Page 2-3 - Hashalom May 2017(electronic)

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2017

May 2017

HASHALOM

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OUT OF PERSPECTIVE

According to a recent news report on Ynet (Israel’s largest news

website), there are about 300 archaeological digs being undertaken

around the country in any given year. Over 90% of all land in Israel

is defined as State land, under the authority of the Israel Land

Authority (ILA). This means that any land lessee of the ILA has an

obligation to report any antiquities found on their property, and

allow for their excavation, preservation and conservation. This

implies that any antiquity automatically becomes the property

of the State. The professional body overseeing this is the Israeli

Antiquities Authority (IAA).

My understanding is that the cost of excavation is also borne by the

land lessee, although if you do find hidden treasures in your back

yard, while you are compelled to report it, you are not compelled to

extract it immediately. Which, I am thinking is logical, because if an

artefact or grave has been lying buried for hundreds of years, what

harm can be done to leave it safely intact and submerged in the

ground? Case-in-point is a recent excavation that took place in early

March at the Migdal Zedek quarry, which lies in between Elad to the

south and Rosh Haayin to the north, off road 444. It’s also next to

the National Park of Migdal Afek, which has structures dating back

to the time of the Roman settlement. There is a large fortress visible

from the road (apparently road 444 follows part of the ancient trade

route known as the “Via Maris” from Egypt all the way north to

Syria) hence the proximity of the settlement in the area. Given the

fortress, as well as other tombs and burial caves from the Crusader

and Ottoman eras also in the vicinity, I suppose it was not a huge

surprise when a large compound of 32 graves was discovered in the

early 1990’s in the southern side of the quarry.

And there they remained buried for another twenty plus years.

As the graves were not near the proximity of the quarrying area,

no further action was taken at the time. But in early 2017, a new

quarry extension was approved, and the graves were now situated

slap bang in the middle of the planned quarrying area. The IAA was

called in for an assessment. It is not the first time antiquities have

been found in a quarry in Israel: there is a current archaeological dig

in the quarry of Nesher, the Israel Cement manufacturer, at its main

production site at Ramla. Unlike at Nesher, the grave compound at

Migdal Zedek was isolated of any other settlement activity, and a

decision was taken to excavate them as soon as possible.

So how much does a grave excavation cost? Not surprisingly, with

the number of digs per year, the IAA has a price list. Standard price

is a bargain at ILS 31,000. Multiplied by 32 and you get close to

ILS 1 million (with no allowance for a bulk discount). Add 12% for

unexpected costs for complexities on site, plus FEL (front end

loader) and security costs, and one is budgeting for a project close

to ILS 1.3 million. Perhaps it was simply an option to leave them

untouched? Except that meant not quarrying around four million

tons of high-grade aggregates, or leaving at least ILS 50 million (in

today’s prices) as buried profit in the ground.

Putting the costs and business aside, the core issue was actually

one of legal compliance. The Antiquities Law requires any individual

or company to discontinue operations on their land with a discovery

of an antiquity thereon. On the other hand, the quarry plan needed

to be adhered to. With the commercial side of the project settled,

attention turned to logistics. According to the IAA, a dig of this

magnitude normally takes a month on average to complete. It

was finished in four days. The strict timetable and haste of the

operation was mainly out of fear to avoid any potential interference

and demonstrations from Atra Kadisha. This is an extremist, fringe,

ultra-Orthodox organisation, whose name is Aramaic for “holy site”.

It had clashed violently with police and archaeologists in the past

at various sites around the country. While the organisation believes

that graves and tombs should be left untouched, basing it on the

value of respect and dignity for the dead, their violent protests and

archaic methods usually quelled any sympathy to their cause. There

was a distinct possibility that a prolonged dig may attract attention,

and that this group would attempt to block access to the quarry,

and that violent protests may break out and create a media circus

for the company’s management and local authorities to deal with.

There had been plenty of precedents of violent demonstrations

from around the country for this risk assessment.

