A Nov. 2 article in the British magazine Times Higher Education reviews the graphic novel ‘Tunnels‘, by Israeli writer Rutu Modan, and includes context suggesting that Israeli archeology doesn’t always support the ‘Zionist narrative’. The piece (“Archaeology in Israel: Zionism, politics and disappointing finds”) included the following, evidently quoting directly from Modan’s book:
Israel Finkelstein, one of Israel’s most celebrated living archaeologists, has ruefully summed up the state of the research: ‘A formless, tasteless mound of trash compared to the illustrious cultures neighbouring us, such as Egypt, Greece, and Babylon.’”
The alleged quote by Professor Finkelstein, a leading figure in Israeli archeology, seemed suspect. So, we searched in both English and Hebrew and couldn’t locate any variation of the words attributed to him. We then emailed Mr. Finkelstein who responded that he had no recollection of ever writing or saying such a thing.
Following our communication with Times Higher Education editors, they removed the passage pending an investigation.
Good for you Adam