THE CAMPAIGN TO FREE THE SCROLLS. From 1985 to 1991, Hershel campaigned to free the Dead Sea Scrolls from the small group of scholars who had held control of them for decades without publishing anything. A famous BAR cover (the March/April 1990 issue) depicts the late John Strugnell, who was the chief editor of the scrolls, surrounded by fleas. The fleas were labeled as the various individuals and institutions protesting the monopoly’s control of the scrolls. The largest flea was BAR.