Do Middle East politics affect the way archaeologists talk and write about ancient Israel? Without a doubt, writes Hershel Shanks, editor of Biblical Archaeology Review. He offers some disturbing examples regarding Jericho, now under the control of the Palestinian Authority:
A conference was recently held at University College London titled “Digging Up Jericho.” Scholars from England, the United States, Holland, Italy, Denmark, and the Palestinian Department of Antiquities presented papers. No scholars from you-know-where were on the program. . . .
[N]one of the papers dealt with whether the excavation revealed any information—positive or negative—about the biblical account of the destruction of Jericho. The Bible was apparently verboten. No one would ever know the Bible dealt with the site. . . .
In the spring of 2012, I met an archaeologist in Jerusalem who was associated with [the ongoing excavation at Jericho]. When she told me about it, I naturally thought of the possibility of an article in Biblical Archaeology Review. I mentioned this to her, and she seemed to be receptive. We decided to go to the site and talk further about it. We had a great visit, and on the way back we agreed on the general outline of an article. . . .
Despite the promising start, the archaeologist later declined to write the article, citing “the political situation.” Shanks surmises this was an oblique indication that her research would be stopped if she attached her name to an article that discussed the Bible’s account of the city.
Read more on Bible History Daily: http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/archaeology-today/biblical-archaeology-topics/first-person-is-bible-a-dirty-word/