A highly anticipated Dead Sea Scrolls project at the Royal Ontario Museum has raised the ire of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which claims that the exhibit is unlawful.
In a recently-published interview with the Toronto Star, a ministry official claims that Israel obtained the Dead Sea Scrolls illegally in 1967 and that Canada should not display them as a result.
"The exhibition would entail exhibiting or displaying artifacts removed from the Palestinian territories," Hamdan Taha, director-general of the Palestinian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, told the Star.
"I think it is important that Canadian institutions would be responsible and act in accordance with Canada's obligations."
Senior Palestinian officials say that Israel took the scrolls when it annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. They say the ROM exhibit would violate at least four international protocols.
William Thorsell, ROM director and CEO, released a statement Thursday saying the museum "has no further statement at this time while we engage in consultations."
Authorities in Israel began to digitally photograph the hundreds of Dead Sea Scrolls last summer, in order to preserve and prevent further damage to the 2,000-year-old scrolls.
The first of the Dead Sea Scrolls was found by a Bedouin goat-herder named Mohammed Ed Dhib.
He discovered them in a cave in Qumran, near the Dead Sea, in 1947.
By 1956, archaeologists had located 900 of what came to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls in 11 different caves throughout the region. Some were entirely preserved, others survived only as fragments of their original forms.
The unearthed Dead Sea Scrolls contain some of the earliest written sources for the Hebrew Bible as well as other writings.
The various scrolls date back to between 250 BC and 68 AD.
Portions of 16 scrolls will be loaned to the ROM by the Israel Antiquities Authority for the duration of the exhibit.
"Dead Sea Scrolls: Words That Changed the World," is scheduled to run at the ROM from June 27, 2009 to January 3, 2010.
The ROM says the exhibit is more of a "project," as it involves public lectures, debates and other events, as well as the scrolls themselves.
Authors Christopher Hitchens, A.J. Jacobs and Camille Paglia are some of the personalities who will be taking part in the Dead Sea Scrolls project at the ROM.
With files from 麻豆影视net, The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
