A new, quite peculiar, protest movement has been developing in the State of Israel, and this time it is not directly targeting the government, but rather archaeology. This new protest, which has been largely manifested and driven by staunchly liberal, anti-coalition Hebrew and English publications in Israel, claims a violent right-wing politicization of the Israeli industry of ‘the Study of new things’ and adds that excavations within Jerusalem, Judea & Samaria are being used to justify the “Zionist occupation.” These voices against archaeology in Israel are calling for an end to certain excavation projects currently taking place in the region which have been financed by the Israeli government.
While their point regarding the political use of a continuous chain of Israelite artifacts directly connected to Jewish sovereignty in the region is quite accurate, since when has the use of peer-reviewed scientific reports for a political agenda become a wrongful act in the liberal and modern world? A recent headline and subhead for an article published in the left-leaning “Haaretz” written by the esteemed journalist Nir Hasson read the following: “Archaeologists in Israel have a request: stop digging. With excavations on behalf of the academy and expeditions to abroad, some for rescue purposes and others for educational purposes, it seems that Israel is a country where everyone likes to dig. However, among the professionals, the understanding has formed that the excavations cause damage to the sites, and there is nothing to be done with all the findings that are collected. Therefore, the time has come to stop - and let history go.”
While Jews been accused of being colonial impostors with no connection to #Israel, #historical records, #archaeology & #international consensus all demonstrate #Jews have 3,000-year connection to the land, long before Arabs immigrated there 1,300 years agohttps://t.co/b2MMvTeLxo
— Jonah (@jonahelshout) June 16, 2023
A Westernized society that prides itself on employing scientific and factual-based development techniques cannot simply abandon the art of digging through history. Ending excavations would also naturally result in a decrease in funding to the entire Antiquities Authority which also works to try to prevent antiquities theft and the destruction of important historical sites both by the Palestinian Authority and other illegal construction. It is vital for people to understand that Israel as a country does not dig to prove anything, there is no organized system meant to justify our being here today by showing pottery fragments with some Hebrew writing on them from yesterday. Israel digs because history and items of historical significance are windows into the past, be it the ancient Israelites, the Canaanites, Jebusites, or hominids from 140,000 years ago.
Archeologists find 12,000-year-old bone flutes in Israelhttps://t.co/ujIAcVgaoq#Archaeology #Israele
— Newsy (@mkyuniversal) June 16, 2023
The request to stop digging by itself is almost as preposterous as asking to simply stop all historical studies at once. The well-written Haaretz article cleverly avoids discussing the obvious political objections this movement has to excavations while quoting people like Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef, a leading figure from the copper mine digs in the Timna Valley, who says: “Archaeology is destructive. It is impossible to repeat an experiment. For me, I would go for an extreme approach, I would say that we should stop digging tomorrow morning."
Surely Dr Ben-Yosef must be fully aware that a drastic move as he suggested would result in both the further loss of historical artifacts, along with the destruction of more sites as a result of rogue unprofessional groups who would continue digging illegally. What should also be noted is that executing the self-proclaimed extreme plan by Ben-Yosef would have the same result as ideas voiced by religious fanatics who believe archaeology harms the sanctity and holiness of many sites, and therefore history should be left to rest.
Why Israel’s archaeologists want to stop digging https://t.co/EhLRi3PLuS.
— Shloime Perel (@Shloim) June 1, 2023
The Palestinian Authority and its pro-Palestinian activists are already actively attempting to stop excavations taking place in Judea & Samaria. Last summer, Palestinian officials appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court in an attempt to put an end to digs at an ancient Jewish historical site that has been known since the 19th century. The attempt to stop the dig in the Benjamin Regional Council area was based on an unfounded claim that the excavation was taking place on private Palestinian lands. After the courts dismissed the appeal, the leading archaeologist within the excavation team, Dr. Dvir Raviv said: “The site was looted very intensively even before our excavation. We found pits full of crushed pottery. Our impression is that for decades the site has been looted and looted. I hope that our excavation will raise awareness of the fact that there is a site like this and that it must be protected. There is certainly a fear that another robbery will occur at the site."
Among the findings at the site mentioned in the latter were bones and coins from different periods including from the Slavonic, Hasmonean, and the Jewish Great Revolt eras. One of the coins found is minted with a phrase from the unsuccessful Jewish Revolt against the Romans: "Year two of the freedom for Zion."
Share with a friend interested in ancient Israel. https://t.co/qwTlZefA5h
— Biblical Archaeology Review (@BibArch) June 9, 2023
The movement against archaeology in Israel also says Israel is breaching the Oslo Accords by ongoing excavation projects within what they call the “Occupied Territories," however, it neglects that the archaic 'Accords' have been violated already by both sides hundreds of times; putting an end to excavations based on that has no substantial legal standing as much as the Palestinian Authority payments to terrorists who kill Jews is of no interest to any of the international rights organizations do.
Explore Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, providing an incredible 2000 year old copy of the scriptures & the lives of the Essenes!https://t.co/v5ZMz0POU7#WalktheBible #qumran #deadseascrolls #Essenes #biblehistory #ancientjudaism #archaeology #faith #Israel #God
— WalktheBible (@WalktheBible) June 8, 2023
If these liberal-minded voices were thinking clearly without attempting to push their political bias, they would not be able to argue that in the name of professionalism and truth-seeking in the region, the opposite of what they preach is needed. More regulation, more funding, and more excavations. Beneath the land of the State of Israel, just like the entire Levant, lies a rich history of many magnificent cultures and peoples. While it often reveals a truth that interferes with politics and acts as a major inconvenience to justifying Palestinian nationalism, no such offense to either side of the political aisle should ever have a say on the freedom to evolve the sciences and historical knowledge of humankind.
