The Antiquities Authority is well known to us from its
"achievements" in the area of the destruction of ancient
graves, an unwelcome phenomenon against which chareidi Jewry
is battling. However, the Authority has an additional side,
revealed by reports of the Rambam Medical Center of Haifa.
The "sacred" principle which regards archaeological study as
a supreme value above all others is also expressed by the
Authority's disruption of life-rescuing efforts, not only in
its attitude toward the respect of the deceased.
The December 1998 issue of Rambam Medical Center's journal
contains an article written by the hospital's Dr. Lavi Klein,
who complains bitterly about archaeological excavations
conducted by the Antiquities Authority in the hospital area
which upset hospital routines and hinder the staff in its
life-saving efforts.
Rambam Medical Center was in the middle of building new
operating rooms when ancient artifacts were discovered. This
led, naturally, to archaeological excavations. Archaeological
experts summoned to examine the area claim that while the
hospital was being built in the 1930's, irreparable damage
was caused to the ancient ruins and to the possibility of
documenting them from an archaeological aspect. It became
clear that still-undestroyed ancient archaeological remains
lie underneath the site on which the new operating rooms are
planned.
According to the archaeologists, the area served as a
limestone quarry during the Roman era and later for
industrial and storage. The Antiquities Authority decided to
conduct rescue excavations on the site in order "to save the
information and preserve it for future generations."
In his sharply critical letter, under the heading, "They're
Disrupting Life-saving Activities," Dr. Klein writes that the
archaeological rescue activities taking place in Rambam
interest only a handful of people, whereas hundreds of
thousands of people are deeply perturbed by the fact that
archaeological rescue activities have caused medical rescue
activities to be suspended until further notice.
"The archaeological excavations have halted construction of
new surgery rooms in the medical center, which desperately
needs modern operating theaters. In addition, the
archaeologists have transformed the center into a mound of
ruins by creating large piles right in the middle of the area
which connects the center's various buildings," writes Dr.
Klein.
"The excavations have severed the underground connection
between the hospital's Beit Hayeled and its various
departments, such as its Children's Oncology and Children's
Surgery departments. It has also cut off the Cardiology
Institute and all of its wings, the Cardiac Emergency Unit
and the catheterization rooms, from the main emergency room,
the laboratories, the x-ray institute and the blood bank.
Transferring patients, tests or blood products takes much
longer than usual, and as all know, time is a critical
component in urgent medical procedures."
In addition, the excavations are being subsidized from the
Health Ministry's budget, something which really irks Dr.
Klein. "While government hospitals are crying out for an
ongoing source of money, I wonder where it found this huge
sum," he says.
"I wanted to bring this to the attention of the hospital's
patients, because on our way to save lives, we bump into pits
from the last century. Important as they are, one cannot
hinder the progress of a project as vital as the building of
operating rooms, nor can one impede the routine functioning
of an active medical center for the sake of archaeological
studies," Dr. Klein asserts.
Dr. Klein's letter merited the reaction of the hospital's
deputy director, Dr. Ben Yishai, which also appears in the
center's journal. In his letter, Dr. Yishai points out that
the situation is even worse, noting that the medical center
is forced to "obediently accept the ruling of the Antiquities
Authority, which is completing its excavations on the site of
the hospital according to the law."
Dr. Ben Yishai adds, "Most of the obstacles stemming from the
presence of the excavation site won't be removed during
construction."
