the City of David have been and the steps they've taken to minimize conflict while also continuing their excavations.

I gave up on the legacy media at least 20 years ago. I just happened to watch the evening news in the aftermath of another outbreak of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. I feel like I was a fairly neutral observer, slightly in favor of Israel, but otherwise pretty ambivalent: just another day of violence in the Middle East. But the newscast was blatantly, stridently anti-Israel. It was a shocking experience that the "news" media could consider themselves such experts on conflict in the region that they could assign blame and declare goodness and justice. That was the last evening newscast I have watched in my life! The author shares how their project faced the same bias regularly and how they dealt with it.

I did not know about the pilgrimage road, so that was fascinating to learn about.

I was also struck by the fact that the Hezekiah inscription, a picture of which is in the book, resides in a museum in Turkey. In a day when Western museums are condemned for having Middle Eastern artifacts in their museums, when countries in the region demand the return of collections in the West - why does no one consider the hypocrisy of Turkey holding a looted artifact from Israel? This is not a point the author makes directly. It's just my observation.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many reasons that people should read this book. I strongly recommend this book for historical significance and truth.
It is a book that will grace my shelves for the rest of my days.

I loved it and will be buying more for family members

[Anna Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am captivated by the archeological evidence that links ancient Israel to today's Israeli descendants. Thanks to the courageous Jewish archeologists and strategists who excavated and uncovered the truth against years of opposition.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally a clear and honest discussion about the archeological evidence and discoveries that point to the bond the Jewish people have had with the Land of Israel going back to Biblical times.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the City of David

I haven't been to the City of David since 2018. I didn't realize at that time how much progress had been made underground, because I was focusing above ground. I did know about the desire and efforts of Israel's enemies to destroy any evidence of Jewish history in that area.
From that standpoint, it was a joy to read that that history had been proven! I still have trouble with the amount of hatred the enemies have for the Jews.
I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in Jerusalem and Jewish history.

[Raphael Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book

I savoured every detail and want to urge everyone I know: please read this book and share it with everyone you know.

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a lot of books in a year. This book stands out as a beacon of hope and light. Without a doubt the best book I've read all year! Every Christian must read this book...no excuses read it now. The Bible comes alive!