Janet Lahr Lewis is a
missionary with the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church
serving in the Middle East as liaison between ecumenical groups.
From her biography:
Focusing on advocacy and
activism, Janet's responsibilities are numerous. She is the main contact for
VIM teams and United Methodist visitors who wish to follow the recommendation
of the General Conference to spend a significant amount of time in the area
with local Christians, acting to make those connections with UMC partner
organizations.
In an essay entitled “Remember
al Nakba too” published this week at the United Methodist Website, Janet has written
“Israel has even gone so
far as to destroy archaeological artifacts in an effort to wipe out evidence of
non-Jewish cultures, except Roman, throughout history in the region.”
This is a grotesque
inaccuracy (in an essay full of gross inaccuracies), and is particularly
abhorrent in light of Israel’s painstaking and meticulous efforts at protecting
and documenting its rich archaeological legacy.
The Archaeological Survey of Israel was established in 1964 with the goal of creating a comprehensive archaeological study of the land
. It is one of the largest scientific
projects ever undertaken in the country and has
lead to the creation of an online database which documents over 15,000 archaeological
sites.
During the 50th anniversary of the survey
Dr. Ofer Sion, head of the
Antiquities Authority Surveys Department, noted the unusual nature of the
archeologists’ ongoing work...
“Sometimes the surveyors
rappel into ancient caves, or even scuba dive in the sea to gather information,”
he said.
“Without the survey we would
know nothing about the history of the country.
”Who would know about the
famous site at Gamla, the monastic sites, the ancient life in the desert or the
hiding refuges and the story of the zealots and rebels in Judean Desert caves?”
Janet is stationed in the
region. Could it be possible that she has never gone
to the Israel Museum, or to any of the myriad of archaeological sites in
Israel?
Could it be possible that she
has never picked up a National Geographic to read about the tombs of the early
Natufians?
Has she never heard about the
magnificent bronzes and ivories of Israel’s Chalcolithic Period?
Hasn’t she picked up a
newspaper or read online about the recent discovery of a cache of coins from the period of Alexander the great?
Janet Lahr Lewis writes:
Ironically, there apparently is no written
set of standards similar to those in engineering, for example, by which
archaeologists can be held accountable.
Whether the issue with Janet Lahr Lewis of the United Methodist Church is one of bias or
blindness, the end result is the same- a hateful, inaccurate and dishonorable screed.
