Among hundreds of academics internationally, David Ilan was one of a handful of Israeli archaeologists who agreed to sign a petition protesting archaeological excavations in the City of David, the most ancient part of Jerusalem. We invited him to write a column on his views in an effort to give a forum to different viewpoints in our pages.

In BAR we try to stay out of politics, except insofar as it affects archaeology, although we may not always be successful. Ilan’s column (below), however, crosses the line into pure politics. It is not so much about the archaeology in the City of David as it is …