Michael Press
@michaeldpress.bsky.social
Researcher and editor | writings on cultural heritage, antiquities trade
Instead of this fairytale that Mandel ends with, we might note that Israel, like every other actor in this story, uses the idea of "preserving world history" for political ends -- and this includes Mandel and Commentary.
September 2, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Instead of this fairytale that Mandel ends with, we might note that Israel, like every other actor in this story, uses the idea of "preserving world history" for political ends -- and this includes Mandel and Commentary.
So, Mandel and Commentary care so much about Jewish history that they recycled a stock image of a fake inscription to illustrate this nasty piece of crap.
September 2, 2025 at 11:22 PM
So, Mandel and Commentary care so much about Jewish history that they recycled a stock image of a fake inscription to illustrate this nasty piece of crap.
As far as I can tell, this illustration first appeared in a 2005 Nature article on this and other forgeries causing a scandal in Israel in beyond.
Apparently it has since become a stock image available from Getty Images & used in different articles.
www.nature.com/articles/434...
Apparently it has since become a stock image available from Getty Images & used in different articles.
www.nature.com/articles/434...
September 2, 2025 at 11:21 PM
As far as I can tell, this illustration first appeared in a 2005 Nature article on this and other forgeries causing a scandal in Israel in beyond.
Apparently it has since become a stock image available from Getty Images & used in different articles.
www.nature.com/articles/434...
Apparently it has since become a stock image available from Getty Images & used in different articles.
www.nature.com/articles/434...
There is a silver lining to this nasty piece of work, though: the choice of illustration.
What we have here is something that has nothing to do with the article itself -- it's a detail of the so-called "Jehoash Inscription," a notorious forgery.
What we have here is something that has nothing to do with the article itself -- it's a detail of the so-called "Jehoash Inscription," a notorious forgery.
September 2, 2025 at 11:20 PM
There is a silver lining to this nasty piece of work, though: the choice of illustration.
What we have here is something that has nothing to do with the article itself -- it's a detail of the so-called "Jehoash Inscription," a notorious forgery.
What we have here is something that has nothing to do with the article itself -- it's a detail of the so-called "Jehoash Inscription," a notorious forgery.
Mandel then dismisses the idea that the bill is opposed because it is a way of officially annexing (he uses the common euphemism "sovereignty expansion") the West Bank -- even though, in the very TOI article he starts with, the MK who introduced the bill admits this openly.
September 2, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Mandel then dismisses the idea that the bill is opposed because it is a way of officially annexing (he uses the common euphemism "sovereignty expansion") the West Bank -- even though, in the very TOI article he starts with, the MK who introduced the bill admits this openly.
It's probably very telling that Mandel uses the word "expert" here and not "archaeologist", so that this is not a literal lie, just highly misleading.
September 2, 2025 at 11:19 PM
It's probably very telling that Mandel uses the word "expert" here and not "archaeologist", so that this is not a literal lie, just highly misleading.
In fact, Regavim is the settler organization co-founded by Bezalel Smotrich -- an organization whose untrustworthiness is reflected in the fact that they admitted to a literal false-flag operation to scare Israeli settlers.
x.com/MichaelDPres...
x.com/MichaelDPres...
Michael Press on X: "Israeli settler group Regavim conducts a *literal* false-flag operation: They hang a bunch of Palestinian flags on West Bank highways in order to scare the settler population. https://t.co/hYpx7xUQrc h/t @Marianhouk" / X
Israeli settler group Regavim conducts a *literal* false-flag operation: They hang a bunch of Palestinian flags on West Bank highways in order to scare the settler population. https://t.co/hYpx7xUQrc h/t @Marianhouk
x.com
September 2, 2025 at 11:18 PM
In fact, Regavim is the settler organization co-founded by Bezalel Smotrich -- an organization whose untrustworthiness is reflected in the fact that they admitted to a literal false-flag operation to scare Israeli settlers.
x.com/MichaelDPres...
x.com/MichaelDPres...
Mandel continues by quoting an "Israeli expert" on the nature and scale of the destruction.
The reader will naturally infer that the expert is an archaeologist -- but when you follow the link you see the "expert" is actually a senior figure at a settler organization.
The reader will naturally infer that the expert is an archaeologist -- but when you follow the link you see the "expert" is actually a senior figure at a settler organization.
September 2, 2025 at 11:17 PM
Mandel continues by quoting an "Israeli expert" on the nature and scale of the destruction.
The reader will naturally infer that the expert is an archaeologist -- but when you follow the link you see the "expert" is actually a senior figure at a settler organization.
The reader will naturally infer that the expert is an archaeologist -- but when you follow the link you see the "expert" is actually a senior figure at a settler organization.
And, if we were actually trying to understand looting, we would note (as experts in the study of the antiquities trade regularly do) that trafficking is driven by the demand side.
In this case, a significant percentage of the collectors and dealers driving the trade are Israelis
In this case, a significant percentage of the collectors and dealers driving the trade are Israelis
September 2, 2025 at 11:17 PM
And, if we were actually trying to understand looting, we would note (as experts in the study of the antiquities trade regularly do) that trafficking is driven by the demand side.
In this case, a significant percentage of the collectors and dealers driving the trade are Israelis
In this case, a significant percentage of the collectors and dealers driving the trade are Israelis
He also conveniently omits any mention of Israeli culpability -- even though, just below the passage Mandel quotes, a settler organization admits to the fact that Israelis, too, are looting sites.
September 2, 2025 at 11:16 PM
He also conveniently omits any mention of Israeli culpability -- even though, just below the passage Mandel quotes, a settler organization admits to the fact that Israelis, too, are looting sites.