In the end, the excavation was concluded without incident - four

days must be a world record pace for a dig of this magnitude? A

group comprising of no less than seventy (archaeologists and

volunteers) dug the graves up and removed them safely to storage

(the top soil layers were removed first by a FEL). The Jewish soldier

turned historian, Josephus Flavius, wrote first-hand of the Jewish

revolt against the Romans that began in 66 CE, and which lasted for

four years, culminating with the destruction of the Second Temple.

He mentions fighting at Migdal Afek, and the Romans laying waste

and burning neighbouring villages. However, the preliminary IAA

report states the graves date back to the later Byzantine period

(referencing findings of jar fragments, bronze bells, and a pendant

with a cross). I am sure the gravediggers will dig out and report all

the details.

The Gravediggers

David Arkin

JUNK STATUS & THE JEWISH

COMMUNITY

Prof Antony Arkin

EDITORIAL

In a reckless attempt to tighten his grip on power, President Jacob

Zuma, who faces 783 charges of fraud and corruption, last month

fired Pravin Gordhan and Mcebisi Jonas, the finance minister and his

deputy. They were widely credited with controlling public debt and

resisting Zuma’s plan to spend one trillion Rand ($73bn) building

nuclear plants that South Africa does not need and cannot afford.

Large segments of the South African public suspect Zuma of wanting

to loosen the controls that have kept the Treasury honest, even as

corruption has flourished elsewhere in government.

In a Passover video message to the Jewish community titled “Let Our

People Go” Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein called on all South Africans

to join him in a protest march “to say no to corruption and state

capture”. The National Religious Leaders’ Council, on which Rabbi

Goldstein sits, called on the President to resign. “Zuma has lost all

moral legitimacy to govern and therefore should do the honourable

thing and step down”.

In a widely anticipated response to the cabinet reshuffle two of the big

credit-rating agencies Standard and Poor and Fitch have downgraded

the government’s credit-rating to junk for the first time since 2000.

Junk rating means a higher risk of non-payment or default. Junk

means a red flashing light which signals Stay Away! Most large

international investors, such as pension funds, explicitly prohibit their

asset managers from investing in any bonds rated as junk. We can

expect some investors to disinvest immediately, while others will

demand higher interest for the risk of lending money to South Africa.

Interest rates could soar. They are already higher than those of

Russian debt. The Rand could plummet still further. South Africa’s

tentative economic recovery would stall, depressing growth from

its forecast level of about 1% this year into recession. Paying more

in interest means there is less money available for spending on

infrastructure, health, education, welfare, police and all the other

services the government is supposed to provide for the taxes you pay.

If the government cannot balance their books through borrowing, the

only other source of revenue is taxes. Hence, expect taxes to go up.

On a personal level, your retirement fund or pension is currently at

least partly invested in low-risk government bonds. If those bonds

are dumped by international investors, you will lose a lot of money.

The aftershocks of any downgrade are a general negative sentiment

of all investors towards South Africa. This means that the value of

equities and the Rand will fall in sympathy. You will have less in savings

and less to retire on, while paying more taxes for fewer government

services. All South Africans will be poorer, and in particular it will put

increased pressure on the most vulnerable sectors of our society.

The two rating agencies downgraded our foreign-denominational

debt to junk because they believe the ANC has lost control of the

Presidency. The new finance minister is a Zuma protégé. According to

the Economist Malusi Gigaba plans “radical economic transformation”

and to take back the Treasury from “orthodox economists (and)

international investors”. The National Treasury is likely to embark

on a reckless spending spree, which means that there is less money

to repay debt or to channel money into projects that will grow the

economy.

We join Rabbi Goldstein in demanding a better country. “Let us be free

from the tyranny of corruption, let us be free to create the country of

our dreams”.

Contact: Robyn Bradley P.O. Box 10797 Marine Parade 4056

Production Manager: Mrs Robyn Bradley

The views expressed in the pages of Hashalom are not necessarily those of the

Editorial Board or any other organisation or religious body unless otherwise

individual.

Hashalom Editorial Board:

Editor: Prof Antony Arkin

Sub Editor: Mr Colin Plen

Editorial Board: Mrs Mikki Norton, Mrs Michelle Campbell

Commitee: Dr Issy Fisher, Ms Diane McColl, Mrs Lauren Shapiro

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