Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Archaeology and the 1948 War
- 2 Abandoned places, new places
- 3 Foreign aid
- 4 Frozen funds
- 5 A battalion of guards
- 6 Relief work
- 7 Man robs his land: “agreement” with General Dayan
- 8 “Gold of Ophir for Beth-Horon”: 3,000 shekels
- 9 The building beyond the border: the PAM, 1948–67
- 10 A building of dreams: a home for the IDAM and the origins of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- 11 A dead man on the council: the story of the supreme archaeological body in Israel
- 12 “But trust comes from the heart”: travels with the Government Tourist Corporation
- 13 “Whether in a courtyard of a synagogue, in a courtyard adjacent to a synagogue, or under a synagogue”: the Safad affair
- 14 The policy of salvage and early Israeli excavations
- 15 Myths and conclusions
- Appendix: other documents from the IDAM files
- Bibliography
- Author index
- Index
4 - Frozen funds
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Archaeology and the 1948 War
- 2 Abandoned places, new places
- 3 Foreign aid
- 4 Frozen funds
- 5 A battalion of guards
- 6 Relief work
- 7 Man robs his land: “agreement” with General Dayan
- 8 “Gold of Ophir for Beth-Horon”: 3,000 shekels
- 9 The building beyond the border: the PAM, 1948–67
- 10 A building of dreams: a home for the IDAM and the origins of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- 11 A dead man on the council: the story of the supreme archaeological body in Israel
- 12 “But trust comes from the heart”: travels with the Government Tourist Corporation
- 13 “Whether in a courtyard of a synagogue, in a courtyard adjacent to a synagogue, or under a synagogue”: the Safad affair
- 14 The policy of salvage and early Israeli excavations
- 15 Myths and conclusions
- Appendix: other documents from the IDAM files
- Bibliography
- Author index
- Index
Summary
The tower of Cairo, a prominent feature by the Nile, epitomizes Egypt's lost architectural identity. No one knows for certain what it is. Built by CIA money, reported to have been a bribe to Abdel-Nasser that he didn't accept, it rises meaninglessly in Cairo's skyline.
Hassan (1998: 212)Data on the “frozen funds” were pieced together from many bits and pieces; the picture is far from complete and the conclusions are tentative. Still, nothing could prepare me for the surprise that US intelligence funds were frozen in Israel and used for Israeli archaeology.
THE IDAM'S DREAMS ABOUT FROZEN FUNDS
I found the first mention of frozen funds in correspondence between Yeivin and Delougaz of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Delougaz was the first American excavator in Israel (in 1953) and he knew Yeivin personally even before the Second World War. The earlier correspondence is missing. On 30 July 1954 Yeivin sent a confidential letter to Delougaz:
Dear Pinhas
I was happy to receive your letter of 28 June and if I have not answered you so far, this time I am free of any guilt. It was owing not to the pressure of urgent work or lack of time, although that also existed, but the need to find out a few details before answering you. Although the things I saw fit to find out had not yet been clarified, salvation and help came from another place and cancelled the need for the above-mentioned searches, as you will see from the continuation of my letter.
Let us start with the most important thing, about the sums frozen in Israel. I immediately applied to the secretary of the Prime Minister, and demanded an urgent interview with the Prime Minister on that matter; but unfortunately it could not be arranged until now, since I have been excavating for three weeks now and come to Jerusalem only on Fridays and Saturdays. Indeed, the Prime Minister has not been available until now. I hope that I will meet him in the near future and ask him to give the right orders to our embassy in Washington.
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- Just Past?The Making of Israeli Archaeology, pp. 90 - 116Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2006