In the process, of course, he continues the longstanding, absurd Israeli obsession (from long before 2023) of comparing Palestinians -- and not just Hamas, but Palestinians in general -- to ISIS
September 2, 2025 at 11:15 PM
In the process, of course, he continues the longstanding, absurd Israeli obsession (from long before 2023) of comparing Palestinians -- and not just Hamas, but Palestinians in general -- to ISIS
He dismisses any discussion of *why* the looting might be happening -- something vital to understand if you want to actually counteract it -- to keep laser-focused on blaming Palestinians.
September 2, 2025 at 11:15 PM
He dismisses any discussion of *why* the looting might be happening -- something vital to understand if you want to actually counteract it -- to keep laser-focused on blaming Palestinians.
Mandel ignores all of this, to focus on the issue apparently of greatest concern to him: blaming Palestinians for the problem.
September 2, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Mandel ignores all of this, to focus on the issue apparently of greatest concern to him: blaming Palestinians for the problem.
While there are some problems with this article, you can at least learn something about what is going on, the viewpoints of the different actors involved, and how international law relates.
bsky.app/profile/mich...
bsky.app/profile/mich...
Long-form update on the Israeli bill to put archaeology in the occupied West Bank under civilian authority -- part of the Israeli government's larger plan to annex the territory.
www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologis...
www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologis...
Archaeologists dig in against antiquities bill aiming to deepen Israel’s hold on West Bank
A push to shift oversight of excavations in the territory to a civilian authority sparks worries of creeping annexation, with researchers fearing they'll bear brunt of any backlash
www.timesofisrael.com
September 2, 2025 at 11:13 PM
While there are some problems with this article, you can at least learn something about what is going on, the viewpoints of the different actors involved, and how international law relates.
bsky.app/profile/mich...
bsky.app/profile/mich...
Mandel's starting point is a recent long read about the bill currently under consideration in Israel to put archaeology in the West Bank under civilian authority.
www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologis...
www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologis...
Archaeologists dig in against antiquities bill aiming to deepen Israel’s hold on West Bank
A push to shift oversight of excavations in the territory to a civilian authority sparks worries of creeping annexation, with researchers fearing they'll bear brunt of any backlash
www.timesofisrael.com
September 2, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Mandel's starting point is a recent long read about the bill currently under consideration in Israel to put archaeology in the West Bank under civilian authority.
www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologis...
www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologis...
All the scrolls & fragments in rotation at Museum of the Bible (& I believe those displayed at the Reagan Library) were found in caves around Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank when it was under Jordanian occupation, & have since been moved illegally by Israel to West Jerusalem
September 2, 2025 at 7:48 PM
All the scrolls & fragments in rotation at Museum of the Bible (& I believe those displayed at the Reagan Library) were found in caves around Khirbet Qumran in the West Bank when it was under Jordanian occupation, & have since been moved illegally by Israel to West Jerusalem
Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition opened last year (and is closing today) at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library -- another institution that apparently sees no problem partnering with the IAA.
www.reaganlibrary.gov/exhibits/spe...
www.reaganlibrary.gov/exhibits/spe...
Special Exhibit: Dead Sea Scrolls
Special Exhibit: Dead Sea Scrolls. NOVEMBER 22, 2024 - SEPTEMBER 2, 2025*
www.reaganlibrary.gov
September 2, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition opened last year (and is closing today) at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library -- another institution that apparently sees no problem partnering with the IAA.
www.reaganlibrary.gov/exhibits/spe...
www.reaganlibrary.gov/exhibits/spe...
Thus, we are left with a blank -- as usually happens with the antiquities trade, the act of looting destroys any real knowledge we could ever have about where this object actually comes from.
poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?...
poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?...
PEETERS ONLINE JOURNALS
poj.peeters-leuven.be
August 27, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Thus, we are left with a blank -- as usually happens with the antiquities trade, the act of looting destroys any real knowledge we could ever have about where this object actually comes from.
poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?...
poj.peeters-leuven.be/content.php?...
So, what can we conclude about the inscription?
When Froehner wrote that the inscription was sent from Nazareth, it very likely was sent by the Koubourssys -- but they could have collected it almost anywhere in the southern Levant.
When Froehner wrote that the inscription was sent from Nazareth, it very likely was sent by the Koubourssys -- but they could have collected it almost anywhere in the southern Levant.
August 27, 2025 at 8:54 PM
So, what can we conclude about the inscription?
When Froehner wrote that the inscription was sent from Nazareth, it very likely was sent by the Koubourssys -- but they could have collected it almost anywhere in the southern Levant.
When Froehner wrote that the inscription was sent from Nazareth, it very likely was sent by the Koubourssys -- but they could have collected it almost anywhere in the southern Levant.
In fact, the only dealers in Palestine that I'm aware of who sent items to French collectors in the 19th century were these 2 dealers from Nazareth
August 27, 2025 at 8:54 PM
In fact, the only dealers in Palestine that I'm aware of who sent items to French collectors in the 19th century were these 2 dealers from Nazareth
And (as has been known for decades but has been ignored by most scholars) among the French collectors who interacted with the Koubourssys was Wilhelm Froehner himself--the man who acquired the Nazareth Inscription!
(Froehner, Mélanges d’épigraphie et d’archéologie XI-XXV, 1875)
(Froehner, Mélanges d’épigraphie et d’archéologie XI-XXV, 1875)
August 27, 2025 at 8:53 PM
And (as has been known for decades but has been ignored by most scholars) among the French collectors who interacted with the Koubourssys was Wilhelm Froehner himself--the man who acquired the Nazareth Inscription!
(Froehner, Mélanges d’épigraphie et d’archéologie XI-XXV, 1875)
(Froehner, Mélanges d’épigraphie et d’archéologie XI-XXV, 1875)