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Time Magazine Review "Unholy Business"
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:12 am
by Minimalist
The Oded Golan trial in Israel.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... 11,00.html
The extraordinary story of how Israeli detectives built a case against Golan and his alleged cohorts is the subject of Unholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed and Forgery in the Holy Land by Nina Burleigh, a former TIME staffer who now writes for People. In fast, noir-ish prose — imagine Sam Spade in the Holy Land — Burleigh tracks her story through the twilight world of Arab grave robbers and smugglers to the glimmering salon of a billionaire collector in Mayfair whose mission, writes Burleigh, is "proving the Bible true." Past accounts of the James Ossuary are fiercely partisan, written by debunkers or true believers. But Burleigh keeps her balance, and her humor, as she sifts — far more diligently than many archeologists — through the evidence.
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 9:25 am
by Ishtar
Sounds like a good book, Min ... and she's made it accessible to a wider market.
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:17 am
by Minimalist
The sheer brass balls of this guy, Golan, is amazing. The Joash Tablet and the Ossuary, not to mention that this case caused the authorities to look at the ivory pomegranate which had been the only relic ever found from "Solomon's Temple," and declare it to be a forgery as well.
The fact that he was good enough to fool many scholars....probably because he was giving them what they wanted to believe, but still... quite a sophisticated operation.
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:55 pm
by kbs2244
Well, from the flip side:
Remember, like The Da Vinci Code, it is fiction.
It is meant to sell, not to be accurate.
I don’t think Golan is a billionaire.
But he is, or was, well plugged in to the black market.
As such, it is not impossible that he would be the “go to” man if someone found something good.
He had a reputation of paying well for good things.
And that made him a target of the establishment.
All that has nothing to do with if the objects are genuine or not.
She is the one “giving them what they want to hear.”
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 1:08 pm
by Grumpage
Min - you may recall my wail of anguish when you first mentioned this book in a previous thread. This was because I often find myself believing the last book I've read (pathetic or what?) especially when it comes to investigative reporting type books.
In The Jesus Family Tomb (Jacobovici and Pellegrino) a convincing case in Golan's defence is made concerning the James Ossuary. I believed it! Why would I not? Now this Burleigh person is going to make me believe something else. Why should I not? That is, until the next book comes out...
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 2:20 pm
by Minimalist
Yeah but who is going to defend Jacobovici against the charge of being an unabashed charlatan?
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 5:45 pm
by Leona Conner
It's not nice to be mean to the mentally disabled. After all Simcha not only thinks of himself as an archaeologist but a "naked" one at that. All he has to do is open his mouth and he proves just how little he knows. But then, he is out to prove the O.T. is true and he will go to any lengths to do so.
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:37 am
by Grumpage
OK, but that is not my point.
Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2008 9:56 am
by Minimalist
Jacobovici backing Oded Golan is like a crooked stock broker telling you to buy his favorite stock.
Ever seen this detailed review of
The Exodus Decoded? There are links contained for the follow up articles in the series.
http://www.heardworld.com/higgaion/?p=60
By the time you get finished with this segment you'll get the idea that Leona was right. Simcha is an orthodox Jew who has a simple mission. To prove the OT correct. In this, he is out of step with the majority of scholars who don't belong to a Baptist Seminary.
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 2:02 am
by Grumpage
OK, but that is still not my point.
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 10:23 am
by kbs2244
Nor mine
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 3:15 pm
by Minimalist
Grump, the only point I thought you made was that you had a tendency to believe the last book you read.
If that is the case, one has to be careful what one reads.
But really....Simcha Jacobovici? Let me tell you how bad this is. Even the late, unlamented, Arch and I agree about that guy.
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 7:09 am
by Grumpage
Grump, the only point I thought you made was that you had a tendency to believe the last book you read.
If that is the case, one has to be careful what one reads.
You're getting warmer...
Why are you so obsessed with Jacobovici? He has nothing to do with it.
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 9:27 am
by Minimalist
That was the book you mentioned, Grump.
Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:59 pm
by Grumpage
Only as an example relevant to the one you mentioned.