English: Dead Sea Scroll – part of Isaiah Scroll (Isa 57:17 – 59:9), 1QIsa b (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Israel has pulled out of a planned exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls in Germany because officials there have refused to ensure the biblical and archaeological treasures will not be seized.
The Jewish state had asked Germany to provide a guarantee the exhibit would be returned to Israel in the event the Palestinian Authority or the government of Jordan claimed ownership of the antiquities discovered in caves in Qumran, near the Dead Sea.
Twelve years ago, Germany became the first country to exhibit a segment of the scrolls outside the Middle East, according to James Snyder, then director of the Israel Museum.
The Frankfurt Bible Museum announced it has canceled the exhibit scheduled for a September 2019 opening. Its director, Jürgen Schefzyk, said he regretted the German government’s decision, adding that neither Holland nor Austria would have hesitated to issue general immunity guarantees.
According to German news reports, the government guarantee, had it been issued, would have blocked Palestinian or Jordanian authorities from contesting the provenance of the scrolls, which are among the oldest known texts related to the Hebrew Bible.
Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2017/12/germany-wont-recognize-dead-sea-scrolls-belong-to-israel/#le123cACPO7kfqMA.99