A joint study by Tel Aviv University and Jerusalem’s Hebrew University examined the charcoal remains of olive and fig trees at a central Jordan Valley site, which appear to be the oldest known evidence of domesticated orchards. Sue Surkes describes the study, and the story it tells about prehistoric life in the valley:

The charcoal remnants were collected by Professor Yosef Garfinkel, . . . who directs the excavations at Tel Tsaf. “Tel Tsaf was a large prehistoric village in the central Jordan Valley, south of Beit Shean, inhabited between 7,200 and 6,700 years ago,” Garfinkel explained.

“Large houses with courtyards were discovered at the site, each with several granaries for storing crops. Storage capacities were up to twenty-times greater than any single family’s calorie consumption, so clearly these were caches for storing great wealth. The wealth of the village was manifested in the production of elaborate pottery, painted with remarkable skill. In addition, we found articles brought from afar: pottery of the Ubaid culture from Mesopotamia, obsidian from Anatolia, a copper awl from the Caucasus, and more,” he said.

[Dafna Langgut of Tel Aviv University] said that, in addition to the evidence of early fruit-tree cultivation, they had also discovered some of the earliest examples of stamps, suggesting the beginnings of administrative procedures.

Established in 2012 and maintaining branches in Europe, North America, and Iran, the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Network claims its goal is merely to show “solidarity” for imprisoned Palestinians. The organization’s leader, however, has admitted to being a representative of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a notorious terrorist group whose most recent accomplishments include murdering a seventeen-year-old girl. As Arsen Ostrovsky and Patricia Teitelbaum point out, Samidoun is just one example of how the European Union allows Iran-backed terrorists to operate in its midst:

The PFLP is a proxy of the Iranian regime, which provides the terror group with money, training, and weapons. Samidoun . . . has a branch in Tehran. It has even held events there, under the pretext of “cultural activity,” to elicit support for operations in Europe. Its leader, Khaled Barakat, is a regular on Iran’s state [channel] PressTV, calling for violence and lauding Iran’s involvement in the region. It is utterly incomprehensible, therefore, that the EU has not yet designated Samidoun a terror group.

According to the Council of the European Union, groups and/or individuals can be added to the EU terror list on the basis of “proposals submitted by member states based on a decision by a competent authority of a member state or a third country.” In this regard, there is already a standing designation by Israel of Samidoun as a terror group and a decision of a German court finding Barakat to be a senior PFLP operative.

Given the irrefutable axis-of-terror between Samidoun, PFLP, and the Iranian regime, the EU has a duty to put Samidoun and senior Samidoun leaders on the EU terror list. It should do this not as some favor to Israel, but because otherwise it continues to turn a blind eye to a group that presents a clear and present security threat to the European Union and EU citizens.