Despite repeated denials, it has become clear that the
Antiquities Authority is using human bones for research
purposes. The shocking proof of this fact is that bones were
returned to the Religious Affairs Ministry for reburial only
two weeks a complaint was filed with the Police and the
Attorney General.
A few weeks ago, burial caves in Shoham were deceitfully
unearthed by the Antiquities Authority, which removed the
skeletons during a meeting between Religious Affairs Ministry
representatives and the company building on the site. While
the meeting -- whose purpose was to solve the company's legal
problems -- was going on, archaeologists took advantage of
the fact that there were no inspectors on the site and they
emptied the caves and removed 20 skeletons.
In the legally binding opinion of former Attorney General
Michael Ben Yair, bones do not constitute antiquities, and
skeletons and bones which have been removed from caves must
be transferred immediately to a Religious Affairs Ministry
representative for reburial. In this case, the skeletons were
not returned to the Ministry of Religious Affairs for an
extended period of time. According to Ben Yair's opinion,
this constitutes a crime. Activists from the Federation for
the Prevention of Grave Desecration filed a complaint with
the Attorney General and the Police, asking that they demand
that Amir Drori, Director of the Antiquities Authority,
return the skeletons immediately for reburial.
The Antiquities Authority returned the bones for reburial
only two weeks after the filing of the complaint. The
Federation for the Prevention of Grave Desecration stresses
that this serious occurrence proves that despite its denials,
the Antiquities Authority has been robbing human skeletons
for the purpose of various studies over a number of years.
The Attorney General told the complainants that he asked Amir
Drori to relate to the complaint, but Drori has yet to
respond.
