MORE ON SEIZING ANTIQUITIES from museums as compensation for terrorism:

New legal approach draws museums into fray in fight against terror
BY RON GROSSMAN
Chicago Tribune

CHICAGO - A Rhode Island lawyer has pioneered a new legal front in the war on terrorism, turning to the collections of major American museums to seek compensation for victims of Middle East suicide bombers.

Among the museums and institutions being pursued by David Strachman is the University of Chicago. He wants the university to surrender a treasure trove of ancient Persian artifacts to survivors of an attack staged by Hamas, the militant group that won the recent Palestinian elections.

The request was recently sustained by a federal magistrate in Chicago.

The reasoning was as straightforward as the implications are far-reaching: Supporters of terrorism should be punished. Hamas is partially financed by Iran. Therefore, Hamas' victims should be compensated by confiscating Iranian property, making Persian artifacts in American museums, such as University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, fair game for federal marshals and a moving truck.

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Read it all. This is an extremely messy case on which I have already commented here. I have serious reservations about this approach for two reasons. First, although I'm all for holding the current Iranian regime responsible for its support of terrorism, it is not clear to me that seizing these antiquities from the University of Chicago would hurt the regime in any meaningful way. It sounds as though a lot of (all of?) the material was excavated long before the Khomeini revolution. It may belong to Iran in principle but their losing it would not have a practical financial effect on them. Second, these antiquities are not just Iran's heritage, they are the heritage of humanity's past, and they shouldn't end up as loot in private hands for any reason. They belong in a museum.