Death Knell for Israel Archaeology?

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For years, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel have used any means at their disposal, including violence, to stop archaeological excavations on the alleged ground that ancient Jewish graves are being desecrated.

Recent elections have significantly strengthened the religious bloc in the Israeli knesset, or parliament. With 23 seats out of 120, the religious parties are now demanding that ultra-Orthodox rabbis be given authority to stop archaeological digs whenever graves are found.

These forces in Israel are also enlisting support for their position from Orthodox groups in the United States, who in turn are pressing the case with Israeli embassy officials here and with at least one important member of Congress.

Even before the Israeli elections, leading members of the American Orthodox community importuned Israeli ambassador Itamar Rabinovich in a meeting at the embassy. The group included Rabbi Melech Stern, head of the American branch of Asra Kadisha (also written Atra Qadisha), the ultra-Orthodox Committee for the Preservation of Gravesites, which has led protests in Israel against archaeological excavations. Rabbi Stern is a leader of the Satmar Hasidim, who do not recognize the State of Israel; a proper Jewish state will be established by God when the Messiah comes, they believe. The group that met with Ambassador Rabinovich also included Rabbi Ronald Greenwald, who had visited Israel as the special emissary of Congressman Benjamin I. Gilman (R-NY), the powerful chairman of the International Relations Committee.

According to a recent article in the American Orthodox magazine Jewish Action, the Orthodox community in this country has “received the backing of [Congressman Gilman]” in its campaign to stop what it regards as the desecration of graves. Shortly before Prime Minister Rabin’s assassination, Gilman wrote Rabin of “the growing concerns of many in the American Jewish community regarding the exhumation of bones at so many sites throughout Israel.” In late 1995, Gilman urged Rabin to make this matter his “highest priority.”

Gilman, in turn, had been urged to express his concerns by mainstream Orthodox groups in this country, including the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (OU), representing 1,000 American Orthodox synagogues, and the National Council of Young Israel, representing 300 American Orthodox synagogues, as well as by ultra-Orthodox groups like Asra Kadisha.

In presentations to Israel Antiquities Authority director Amir Drori, Rabbi Greenwald emphasized that he was expressing the concern of not only the ultra-Orthodox, but also, in his words, “the mainstream of Orthodox Judaism.”

Immediately after Prime Minister Rabin’s assassination, Greenwald sent Drori, Gilman and others a memo in which he quoted Rabin’s emotional response on seeing from a plane so many Jewish graves (of soldiers). This, Greenwald suggested, showed Rabin’s concern that graves be respected. Drori, a retired army general, is a man of few expressed emotions and even fewer words. But on this occasion he could not contain himself in his response to Greenwald:

“Yitzhak Rabin was murdered after a declaration (pulsa danura) [by some ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups] allowing his 049murder. Rabin’s death was at the hands of a murderer who believed he was performing a mitzvah [a commandment, a good deed], and acting in the name of G-d. The lesson to be learned from this political murder of one Jew by another is definitely not the lesson one may understand from your letter.

“I answer you as Director of the Antiquities Authority of the State of Israel, as someone who also has a pulsa danura against him and whose murder is also permitted, as was that of Yitzhak Rabin and others, cursed, defamed and slandered by the Court of Justice of the Ultra-Orthodox sect; as someone who has had an explosive device placed on the door of his home, been witness to physical and verbal violence by ultra-orthodox extremists against archaeologists and Antiquities Authority workers; seen our offices and cars vandalized and burned; been harassed, threatened and cursed on the telephone, having our archaeological excavation work disturbed etc.

“It is true that Yitzhak Rabin spoke of the many graves in this country, but this was in reference to the many soldiers who fell in Israel’s wars and which he sought to prevent in the future by way of a peace process. As one who served in the defence of the State of Israel for 33 years, I have no doubt that your attempt to connect Mr. Rabin’s words to archaeological excavations and ancient burials has no basis.

“In spite of my request, the Rabbis of the Atra Kadisha in Israel, or other ultra-orthodox groups have never condemned violence against archaeologists or called for its cessation.”

