The Israel Exploration Society announced Wednesday that it was postponing its annual conference that was scheduled for Thursday due to political interference from Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu.
“Due to the interference of political representatives and the situation it created, we have no choice but to postpone the conference that was supposed to take place tomorrow, April 3, 2025,” read a message posted on the society’s website. “Additional updates and details will be sent out as soon as possible.”
Dozens of Israeli archaeologists from all major universities and research centers in the field of archaeology were scheduled to speak at the event, which was supposed to be hosted at the headquarters of the Israel Antiquity Authority (IAA) in Jerusalem.
Eliyahu, however, objected to the participation of Tel Aviv University archaeologist Raphael Greenberg, who also serves as the chairman of the board of Emek Shaveh, an Israeli organization that describes its mission as “protecting ancient sites as public assets that belong to members of all communities, faiths, and peoples.”
“I will not let the wild weeds in academia who are working to promote boycotts of their fellow archaeologists spit into the well of the heritage of the people of Israel where they drink,” Eliyahu, a member of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, wrote on X. “I have instructed the Israel Antiquities Authority to cancel Prof. Rafi Greenberg’s participation in an important conference due to his activities. I welcome the diversity of opinions but will not allow boycott and harm to the state with state funding or participation.”
According to Emek Shaveh, Eliyahu referred to an open letter written by Greenberg against participating in a February conference focused on archaeology in the West Bank. Described as the first “International Conference on Archaeology and Site Conservation of Judea and Samaria” (the biblical name of the West Bank), the event was organized, among others, by the Heritage Ministry, the Staff Officer for Archaeology in the Civil Administration, Bar Ilan University and Ariel University in the northern West Bank.
“You must also be aware that Israel and the settlers whom you have joined have weaponized archaeology in Jerusalem and the West Bank, using it as a lever to dispossess Palestinians and enlarge the settler footprint,” Greenberg wrote in the letter. “Perhaps you have been told that the conference has no political content. Well, that is at best disingenuous and at worst mendacious.”
“When morally compromised scholars claim that the field of science is a value-free area, it should make us stop and think,” he added.
At the Israel Exploration Society Conference, Greenberg was set to deliver an address about the “archaeologization” of the Land of Israel, in a session devoted to archaeology and politics.
Several scholars from Ariel University were also set to speak.
Emek Shaveh praised the organizers’ decision to postpone the event.
“Rather than comply with the minister’s attempt to interfere in academic content, the congress organizers made the difficult but principled decision to cancel the event altogether,” the organization wrote on X. “This was not an easy decision — but when political actors attempt to dictate scholarly discourse, clear and firm responses are essential. Kudos to the archaeological community for standing up for the independence of scientific archaeology and academic freedom more broadly.”
Eliyahu said he was surprised by the move.
“We will not fund or give a platform to any entity that acts against the State of Israel,” he commented on X after the announcement that the event would not take place. “I regret the puzzling decision of the organizers of the important conference to cancel it, even though it could have been held, and to disappoint lovers of heritage and archaeology.”
At press time, the Israel Antiquity Authority had not responded to a request for comment.