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Getting the Silent Treatment from Public Officials
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 As is well known, Shuka Dorfman, the army general who now serves as director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), will not speak to me. He won’t answer my letters and if I call him on his private line, he will hang up on me as soon as he discovers who is calling.
I was therefore comforted to read that other public officials sometimes do this to journalists they don’t like. A recent (June 21, 2009) story in The Washington Post tells of the chancellor of Washington schools, Michelle Rhee, who won’t speak to The Washington Post reporter who covers the schools. The reason, according to the article, is that Rhee is “unhappy with his coverage.“
My own situation has several similarities to that of The Washington Post reporter. The Washington Post reporter doesn’t really know why Rhee is mad at him. Neither do I know why Shuka is mad at me. (I mean no disrespect by calling him by his first name; everyone calls him Shuka.) “Basically, she just stopped talking to me,” The Washington Post reporter is quoted as saying. “She never gave me a direct explanation.” Ditto with me.
The Washington Post’s editor says, “I think [Rhee] should talk to him.” The article calls Rhee’s reaction “petty and thin-skinned.” “But I also think she’s within her rights to choose not to [speak to the reporter],” said the editor.
Here I think my own situation with Shuka is different. I cannot imagine an Israeli general as either petty or thin-skinned. I suspect Shuka has a deep-seated aversion to some position that BAR has taken.
According to the Post reporter, Rhee’s refusal to talk to him has “cast a chill over people around her.” They are now reluctant to speak to the reporter. Nevertheless, the Post is determined to “recommit itself to the same aggressive, accurate and balanced coverage it would afford any pubic official.”
Here too there are similarities. Archaeologists at the Israel Antiquities Authority are sometimes fearful of writing in their own name for BAR. Shuka is known to be vindictive. They are almost always helpful, however. And we at BAR are determined to cover all significant developments in Israeli archaeology.
Perhaps some day, Shuka will give us his side of this story. The pages of BAR are open to him.
Contacting the Israel Antiquities AuthorityI suggest you try contacting Prof. Benjamin Z. Kedar of the Hebrew University, who is the chairman of the board of directors of the Israel Antiquities Authority. If he too refuces to respond, I suggest writing to the State Comptroller and Ombudsman (Justice Micha Lindenstrauss) and telling him that a national instition refuses to respond to the press. • • • • • • • One-sided DisputationIn every case the one that does not communicate loses in these battles of wits and wills. They yield the bully pulpit to the side that is communicating and thereby lose the advantage. Does this Shuka Dorfman or her staff not understand this? Keep up the even toned questioning of her position and reporting of the factual information as it develops. • • • • • • • Shanks v DorfmanMr. Shanks would like an explanation for the silent treatment. Here's a possibility; it's the difference between the career military mindset and the lawyer/scientist. One is often rigid, and specific outcome-driven, the latter is open and questioning. In extreme cases, the former cannot ever tolerate the latter because of the perceived threat to the objective. That begs the question; what is Mr. Dorfman's desired outcome that's so fragile it must avoid the light of day,the heat of honest debate? • • • • • • • ShukaBiblical Archaeology Review does a great service for people interested in the archaeology and history of the Holy Land. People 'round the world want to know what's going on. We would like to hear from this war hero his views on matters. Every bit of information from the experts is wanted. • • • • • • • Shanks editorialI thought it was obvious: Shanks did not join in on play the game to deny the authenticity of what might have been considered by some as a verification of the existence of Jesus, namely, the bone box of one "James...brother of Jesus." It certainly seemed plain to a lot of outside observers that this is the point where the great division got its start. • • • • • • • |
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