For ultra-Orthodox extremists, the campaign against archaeologists is an unyielding, inflexible tenet of faith. Not so for mainstream Orthodox Jews, also known as modern Orthodox. But American Orthodox organizations and leaders have been enlisted, largely for political reasons, in the ultra-Orthodox cause.

Dr. Mandell Ganchrow, a New York surgeon who heads the mainstream OU, told me that although they are against the excavation of graves: “It is not at the top of our agenda.” “We have not used a lot of political influence” on the issue, he added. On the contrary, Dr. Ganchrow exerts a moderating influence on the Asra Kadisha, according to a knowledgeable member of Gilman’s staff.

Ganchrow himself claims to be a moderate. “The Orthodox Union believes in unity, dialogue, bringing opposing sides together.” Yet they have lent their support to the extremists without condemning the extremist violence. “We’ve agreed to work with Asra Kadisha,” Ganchrow said.

I was puzzled that I was unable to obtain from the Asra Kadisha head in this country, Rabbi Melech Stern, the text of the religious law that supposedly forbids the excavation of graves. Upon further inquiry the reason became obvious: There is no clear ruling as such. There are only rulings saying that graves may not be desecrated. Jewish law requires that proper respect be paid 050to the dead; a corpse must be treated with dignity. On the occasions when rabbis have considered whether religious law permits the disinterment and removal of bones, the answer has never been a simple no. Instead, the question must be considered with great gravity and seriousness; the sages examine all possibilities. We are told, for instance, of the fear and trembling that the great teachers (gedolai ha-morim) felt when they had to decide whether to permit the disinterment of the body of a great rabbi to transport it from Lichtenstaut to Prague. (In the end, they decided to permit the removal because of the threat of vandalism.)

This clearly implies that all factors must be weighed. Even though the matter is not to be lightly decided and the presumption is against disinterment, it is nonetheless permitted in some cases.

From the outset, the ultra-Orthodox have violated their own law by failing even to consider the pros and cons, the factors on either side of the equation. They have simply declared a war on archaeology and archaeologists. They want it all stopped. Stum, as they say in Hebrew. That’s the end of it. No reasoned discussion. No consideration of all the factors. Simply protests and rocks.

In their public announcements, neither the American Orthodox authorities nor those in Israel have recognized that the issue of religious law (halachah) is far from clear. The sole exception appears to be a learned discussion in Jewish Action, an American Orthodox magazine sponsored by the OU, by Rabbi Yitzchok Breitowitz, a noted American expert in Jewish law who also 051teaches law at the University of Maryland.¹ What the authorities in Rabbi Breitowitz’s two-part article reflect is that a very strong case can be made that excavation of gravesites is often not only permitted but required by halachah.

According to authorities cited by Rabbi Breitowitz, human remains may be disinterred and moved, for example, “if they were buried there without the permission of the landowner.” They may also be moved if the remains “are likely to be damaged by water or sewer backups.” Directly applicable to archaeological excavations, the remains may be moved if threatened with vandalism, as in the case mentioned above.

In addition, “a grave that damages or interferes with the rights of the public may be removed … The poskim [religious authorities] have made clear that the law permitting relocation applies not only to a single grave but to a cemetery as well.”

Rabbi Breitowitz cites an “important ruling” by one prominent Orthodox rabbi (Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli, head of the Rav Kook Yeshiva in Jerusalem) that “any activity or project which adds beauty to the land of Israel is treated as a public benefit” and therefore justifies the removal of the remains.

For a rabbi in Israel to speak out on this issue, however, can be dangerous, at least politically. Rabbi Breitowitz refers to “a highly respected rabbi” belonging to a moderate religious party in Israel who believes “that graves may be moved for virtually any public need and that the Asra Kadisha’s agitations are 053counter-productive”; this rabbi, however, “does not want to be identified for ‘fear of incurring Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] wrath.’”

If the ultra-Orthodox protesters and Asra Kadisha would consider the practical alternatives to archaeological excavation and the kind of balancing that Jewish law requires, they might even favor excavation by archaeologists. That is because bones archaeologically excavated can then be reburied with dignity and respect in a protected area. On the other hand, if they are not excavated, they are likely to be vandalized.

