Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Robbers Target Israel’s Past

Speak to any elderly Israeli, and one of the first things they will say regarding how the country has changed over the decades is that there has been an increase in crime. We used to leave our doors open, they are likely to say, before going on to discuss the numerous locks they have installed now.

But there are some valuables you just can’t lock away.

Criminals today are out to steal the country’s past — they are robbing archaeological remains. It emerged this week that four men were arrested for allegedly trying to rob an archaeological site near Beit Shemesh, which has artifacts dating back 3,000 years. They are expected to be indicted soon.

Apparently there are almost 150 arrests for robbery at archaeological sites each year. Many of the robbers are thought to be motivated by the hope of finding treasures with which deceased were buried.

These robbers pose a difficult problem for archaeologists and law enforcement officials. Israel has 30,000 archaeological sites. How can they be protected, and at what cost should the necessary resources be deployed? The figure for security patrols may be high, but then again, Israel’s history is irreplaceable.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.