Nadia Abu El-Haj: Barnard Alumnae Opposing Tenure for Anthropologist
A group of Barnard College alumnae is attempting to stop their alma mater from giving tenure to an assistant professor who minimizes Jews' historical connection to Israel.
In her 2001 book, "Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society," published by the University of Chicago, the professor of anthropology, Nadia Abu El-Haj says Israeli archaeology manipulates evidence to justify a modern Jewish state in the region.
Relying heavily on the input of anonymous archaeologists, tour guides, and tour participants, the book portrays Israeli archaeologists as ideologues who, driven by a desire to "efface Zionism's colonial dimension," have fabricated Jews' territorial claims to Israel.
Contacted by phone and e-mail, Ms. Abu El-Haj would not comment on the book, or her position at Barnard.
While "Facts on the Ground" has been warmly received by some biblical "minimalists," or "biblical revisionists" — academics who contend the Bible was written centuries later than is widely accepted and, that the text has little or no historical relevance — it has been widely dismissed by archaeologists as a political treatise, full of erroneous statements and unsubstantiated claims.
In "Facts on the Ground," Ms. Abu el-Haj suggests Jerusalem was destroyed not by the Romans, but by the Jews themselves due to rising class tensions among them. Yet, the 1st-century historian and scribe Josephus described in great detail the Roman siege of Jerusalem. Additionally, carvings in the Arch of Titus in Rome depict the Roman General Titus showing off menorahs and other objects looted from the Second Temple....
Read entire article at New York Sun
In her 2001 book, "Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society," published by the University of Chicago, the professor of anthropology, Nadia Abu El-Haj says Israeli archaeology manipulates evidence to justify a modern Jewish state in the region.
Relying heavily on the input of anonymous archaeologists, tour guides, and tour participants, the book portrays Israeli archaeologists as ideologues who, driven by a desire to "efface Zionism's colonial dimension," have fabricated Jews' territorial claims to Israel.
Contacted by phone and e-mail, Ms. Abu El-Haj would not comment on the book, or her position at Barnard.
While "Facts on the Ground" has been warmly received by some biblical "minimalists," or "biblical revisionists" — academics who contend the Bible was written centuries later than is widely accepted and, that the text has little or no historical relevance — it has been widely dismissed by archaeologists as a political treatise, full of erroneous statements and unsubstantiated claims.
In "Facts on the Ground," Ms. Abu el-Haj suggests Jerusalem was destroyed not by the Romans, but by the Jews themselves due to rising class tensions among them. Yet, the 1st-century historian and scribe Josephus described in great detail the Roman siege of Jerusalem. Additionally, carvings in the Arch of Titus in Rome depict the Roman General Titus showing off menorahs and other objects looted from the Second Temple....