The Politics of Israeli Archaeology: Between ?Nationalism? and ?Science? in the Age of the Second Republic

Abstract

DEATH IS POLITICAL, NO LESS SO in the past than in the present, and ancient burials are even more symbolic and powerful than modern burials. How the dead are treated in Israel today is a result not just of religious beliefs, but of the interplay of religion, politics, and economics. The archaeology of death is therefore a useful avenue for examining the position of archaeology as a whole in Israeli society. This study is directed by several questions. The first question concerns the role of archaeology in the social and political dynamics of Israeli society. More specifically, how does archaeology fit into evolving social values and the politics of religious minorities? This is contextualized in terms ofArian's 'first republic' and 'second republic' distinction. Second, how can we understand religious minority opposition to archaeology within 'second republic' politics? Since, even in a small society such as Israel, the concept and practice of archaeology is broad, our focus will be on the now supremely sensitive issue of mortuary remains, an issue at the intersection of personal, religious and social values. How does the Israeli experience compare with that of religious or other minorities in different societies? Third, what are the implications of archaeology's changing place in understanding Israeli identity and social memory? Whereas the social history of archaeology has become an important topic globally', for Israel these issues generally remain incompletely addressed.2 While the relationship of archaeology to nationalist projects is fairly direct, this study demonstrates that attitudes toward archaeology are strongly conditioned by the balance of prevailing collective and individualist values, and, in turn, minority group politics. Being features of