Reviewing a recent book about graffiti that appear to have been written by Jews in the Hellenistic and Roman Near East, Jillian Stinchcomb writes:

“Good luck with your resurrection!” So a passerby wrote in the grave complex at [the ancient Galilean town of] Beit She’arim, in fairly messy—although still legible—Greek in the ceiling and entryway wall of a catacomb. This somewhat cheeky greeting is one among many charming, intimate moments Karen Stern catalogues in her 2018 monograph, Writing on the Wall: Graffiti and the Forgotten Jews of Antiquity. . . .

Stern . . . contrasts the modern expectation that graffiti are inherently illicit with evidence from the ancient world that suggests graffiti were often anticipated and unexceptional, albeit lacking official sanction. . . . Jewish graffiti follow certain patterns, particularly clustering around doorways, as seen in the evidence from the synagogue from Dura Europos [in what is now Syria, which dates back at least to the 3rd century CE, and is one of the oldest ever discovered]. Stern argues that this type of graffiti should be seen as a visual and physical form of prayer, which was performed not only in synagogues but in and near outdoor, non-Jewish sanctuaries, showing heterogeneity in the worship practices of Jewish populations. . . .

Stern [also] argues that the evidence shows “some ancient Jews and their neighbors commonly . . . visited and elaborated [upon] the interiors of cemeteries after they had completed activities of burial and interment.” [Additionally, the book] looks at Jewish graffiti in public spaces, such as the theater or a marketplace, which show everyday Jews interacting with and moving through a Christian or pagan world.

Early Friday morning, Israel attacked military installations near the Iranian cities of Isfahan and nearby Natanz, the latter being one of the hubs of the country’s nuclear program. Jerusalem is not taking credit for the attack, and none of the details are too certain, but it seems that the attack involved multiple drones, likely launched from within Iran, as well as one or more missiles fired from Syrian or Iraqi airspace. Strikes on Syrian radar systems shortly beforehand probably helped make the attack possible, and there were reportedly strikes on Iraq as well.

Iran itself is downplaying the attack, but the S-300 air-defense batteries in Isfahan appear to have been destroyed or damaged. This is a sophisticated Russian-made system positioned to protect the Natanz nuclear installation. In other words, Israel has demonstrated that Iran’s best technology can’t protect the country’s skies from the IDF. As Yossi Kuperwasser puts it, the attack, combined with the response to the assault on April 13,

clarified to the Iranians that whereas we [Israelis] are not as vulnerable as they thought, they are more vulnerable than they thought. They have difficulty hitting us, but we have no difficulty hitting them.

Nobody knows exactly how the operation was carried out. . . . It is good that a question mark hovers over . . . what exactly Israel did. Let’s keep them wondering. It is good for deniability and good for keeping the enemy uncertain.

The fact that we chose targets that were in the vicinity of a major nuclear facility but were linked to the Iranian missile and air forces was a good message. It communicated that we can reach other targets as well but, as we don’t want escalation, we chose targets nearby that were involved in the attack against Israel. I think it sends the message that if we want to, we can send a stronger message. Israel is not seeking escalation at the moment.