Israeli dealers accused of antiquity fraud
By Eric Silver in Jerusalem
The Independent
30 December 2004
Israeli police yesterday charged four antiquities collectors and dealers on
17 counts of forging some of the most treasured biblical artefacts to have
surfaced in recent years.
They included a limestone ossuary box said to have held the bones of James,
the brother of Jesus, supposedly the oldest physical link to the New
Testament; a tiny ivory pomegranate bought by the Israel Museum for $550,000
(£287,000) as the only known relic of King Solomon's Temple; and a stone
tablet, from the ninth century BC, inscribed in ancient Hebrew with
instructions by King Joash for maintaining the Temple.
A 27-page indictment submitted to a Jerusalem magistrate after months of
under-cover investigation alleged that the men - Oded Golan, Robert Deutsch,
Shlomo Cohen and Faiz al-Amaleh - took genuine antiquities, then added false
inscriptions to increase their value. They were clever enough to fool some
of the world's most respected experts.
Mr Golan, a leading Israeli collector, owned the "James ossuary", inscribed
"James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus," and the "Joash tablet". Detectives
said they found a sophisticated laboratory in his home. The men are accused
of painting the "improved" items with a special coating to imitate the
patina that would accumulate over thousands of years.
The ivory pomegranate is now thought to be much older than originally
believed. The Israel Museum, a public body, paid the money into a numbered
Swiss bank account in the 1980s and showed the exquisitely carved ivory,
under spotlight and magnifying glass, as one of its most cherished
possessions. It has been removed from display. Archaeologists are still
trying to work out what it is, pierced as if it fitted on to a priestly
sceptre.
Prosecutors said the ring had been operating for 23 years. They added:
"These items, many of them of great scientific, religious, sentimental,
political and economic value, were created specifically with intent to
defraud." Gil Kleiman, a police spokesman, added: "This was an attempt to
change the history of the Jewish and Christian people."
Shuka Dorfman, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said yesterday:
"We only discovered the tip of the iceberg. This spans the globe. It
generated millions of dollars."
Mr Golan denied the charges, accusing the archaeological establishment of
spreading lies and rumours to destroy the local antiquities trade. "There is
not one grain of truth in the fantastic allegations against me," he said in
a statement. He said he believed he would be acquitted.
Israel jealously guards its ancient heritage. The state has first claim on
any finds and it is illegal to sell or export antiquities without the
Antiquities Authority's permission, but smuggling is widespread.
One of the law's most notorious violators was the late Moshe Dayan, an
enthusiastic amateur who used his position as defence minister to acquire
objects uncovered in the occupied territories. The Israeli Museum paid his
widow $1m for part of his private collection after his death.
The antiquities trade in the Holy Land can be murky. "It's a free-for-all
market and there is no control over something that doesn't come from a
proper excavation, photographed and documented," Mr Dorfman said. Experts
might have made honest mistakes, he added. "But I am not certain that this
was always done unknowingly, to give a stamp of approval to enable a sale."
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=596781
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