How old are the Dead Sea Scrolls? Carbon-dating project to offer answers

ROSSELLA TERCATIN

The project and some preliminary results were presented at a conference at the university last week: while in many instances, some scrolls might be more ancient than previously thought.

A fragment from the Dead Sea Scrolls that underwent genetic sampling to shed light on the 2,000-year-old biblical trove is shown to Reuters at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) laboratory in Jerusalem June 2, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS/RONEN ZEVULUN)

A new project combining carbon-14 dating and digital paleography might soon solve the riddle of the age of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The initiative, carried out at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, marks the first time in decades that a significant number of Dead Sea Scrolls fragments have undergone radiocarbon dating.

The scholars are still working on publishing their findings in an academic journal, but the project and some preliminary results were presented at a conference at the university last week.

In many instances, the new model confirmed the assessment of earlier researchers that some scrolls might be more ancient than previously thought.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are a corpus of some 25,000 fragments unearthed in caves on the shores of the Dead Sea in the 1940s and 1950s. The artifacts include some of the most ancient manuscripts of the Bible, other religious texts that were not accepted in the canon and nonreligious writings.
Carbon-14, or radiocarbon, dating is a method of age determination that depends upon the decay to nitrogen of radiocarbon (carbon-14).

Because of the destructive nature of the analysis, which requires sacrificing a sliver of the parchment, the Antiquities Authority (IAA) has been very hesitant to allow this kind of research. The IAA is tasked with preserving the fragments.

A major carbon-14 project on some 14 fragments was carried out at the beginning of the 1990s.

Over the past few years, major technological advances have significantly reduced the impact of certain kinds of analysis on the physical preservations of the scrolls. As a result, the IAA, whose mission is to find the right balance between new research and the preservation of the scrolls for posterity, has allowed scholars to perform new work.

Some 30 scrolls have been subjected to the University of Groningen’s project. The results of 25 of them have been used to train a specific algorithm carrying out the paleographic analysis of the collection.
Paleography is the study of ancient or antiquated writings and inscriptions. In the case of the Dead Sea Scrolls, it has been crucial to date the artifacts, which according to most scholars, date between the third century BCE and the first century CE.

However, several uncertainties have remained.
“When it comes to dating the manuscripts, there is the problem that for most of the period, we have no internally dated manuscripts, and the few that we have date from the outer ends of the timescale,” Prof. Mladen Popović, the head of Groningen’s Qumran Institute and the leader of the project, said at the conference.

During the course of their research, the scholars discovered that some of the manuscripts they had already considered were more ancient than previously thought. The development might have major implications for the field.

They also realized that the scribal practices developed in a less-standardized and consistent manner than earlier experts had envisioned.
“With regard to dating the manuscripts, the data from our model shows that there was not a nice continuous progression and development of characters, but rather that sometimes there was a lot of development and sometimes not so much,” Popović said. “The characters were not developing in a linear homogeneous manner throughout these periods.”

“Our paleographers will say that they can date Dead Sea Scrolls with a precision of 25 to 50 years’ date range, and [the research] is yet to substantiate their model,” he said. “Pending new data in the future, we dare say that we have a model that works consistently and is able to date manuscripts with an empirically based precision that was not possible before. This is a huge advance for the field.”

THE STRATEGIC CONSEQUENCES OF BENNETT’S MEGALOMANIA

Caroline Glick

The government about to be formed will be the weakest and most radical in Israeli history — a diplomatic and military catastrophe that will threaten Israeli democracy.
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There is little point at this stage of the game in mentioning the depths of moral depravity and treachery into which Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked have descended. Now, as the two self-proclaimed “leaders” of the ideological right defect from the nationalist camp and form a leftist government supported by pro-Hamas Arab parties, the time has come to discuss the strategic and national consequences of their actions.

The place to begin the discussion is by noting that ministers that support the Biden administration’s Middle East policies will hold an absolute majority in the leftist government Bennett and Shaked are now intent on forming.

The Biden administration’s commitment to returning the United States to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran leads only in one direction. Biden’s Iran policy guarantees that Iran will achieve its goals of regional hegemony and membership in the nuclear club.

The 2015 deal facilitates Iran’s return to the global market and provides billions of dollars in cash payments to the regime in the form of sanctions relief and reparations. With these funds and lines of credit, the regime in Tehran will deepen its control over Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Iran will expand its war against Saudi Arabia while compelling the Gulf States and Jordan to bend to its will. The Khomeinist regime will then turn its sights on Egypt and work to oust the Sisi government and replace it with the Muslim Brotherhood. As for Iran’s program to develop a nuclear arsenal, the 2015 deal lifts all limitations on Iran’s nuclear activities by 2030 and legitimizes Iran’s nuclear weapons program. In other words, Iran will develop a nuclear arsenal and will declare itself a nuclear power sometime between now and 2030.

