On January 6, 2023 JNS reported "American and Palestinian officials gathered on Thursday at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in Bethlehem for what was described as “the historic repatriation of a rare Palestinian cultural object.”
"During that ceremony, the Department of Homeland Security’s investigative arm (Homeland Security Investigations) delivered a 2,700-year-old cosmetic spoon to the Palestinian Authority. The ancient tool is carved from ivory and has an etched winged figure into its front side. It was used to ladle incense onto fires and braziers at rites venerating idols, gods and the dead.
"P.A. Minister of Tourism Rula Maayah welcomed the U.S. delegation. “This artifact is important as it acquires its real scientific and archaeological value in its authentic location,” Maayah said. “The artifact that is being delivered today is a cosmetic tool that was used to pour incense and it dates to the Assyrian civilization 700-800 BC.”
"Modern definitions of “Palestine” only began to emerge in the mid-19th century. It would not be until the mid-20th century—two decades after the birth of the State of Israel—that Arabs in the disputed territories would begin to show signs of [an acquired distinctive] national identity ]and decide to self-title themselves "Palestinians", although they are actually simply Arabs who live today in what was first called "Palestine" by the ancient Romans..]
"The artifact was seized from Jewish-American billionaire Michael Steinhardt as part of a criminal probe in New York. As part of a deal to avoid prosecution, Steinhardt agreed in late 2021 to turn over $70 million worth of stolen antiquities that authorities claim were illegally 'acquired in Israel..'"
Article 1 of the Palestinian National Charter of 1968 declares "Palestine is the homeland of the Arab Palestinian people; it is an indivisible part of the Arab homeland, and the Palestinian people are an integral part of the Arab nation."
As the Palestinian Arabs themselves declare in their charter "the Palestinian people are an integral part of the Arab nation", the Arabs only conquered Judea from the the Byzantine Empire in 636 CE in the Battle of Yarmouk. The Assirian Empire ended in 609 BCE in the Battle of Carchemish, more than 1200 years before the Arabs appeared on the scene..
Biden's officials absurdedly claim that an Assirian archaelogical object smuggled from Israel is a "Palestinian cultural object”.
Arabs arrived in Judea 1200 years after the destruction of the Assirian Empire, Jews on the contrary have many recorded non-biblical (of which there are many) interactions with the Assyrians, including clay tablets found in Nineveh about the siege of Jerusalem in King Hezekiah's time.
Historian and archaelogist Robert Holmes explained in the Collector "In 631 BCE, the great king of the Assyrian Empire, Ashurbanipal (c.669-631 BCE), died of natural causes. During his reign, the Assyrian Empire expanded to its greatest extent. It was possibly the largest empire the world had ever seen, and its capital city of Nineveh was probably the largest city on earth. As was common throughout the history of the Assyrian Empire, Ashurbanipal’s son and successor, Ashuretillilani, was met with opposition when he ascended the throne. A conspiracy of Assyrian generals and officials was crushed relatively quickly. During this brief civil war, several of the Assyrian Empire’s vassal kings took the chance to exert their independence and extend their territory. King Josiah of Judah, for example, conquered the city of Ashdod and settled some of his people in the region..."
"...The Egyptian Pharaoh Psamtik I died in 610 BCE and was succeeded by his son Necho II. After the fall of Harran, Ashur-uballit II and Necho II attempted to retake the city in 609 BCE as part of a joint operation. However, they were unsuccessful as Necho II’s army was held up by King Josiah of Judah. Although the Judeans were eventually defeated, and Josiah was slain, the delay prevented the Egyptians and Assyrians from recapturing Harran. As such, 609 BCE is traditionally held as the end of the Assyrian Empire..."
Furthermore, while absurdedly claiming that Assirian arrchaelogy acquired in Israel is "Palestinian" is ludicrous, it is not only a historical impossibility, it is also absurd because according to Islam, Assiyrian archaeology must be destroyed.
On April 13, 2015 CNN reported "ISIS continues to bulldoze its way through the cultural heritage of Iraq and Syria, releasing a new propaganda video showing its fighters destroying Iraq’s ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud in March. Nimrud lies close to ISIS’ main stronghold in Iraq, the northern city of Mosul. The video, which ISIS posted Saturday, shows militants attacking the more than 3,000-year-old archaeological site with sledgehammers and power tools before finally using explosives to blow it up. The United Nations has previously described such deliberate cultural destruction as a war crime, but in the Nimrud footage the ISIS militants appear proud of their actions. After an earlier video apparently showing the destruction of artifacts at Mosul Museum, an unnamed fighter explains: 'These antiquities and idols behind me were from people in past centuries and were worshiped instead of God. When God Almighty orders us to destroy these statues, idols and antiquities, we must do it, even if they’re worth billions of dollars.'”
On March 28, 2015 the New York Times reported "The Islamic State has said that the historical objects and sites it destroyed were heresy to its ideology, which is rooted in Wahhabism."
So here we have it: Biden's officials absurdedly call an Assyrian archaelogical object acquired in Israel a "rare Palestinian cultural object,” although Assyria was an ancient, idol worshipping world power which conquered what is today Israel until its empire fell, and whose people are in no way the antecedents of the Arabs from the Arabian desert who arrived 1200 years later - while Islamists destroy Assyrian archaeology in Mesopotamia claiming it is "heresy."
Ezequiel Doiny is author of "Obama's assault on Jerusalem's Western Wall"