Who owns the keys to the Jewish past?
Last year, the Palestinian Authority made headlines by publicly claiming ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the fragments of hundreds of ancient manuscripts discovered in the caves of Qumran in the West Bank between 1947 and 1956 and which have been in Israel’s possession since 1967. Now, the government of Jordan is following suit, asserting that it is the scrolls’ rightful owner. Both parties demanded that the Canadian government seize the scrolls, which have been on display in Toronto, and turn them over — demands that Canada has rebuffed.
Israel, of course, will not give up the scrolls. Not just because the Israelis have had them for much longer than the Jordanians ever did, or because they believe they can do a better job of preserving the scrolls and ensuring their access to international scholars than the Palestinians would. Rather, it is because the scrolls, written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek during the late Second Temple era, are Jewish documents, shedding incredibly important light on life among some of the Jewish sects of the period.
But even if the micro-flap over ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls is not a serious one, it does raise a crucial issue regarding any future agreement over the creation of a Palestinian state. Wherever the borders may be drawn, what is clear is that underneath the Palestinians’ future homeland lie the ruins of ancient Israel — ruins that archaeologists from all over the world have labored hard to begin uncovering over the last 40 years. From Shiloh to Hebron, from the mountains above Nablus to the City of David in eastern Jerusalem, a great many of the most important insights about life in ancient Israel have come from archaeological expeditions carried out in lands captured by Israel in the 1967 war.
Why is this issue serious enough to be considered in peace negotiations? After all, aren’t the safety and security of Israelis, and the rights of Palestinians, much more important?
For Jews, embracing, remembering and preserving our past is an existential need. We can argue about how much land to give up, and whether to dismantle settlements. We can disagree over so many things that define our Judaism — the meaning of Halacha, the role of women in rituals, homosexuality, the authorship of the Bible. But there is one thing on which all movements of Judaism have always agreed: the importance of the past in defining who we are.
For thousands of years, Jews have clung feverishly to their past in facing every trial, and celebrated their history at every opportunity. Every Jewish holiday is a commemoration of our ancient heritage; every prayer a recollection of our patriarchs; every greeting to fellow Jews from around the world spoken in a language redolent with biblical idiom; every social movement an effort to recapture the dreams of the prophets.
It is our past, in other words, that makes us Jews.
Our archaeological heritage gives us the most poignant, tactile connection to the past possible. It has been the singular gift of modern science to the Jewish spirit; in an era when everything always looks forward, pushing us to shed our inheritance at every turn, it has allowed us to see what once was, to decipher our own ancient languages on clay tablets, to get a feel for how and where our forebears lived, to squabble over how literate they were, how they worshipped, and which parts of the biblical story are historical and which are not. Modern archaeology has added a totally new dimension to our engagement with ourselves, giving us access to things that only recently were buried in time, unreachable.
Nor can we say that this grand project is anywhere near completion. Despite decades of intense digging in the Land of Israel, it is only in recent years that some of the most important biblical-era discoveries have been made — such as the discovery of a giant altar on Mount Eval that may be the very altar that Joshua built after the Israelites crossed the Jordan River; or the discovery in 2005 of what appears to be the palace of King David in eastern Jerusalem (full disclosure: at the time of this discovery I was the editor of a public affairs journal published by the Shalem Center, which was a sponsor of the dig), or, just in the last few months, the first-ever discovery of an ancient Hebrew text dating to the time of David and Solomon. Each of these discoveries changes the way historians tell the story of our past, rekindling the Jewish imagination and infusing the Jewish historical understanding.
What will become of all this if the lands of ancient Israel are turned into a modern Palestinian state? So far, the prospects are not good. Western archaeologists have increasingly steered clear of areas under Palestinian control. Archaeology under Palestinian rule has been either neglected or politicized.
Meanwhile, there has been massive destruction of antiquities under the Temple Mount. Thousands of tons of rubble and dirt were removed between 1996 and 1999 by the then P.A.-dominated Waqf, the Islamic trust that manages the Mount’s Muslim holy sites, in order to build a spectacularly large underground mosque. This was all done without any archaeological supervision. In the discarded piles were found hundreds of items dating to the Second Temple and Roman periods — items whose value to scholars was largely lost by being removed from the setting in which they had lain.
Some argue that the destruction is a deliberate effort by Palestinians to rid the Temple Mount of any proof of its Jewish history. But even if it was simply collateral damage from the Waqf’s construction project, we are nonetheless talking about a vast assemblage of what could have been real knowledge, Jewish knowledge, now lost forever.
