CANADA REJECTS JORDAN DEMAND FOR RETURN OF DEAD SEA SCROLL

UPDATE -- REVISION

This post initially relied on numerous international sources, including the Jerusalem Post that indicated the Royal Museum of Canada's exhibition was headed to Milwaukee. This is not correct.  In fact, the Milwaukee artifacts are not connected with the Jordanian Government's claims.

SCROLLS ARE NOT DESTINED FOR MILWAUKEE

AS CANADA REJECTS JORDAN'S DEMAND

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team Antiquities Squad

Canada has rejected Jordan's demand for return of artifacts said to have been looted from the Mideast nation during a period of Israeli occupation, and said to be headed to Milwaukee for an exhibition this month at the Milwaukee Public Museum.

But the artifacts at the museum are not in any way connected with those on display at the Royal Museum of Ontario from June 27th, 2009 until yesterday, Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 in a show entitled "The Dead Sea Scrolls: Words that Changed the World," which drew a record-breaking 200,000 visitors to the queenly institution.

Milwaukee will host other artifacts beginning January 22nd, 2010 in a show called,  "Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible: Ancient Artifacts, Timeless Treasures." 

The show, the largest ever produced by the institution:

brings together archaeological objects and manuscripts to tell a story 2,000 years in the making. Witness actual Dead Sea Scrolls and other early biblical artifacts to learn how transmission of these early writings has shaped the beliefs of Judaism and Christianity and influenced aspects of Islam.

According to a Ma'an news report:

The ancient artifacts were seized from an East Jerusalem museum in 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank and illegally annexed Jerusalem. Since the artifacts were uncovered while the area was under Jordanian control between 1948 and 1967, it is the Jordanian government that requested Canada step in and protect the artifacts.

According to the Milwaukee Public Museum's press release on the exhibition:

Materials in Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible are on loan from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, the Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church for the Eastern USA, Dr. David and Jemima Jeselsohn of Zurich, the École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem, the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, MN and the University of Michigan Library at Ann Arbor, as well as local institutions.

Perhaps we could stage a little debate on the provenance of the scrolls when the representatives of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Department of Antiquities of Jordan come to town for the exhibition's opening here. Who knew there were enough scroll fragments to constitute not one, but two (or more) exhibitions?
The Milwaukee show is listed among the "10 Best Ancient World Exhibitions Coming Up in 2010" by Heritage Key.