More on that Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities report

POLITICS: National Academy of Sciences criticizes politicization of Israeli archaeology. State’s links with right-wing Elad NGO come under fire in report; Elad: Report is biased against us (Nir Hasson, Haaretz).

In a comprehensive report on Israeli archaeology, the National Academy of Sciences criticizes the political use of archeology, the far-reaching cooperation between the right-wing Elad association and the Nature and Parks Authority, the prohibition on researching skeletons and the transformation of Israel into a center for illegal trade in antiquities.

The report, published last week and written by a committee headed by eminent archaeologist Prof. Yoram Tsafrir, is based on meetings with many office-holders who work in aspects of the field, including the curriculum in archeology departments, the state of research, Antiquities Authority digs, site preservation, looting, trade in antiquities and more. The reported lauded the high quality of Israeli archeological research and of teaching at the universities.

The only individual who refused to appear before the committee was the head of the right-wing Elad association, David Be’eri. Elad is involved in Jewish settlement in the Silwan neighborhood in East Jerusalem and operates the City of David National Park there, under an agreement it has with the Nature and Parks Authority. Under that agreement, for several years now a number of the most important and extensive archeological digs in the country have been carried out. The organization is also funding most of the excavations in the area of the park.

According to Elad offcials, Prof. Tsafrir – a Hebrew University professor emeritus who in the past petitioned the court against Elad because of its intention to build a residential neighborhood on top of the antiquities, is tainted with politicization. In light of Be’eri’s refusal to appear before the committee, representatives from organizations on the left that are attacking Elad and its connections with the state were not invited to appear before the committee either.

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This story was mentioned in a post on another topic yesterday, but this article has much more information. Background on Elad is there and links. Professor Tsafrir has been mentioned before in PaleoJudaica posts here and here.