Unless something dramatic changes, we should assume that the same thing would happen in any area under Palestinian control: looting, destruction, rank politicization and an absolute disregard for the biblical past.
Israel’s leaders will need to decide whether this is a price worth paying for peace. But unlike the question of uprooting settlements, which is essentially an Israeli issue, the question of giving up our archaeological heritage is one that every Jew — indeed, anyone who sees the biblical past as his or her own — has a personal stake in.
David Hazony is a Jerusalem-based writer. His first book, “The Ten Commandments: How Our Most Ancient Moral Text Can Renew Modern Life,” is scheduled to be published by Scribner this coming September.
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Odds of other nationalities protecting our heritage, especially in such a politically sensitive arena are little to none.
And when we are guilty of eradicating others history for political ends, we share in the blame.
Well said. One might add that the Muslim world is dedicated to eradicating any trace of Jewish residence in the Land of Israel, or any trace of Jewish connections to holy places abroad (viz. the tomb of Ezekiel in Iraq). This is best expressed by the campaign to stop the 'JUdaization' (sic!) of Jerusalem.
To Lisa B: If anyone has devoted both time and resources to the respectful preservation of the Arab heritage in the Land of Israel, it is the State of Israel.
Judaism and Jews have survived millennia without archaeology to support our beliefs. We are defined by an eternal covenant with G-d and our continued existence in spite of breaking all the 'rules' of history is enough proof, without bits of ancient pottery or scrolls.
Jeffrey - to my shame, no Israel hasn't. A large portion of state parks were once villages, the trees were planted in order to break them down faster. I can show you a couple of fields and water park where a large town and railway station used to be. Frankly stunning. I lived in the area once and had no idea of its very recent history. Now we are removing Arabic from signs even though we have a portion of the population for whom that is the first language and it is the second language of Israel. Any Arab history is being removed from history classes in school.
I'm all for progress. Israel is a living country and can't be a museum for every wave of humanity that settled there over the last 5,000 years (Phoenician, Byzantine, Roman and so on) but we haven't been respectful of Arab heritage in the region at all -except with big things like Temple Mount. There are logical political reasons for this, but it has meant that there is little goodwill around to preserve OUR heritage. If we eliminate recent Palestinian history in the area to hold on to land, why wouldn't they do the same? Especially when the settler movement in particular points to ancient Jewish residence in order to justify building new Jewish residences.
If anyone---especially leftist Obama Jews---could argue that the FICTIONAL palestinian "people" are ENTITLED to MORE of our Homeland----a land given to us IN PERPETUITY by G-d....ANYTHING IS ON THE TABLE.
The TERRORIST enemy muslims know that most Jews are FOOLS----SUICIDAL FOOLS---Take for example the (so-called) Rabbis for Obama, or the 78% of stupid Jews who supported Obama and abandoned Torah and Israel.
If Jews are stupid enough to give away their homeland to a fictional people---A CLEAR ENEMY---and If Jews are stupid enough to upport and vote for Obama---then EVERYTHING IS ON THE TABLE.
What can we give them next???
Look at the treatment(desecration is more accurate) of Jewish tombstones and graves by the Jordanians during their occupation of Jerusalem and the "West Bank." And look at what is happening to the tomb of Joseph now that the Palestinian Authority has control of the area. And as mentioned, the desecration of the tomb of Ezekiel in Iraq by governmental bodies at the behest of Islamist.
There is little doubt that indeed, "Unless something dramatic changes, we should assume that the same thing would happen in any area under Palestinian control: looting, destruction, rank politicization and an absolute disregard for the biblical past."
One would think that after 43 years of Israeli possession of the Dead Sea Scrolls and after having signed a peace treaty with Jordan where the Dead Sea Scrolls did not seem to be a major issue, to now suddenly claim ownership, either by the Jordanians or the Palestinian Authority, is somewhat ingenuous. One might even argue that the statute of limitations has run out. In any case, the Scrolls are Jewish documents, and, as such, should remain the property of the Jewish State.
Handing over sensitive archeological sites to the Palestinians should be a crime. From an ancient synagogue mosaic in Gaza, to Joseph's Tomb in Shechem, to the Temple Mount- the Palestinians have demonstrated complete disrespect for Jewish archeological sites.
