Israeli archaeology unearths controversy
The discovery of an ancient architectural structure from the Hasmonean era in Jerusalem, the latest in a series of archaeological findings that connects the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, has become an ideological tool for Minister of Education Naftali Bennett, among others.
The June 16 post that Naftali Bennett, Israel’s minister of education, wrote on both his Hebrew and English Facebook pages couldn’t be more conclusive: “Memo to Mahmoud Abbas and others who scream ‘occupation’: A 3,000 years old jug bearing the inscription Ishba’al son of Beda was recently discovered near Beit Shemesh. Ishba’al is a name mentioned in the Tanach (Bible) and is unique to the period of King David. This is yet another example of the many facts on the ground that tell the story of the Jewish state that flourished here in this land 3,000 years ago. Back then there was communities that collected taxes, had a strong economy, provided transportation, education institutions, a military - just like today. A nation cannot occupy its own land.”
Nearly 12,000 people liked the Hebrew language post, and close to 1,200 people shared it. The English Facebook post was shared by 550 people.
Bennett was talking about an archaeological find from 2012, but researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) finished reassembling it at the beginning of this month.
The kind of behavior exhibited by the minister, where ancient artifacts are at the service of a political belief, is in itself an Israeli archaeological practice. In fact, archaeology in Israel has often been steeped in ideology, where stakeholders use some of the findings in instinctive and emotional ways. The penetration of ideology into the field of archaeology is a hot topic. In the first half of this year alone, several conferences were held on this issue.