The ultra-Orthodox position is simply that bones should not be excavated, as if archaeologists know in advance precisely where they are going to encounter graves. In almost all cases, however, archaeologists come upon bones unexpectedly. The ultra-Orthodox answer to this is simply to stop all archaeology—and that is why the archaeological community is so vehemently opposed to the ultra-Orthodox on this issue.

But not only archaeology is at stake. Most tombs are first encountered not by archaeologists but by real estate developers during construction. If the ultra-Orthodox were to have their way, all development in Israel would be halted.

The ultra-Orthodox may reply that not all archaeological excavation and not all real estate development should be stopped; this should happen only when tombs are uncovered. The ultra-Orthodox may rely on a principle well grounded in Jewish law, that only when there is no alternative to removing bones does the exception to permit the removal apply.

The weakness in this argument is simply this: If a known tomb is not excavated, then it will be looted—even if covered. There seems to be no way to save a known tomb from looters, except by posting a 24-hour armed guard. Even the pyramids of ancient Egyptian pharaohs were looted. Indeed, that is why, although hundreds of ancient tombs have been found in Israel, there are so few bones: They were looted in ancient times.

Suppose I am wrong. Suppose that in only half the cases the bones are looted—or even in a third of the cases. Is it better to take the chance, or is it better to disinter the bones and reinter them respectfully in a proper cemetery?

That is not the worst of it, however. Most tombs in Israel today are discovered during the course of construction—of a road or a housing development or an apartment building. If these bones are not archaeologically excavated after discovery, the high likelihood is that they will be bulldozed into oblivion, tossed hither and yon with nary a thought of respect or dignity. If the result of a discovery by a developer is the cessation of the project, no one will ever know that ancient bones have been discovered. The developer will immediately destroy whatever is found—simply plow it under. Why will he risk losing everything?

Even if this does not happen in every case, isn’t the likelihood high enough that anyone concerned to ensure that buried bones be treated with respect should counsel proper excavation and reburial with dignity?

In a telephone interview, Rabbi Breitowitz told me, “You have some very, very strong points. You have a good case.”² We look forward to receiving the Asra Kadisha’s response.

If the ultra-Orthodox were true to their own claimed principles, they would be arguing, not for the cessation of excavation, but for reinterment with dignity and respect.

Archaeologists claim that they do indeed turn over excavated bones to the religious authorities for reburial. The ultra-Orthodox dispute this. Congressman Gilman’s emissary to Israel, Rabbi Greenwald, claims that he saw bones “strewn around” at three sites where he was taken by the Asra Kadisha. Apparently no representatives of the Antiquities Authority were asked to accompany the group. It seems odd that archaeologists would leave bones strewn around. Such practices would violate sound archaeological practice just as they would violate religious law. In any event, it should not be difficult for reasonable people to determine the facts accurately.

The proper resolution of the conflict is that bones encountered in archaeological excavations should be reburied by the religious authorities of the deceased’s religion, if that can be determined. If not, the state should bury the remains—with proper dignity and respect. Even if the matter is resolved along these lines, however, conflicts between religion and science will remain. The hostility between the religious authorities and the archaeologists in Israel is intense. In practice, any cooperation would be difficult, so deeply does each side distrust the other.

More importantly, archaeologists often want to study bones before they are reburied. Ultra-Orthodox rabbis want them immediately given over to them.

But at least all sides should agree that reburial, instead of stopping excavation and development, is the proper course. At present, however, things look scary. Religious parties in Israel now have enormous political leverage. At this writing, they have already obtained some still-secret concessions regarding archaeological excavation of graves as their price for joining the parliamentary coalition assembled by newly elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Archaeology in Israel may be in serious danger.

For years, ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel have used any means at their disposal, including violence, to stop archaeological excavations on the alleged ground that ancient Jewish graves are being desecrated. Recent elections have significantly strengthened the religious bloc in the Israeli knesset, or parliament. With 23 seats out of 120, the religious parties are now demanding that ultra-Orthodox rabbis be given authority to stop archaeological digs whenever graves are found. These forces in Israel are also enlisting support for their position from Orthodox groups in the United States, who in turn are pressing the case with Israeli embassy officials […]