The administration’s claim that it will negotiate a “longer and stronger” nuclear deal with Iran after it returns the United States to the 2015 deal that paves the way for Iran to become a nuclear-armed regional hegemon is completely unfounded. Iran will have no interest in negotiating anything further, so it won’t.

The leftist government that Bennett and Shaked are about to form will not be able to oppose Biden’s policies because most of its cabinet ministers support those policies. And this spells the demise of the Abraham Accords. The rationale for those peace deals is Arab faith in Israel’s willingness to confront Iran even in defiance of the United States. Once that is gone, the Abraham Accords will be dead in the water.

The leftist government that Bennett and Shaked are now forming will guarantee that the Palestinian Authority will complete its seizure of Area C, endangering Israel’s strategic interests and imperiling its communities in Judea and Samaria. Most of the members of the government object to any steps to secure Israel’s rights and strategic interests in the areas. Not only are they themselves ideologically committed to undermining Israel’s rights in Judea and Samaria. They will never dare to defy the Biden administration, which supports Palestinian land theft.

Under the leftist government, Hamas will rebuild its military capabilities in a matter of months. With the economic and political support from the Biden administration, the European Union and the United Nations, Hamas will be able to import all the building materials and other dual-use products it requires, without limitations. Any chance that Israel will object to this state of affairs will dissipate with the formation of the government. Here too, a majority of the cabinet members support the U.S. plan to “rebuild Gaza” for “humanitarian” reasons.

And if Hamas—as can be expected—renews its campaign against Israel, the government will not dare to fight back because it will be dependent on the support of the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned United Arab List to survive. The UAL will bring down the government if it even thinks about lifting a finger to protect Israel against Hamas.

Beyond the diplomatic and military catastrophe that the leftist government will foment, there’s also the issue of Israeli democracy. A large majority of the ministers in the leftist government now being formed support eternalizing the legal fraternity’s seizure of power over the Knesset and the government.

The radical justices of the Supreme Court and attorneys in the Attorney General’s office and state prosecution will exercise unchallenged authority over all aspects of public life. All chance of restoring the powers of Israel’s elected leaders and returning sovereignty to the people will disappear the minute this government is sworn into office.

It doesn’t matter what “Prime Minister” Bennett and his chorus of “advisers,” say in defense of their betrayal of their voters, their political camp, and their word of honor. The facts are what they are. Bennett, Shaked and their lackeys are poised to form the weakest and most radical government Israel has ever known. You don’t need to be a prophet to understand the consequences of their actions.

This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.

News from Israel – June 3, 2021

ILTV Israel News

‘Unorthodox’ Stars Shira Haas, Amit Rahav Take Home Wins at Independent Spirit Awards

Shiryn Ghermezian

Shira Haas in “Unorthodox.” Photo: YouTube screenshot.

The two Israeli lead actors of the Netflix mini-series “Unorthodox” both picked up wins at the 36th annual Film Independent Spirt Awards on Thursday.

Shira Haas — who plays an ultra-Orthodox woman fleeing Brooklyn’s Satmar community in the 2020 Netflix drama — won the award for Best Female Performance in a Scripted Series at the virtual ceremony, hosted by “Saturday Night Live” cast member Melissa Villaseñor. Amit Rahav, who stars as Haas’ husband in “Unorthodox,” took home the win for Best Male Performance in a Scripted Series.

Both actors appeared shocked by the win in videos shared on social media. Haas said in her acceptance speech that she was “not expecting” to take home the award, while Rahav wrote in an Instagram post that he is extremely honored by the award and added “Thank you thank you thank you! never going sleep again.”

This is the first year that the Independent Spirit Awards included TV/streaming categories.

Based on Deborah Feldman’s 2012 memoir, “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots,” the four-episode mini-series circulates around Haas’ character Esty Shapiro, who feels constrained by her strict religious upbringing in Brooklyn and the pressures of marriage, and eventually leaves for Berlin.

Haas has been nominated for an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her performance in the show.

Netflix’s “Immigration Nation,” a documentary series about the migrant crisis in the US that was co-directed and co-produced by Israeli filmmaker Shaul Schwarz, also took home a win, for Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series.

Your News from Israel – May 31, 2021

ILTV Israel News