Thread by @incunabula

I know @MichaelDPress has a strong academic background, practical exposure as an archaeologist, and is respected by people I respect. But I find it hard to understand how anyone not motivated by blind anti-Israel animus could write this article. 1/20
hyperallergic.com/326846/raiders…

The article, subheaded "Why is the National Library of Israel adding hundreds of stolen medieval manuscripts from Afghanistan to its collection?" is on the morality of the acquisition by the @NLIsrael of the manuscripts from what is colloquially called the "Afghan Geniza".. 2/20

Press notably does not actually answer - or even attempt to answer the "Why" question in his article, leaving the reader to inevitably conclude that the actions of the @NLIsrael are either inexplicable, and/or in defiance of all civilised norms, and/or morally contemptible. 3/20

He deals at length with the fact that these mss were looted. This is not in dispute by anyone. Everyone, without exception, accepts these were looted, stolen, robbed, illegally excavated and then illegally exported from Afghanistan. Their illegal origin is uncontroversial. 4/20

He also suggests that because they are illegally looted, they *may* be faked or forgeries. To the best of my knowledge, there is not one academic on earth who has had physical sight of these manuscripts that believes this. Their authenticity is equally uncontroversial. 5/20

So the vast bulk of the article is a reiteration of facts that are not in dispute. Nowhere however, does Press suggest ANY possible mitigating explanation for the one fact that IS controversial: the purchase of these mss by @NLIsrael. What could the explanation for this be? 6/20

Jews have lived in Afghanistan since - at least - the 8th century. At its height, the Jewish community there numbered between 40 000 and 80 000. For most of this 1200 year period, the community was tolerated. In 1933, there were about 5000-10000 Jews living in Afghanistan. 7/20

Toleration ceased in the early 1930's, and systemic persecution of Afghani Jews - both native born, and Jewish refugees from Soviet Russia - began. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_o… for more. 8/20

As a result of this systemic persecution - by successive Afghan governments since the 1930's, not just the widely known Taliban administration of more recent years, the number of Jews in Afghanistan has been reduced from its 1930s total of 5000 -10000, to today's total: 1. 9/20

There is one remaining Jew left in Afghanistan. His name is Zablon Simintov. He lives alone next to the dilapidated remains of the old synagogue in Kabul. The synagogue has no Torah, because the Afghan government confiscated it. 10/20

So is it possible that the @NLIsrael believes that countries that annihilate their entire historic Jewish community lose any moral claim to possession of the historic documents of that community? Wouldn't this have been a question worthy of @MichaelDPress's consideration? 11/20

There must be - or rather, there should be - countless other historic manuscripts and artefacts relating to the 1200 year sojourn of the Jewish community in Afghanistan. How many of these are safely curated by Afghani institutions? I am not aware of any. 12/20

How many Afghani Jewish manuscripts in Afghanistan are physically accessible to international scholars, let alone Israeli ones? Again, and I'd be happy to be corrected, I think the answer is none are. 13/20

How many Afghani Jewish manuscripts in Aghanistan are digitally accessible to scholars? Again, and I'd be happy to be corrected, I think the answer is none are. 14/20

So, might this issue also have been a factor in @NLIsrael's decision to purchase these historic manuscripts? Again, wouldn't this have been a question at least worthy of @MichaelDPress's consideration? 15/20

Now I understand that many academics will simply say: looted objects have no place in reputable institutions, no exceptions. This is a defensible position. But surely this is - at very least - a matter of debate? And shouldn't @MichaelDPress have alluded to this debate? 16/20

By not discussing or even briefly alluding to these issues at all in his article, isn't @MichaelDPress leading his readers to conclude that the only explanation for the acquisition by @NLIsrael is Israeli moral turpitude? 17/20

Similar issues have arisen elsewhere - for example, in regards to the Judaica seized by the Iraqi government and found by Coalition forces, and in @britishlibrary's purchase of the Kharosthi script Gandharan Buddhist manuscripts looted from Afghanistan in 1994. 18/20

But in everything I've read about these other examples, the moral ambiguity - or at least the moral debate - is acknowledged. Given that his @hyperallergic article specifically asks "Why did the NLI purchase these?", why doesn't @MichaelDPress even allude to these issues? 19/20

Thanks for reading such long thread. Happy to correct any factual errors if they are pointed out to me. 20/20