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The lawsuit brought against BAR in a Jerusalem court by Ben-Gurion University professor Elisha Qimron has been extremely draining financially. Qimron’s suit is based on our publication of a photocopy of a Hebrew transcript of the 120-line text known as MMT that originally appeared in a Polish Journal, The Qumran Chronicle. The photocopy was attached to Hershel Shanks’ Publisher’s Foreword to A Facsimile Edition of the unpublished scrolls published last November by the Biblical Archaeology Society.
Qimron claims that the republication of this short text from the Polish journal has destroyed 11 years of his work. He seeks damages of over $200,000.
We have no choice but to defend the suit vigorously. But doing so takes thousands and thousands of dollars for lawyers’ fees, money that could have been used for Dead Sea Scroll research. Only the lawyers are profiting from this litigation.
We are extremely grateful to the subscribers who have contributed to our legal defense fund. We are especially grateful to Harvard professor Helmut Koester, immediate past president of the Society of Biblical Literature, who sent us a letter with his contribution (see “Letters on the Qimron Lawsuit Against BAS,” in this issue).
Other members of the honor roll of contributors to the Legal Defense Fund, many of whom also sent us beautifully supportive letters, are:
R. Dale Barber • Irene Benjamin • K.J. Cabodi • C.C. Carr • Ben M. Carter • Jacob Cody • Elise L. Donahower • Lora Dumont • G.E. Franke • Bette B. Jones • George Joseph • John F. Lorenz • Barbara Madison • Alfred P. Montalto • Richard Nelson • Estelle Schwartz • Merle Sparfven • Ethel Stein • Samuel Strauss • Richard Stuart • Howard Teeple • Mildred Webb • Robert Wiltsie.
If you would like to contribute to this fund, we would greatly appreciate your gift, large or small. Your moral as well as financial support is important to us. Please make out your check to Biblical Archaeology Society, write “Legal Defense Fund” in the lower left corner and mail it to 3000 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20008. All contributions are tax deductible. The Biblical Archaeology Society is a charitable organization approved by the Internal Revenue Service under Section 501(c)(3). Our thanks to all.
The lawsuit brought against BAR in a Jerusalem court by Ben-Gurion University professor Elisha Qimron has been extremely draining financially. Qimron’s suit is based on our publication of a photocopy of a Hebrew transcript of the 120-line text known as MMT that originally appeared in a Polish Journal, The Qumran Chronicle. The photocopy was attached to Hershel Shanks’ Publisher’s Foreword to A Facsimile Edition of the unpublished scrolls published last November by the Biblical Archaeology Society. Qimron claims that the republication of this short text from the Polish journal has destroyed 11 years of his work. He seeks damages […]