If anything, the Jewish community should not shy from demanding full access to historic sites beyond Israel's borders, whether it's the Khaybar fortress in Saudi Arabia, the Machaerus fortress in Jordan, or tombs of prophets Ezekiel and Ezra in Iraq.
Jews have the same right to these sites as the Sikhs to Amritsar, the Muslims to Mecca, and Catholics to Rome.
"A large portion of state parks were once villages, the trees were planted in order to break them down faster. I can show you a couple of fields and water park where a large town and railway station used to be... Now we are removing Arabic from signs"
And this is analogous to digs uncovering 3000 year old artifacts, how?
And it justifies destroying such artifacts, how?
One more thing, Lisa...
When Israel regained control of the '67 territories, Jewish artifacts and tombs had been destroyed by the Jordanians.
So, the argument that Palestinians are only reacting to Israeli misdeeds is simply false.
Michael - I'm not trying to justify destruction of 3000 year old artifacts, destruction of Jewish historical artifact is shameful. Pre '67 Jordanian destruction was shameful. The digging under Temple Mount and probably destruction of Temple artifacts is beyond a tragedy. I'm not Jordanian or Palestinian so I can't speak for them nor should I. I AM Israeli and as such DO have a right to speak.
I am merely pointing out that if we want to insist on higher standards, we had better be able to point to ourselves maintaining those standards. If we say F/U and deny a groups local history, don't act surprised if they do the same back and without the moral authority of higher standards we eliminate a large bargaining chip and any possibility of goodwill.
There is a war in the region with history and artifacts as the weapons. It is unsurprising that the tit for tat hurts us just as much as it hurts them.
I say give them the scrolls. It would be a goodwill gesture where it is badly needed. The scrolls dont inform my daily existence. However, if the Palestinians insisted on Portnoys Complaint, I woould resist this with all my soul
Lisa B. You by your words, if not actions simply demonstrate the moral superiority of Israel and the Jewish people. It's long over due that the other side meets us half way.
So, what keeps you mired in the past? It doesn't matter if you can't picture your life without it. As long as your holding on to the past we will never move forward in to the time G-D will turn his face, back to us. Ps. 89...For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the Mighty can be likened unto the LORD?
Ps. 51 or Jer 33
This archaeological you state it allowed you to see what onece was.......yes, once---G-D'S face was not turned, for the desire of mankinds heart, was the desire of G-D. Ps. 51 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Ezekiel 44..And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: IAM THEIR INHERITANCE: and ye shall give them no possission in Israel: I AM THEIR POSSESSION.
You state what was once the ancient languges....lost. The languge of G-D speaks through out all our generations and can never be lost, or not heard. Psalm 84..I will hear what G-D the LORD will SPEAK: for he will SPEAK PEACE UNTO HIS PEOPLE, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.
For all belongs to G-D....the land he has set aside to dwell. For you state...Jews embracing and remembering and preserving our past is an existential need.
G-D and embracing him and your return is what you should remember so that it will preserve your live within the Living G-D of All That Is, for you futher existential need....to be brought forth like your fore fathers.... into the house of prayer, the stone that all generations has rejected due to sin, and has not returned. Gen. 28...And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If G-D will be with me, and will keep me in this way (from sin) that I go, (through life) and will give me bread to eat, (spiritual food to grow above and below) and reaiment to put on.(the covering of G-D) So THAT---I---CAN---COME---AGAIN--IN --PEACE; THEN---SHALL--THE---LORD---BE---MY---G-D. And this STONE, which I have SET for a PILLAR, shall be G-D'S HOUSE:
This is what we are to emprace and remember----you can only enter in the HOUSE OF G-D----IN PEACE---IN THE STATE HE ALONE WILL HELP US MAINTAIN, AND FEED...HIS LAW, TRUTH AND IN WISDOM, IN THE HIDDEN PART.
This is the land we are to disire, with all that is within us, and the land that was given our forefathers.... G-D also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelited, ' The LORD, the G-D of your fathers the G-D of Abraham, the G-D of Isaac and the G-D of Jacob has sent me to you.' This is My name forever, the name by which Iam to be remembered from generation to generation.
This putting sin out like our forefathers and walking in peace to that we may return into the House of G-D, and no longer walk in error. But walk in Union with our Beloved G-D, this is preserving our past, that we may hand down to our children and their children. Dont look back....like Lots wife.....tooooooooo muccccccch of the passssse lead us in error...... We need to look ahead, to the rebuilding of the tabernacle of David.