shop 772772.sho.003 Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire

There is evidence that that Dayan was buying antiquities as early as 1956.� But after the 1967 war he started to buy antiquities on a large scale in shops in the West Bank and Gaza, mainly in Jerusalem (Dayan Y. 1986a:142). In Jerusalem alone, Dayan frequented four different shops (Dayan 1978:215); but he also bought from stores and private individuals in Hebron, Nablus, and Gaza. The exact extent of buying is unknown, and the few items detailed below give just an example.�

4.2. �� The Governor of Raphiah. Dayan (1981:246-8; Falk 1985:346-7) bought this stone head for 5,000 Israeli pounds (at that time, a considerable sum; if it was bought in 1971-1975 period, then the amount stood in the range of U$S 700-1200) from Haj �Omar, an antiquities dealer in Jerusalem. The name was given by Dayan, but the head portrays Raamses II, not any local governor; and even the exact place of origin is not certain.� The identification of the Egyptian king was made by Professor R. Giveon of Tel Aviv University: �Giveon was not late in coming. I presented the head to him and waited for his verdict... The head, he said, was excellent. Genuine, Egyptian, and interesting. As far as he knows, it is the only one in such [large] size found in Israel� (Dayan 1981:247-8). Perhaps this explains why, when visiting Bonn on a state mission in 1978, Dayan posed for a picture next to a bust of Raamses II in the Bonn museum (Keller 1978:3).

4.3. �� Neolithic Stone Mask. Dayan bought after 1967 a Neolithic stone mask from an antiquities dealer who lived in �Idna.� He went to the field where the mask was supposedly found by an Arab tractor-driver, and while �running my hands through the upturned earth in this field�, the owner of the field approached him. The last complained that the hired driver got the money, not him, who owes the land, so Dayan compensated him with 50 Israeli pounds. Dayan also learned the tractor-driver had no license- since he had a left eye missing, just like Dayan himself, so Dayan gave the driver a �note� to the Beer-Sheba licensing bureau, asking them to arrange a license, hinting that they should not ignore the power of one eyed-men to see things (Dayan 1978:18-19, photos 19 and frontpiece).� Dayan (1978:20) handed the mask to �experts of the government department of antiquities for their study and confirmation of dating�- but it remained in his property.

4.4. �� An Incense Stand bought after 1967 from Abu Ali, a Bedouin of the Ta�amrah tribe in the Judean desert, supposedly from a burial cave south of Bethlehem. According to Dayan�s story, the vessels were found by Palestinian fighters hiding in the cave. �Antiquities were one thing and terrorists another�, writes the Defense Minister who was in charge of� the war against the latter (Dayan 1978:111).

4.5. �� Ammonite King. Dayan also bought antiquities smuggled from neighboring countries.� �The finest piece of antique sculpture in my Zahala home�- an Ammonite Iron Age II stone head- was smuggled from Jordan and bought by Dayan in Israel.� �When I bought this bust I realized that I had acquired a rare antiquity. But only later did I learn that it could well symbolize the figure of King David, wearing the crown of the King of Ammon� (Dayan 1978:190-192). The completely imaginary relating of this head with King David shows how little Dayan understood archaeology as an academic profession.� The poor Ammonite head was placed on a bookshelf between the Bible on one hand, and works of David Ben-Gurion on the other hand, �for nothing in these books is unknown to it� (Dayan 1978:193; in the English version of the same book, books on �the history, geography and archaeology of the land of Israel� are mentioned). Admiration of Dayan�s �deep knowledge� in archaeology (Y. Dayan in Ornan 1986:9; Y. Dayan 1986b:16-17; Aarons 1982:36) are based on total ignorance of what archaeology should be.

It is often difficult to assess whether Dayan bought something or received it as a gift. When Egyptian Pharaohs speak about gifts, it is often euphemism for trade or political bribe. Dayan used his status to receive �gifts� for which less influential people would have had to pay dearly.� A journalist named Yosef Zuriel documented this during one of Dayan�s shopping visits in East Jerusalem: �A few days after the six days war I received a tip from the police, that Moshe Dayan goes to purchase antiquities in the Old City [Jerusalem]. I went there and he was already in the shop with a little hammer and magnifying glass, surrounded by people and the shopkeeper serving him, bringing him sherds, and vessels, and glass finds. He bought something, they put it in a bag and placed in the Jeep. And then Dayan asked how much is it. The owner of the shop answered, �com�on, leave it�, but Dayan insisted- so did the owner. Finally, Dayan wrote a check for 2500 Israeli pounds (ca. U$S 830 in 1967) and gave it to the owner of the shop. Everybody went but I stayed and asked the owner what was the real price. He says: �Dahilak, he�s the Ministry of Defence, I am keeping the check for souvenir.�� I immediately came to the office and handed the story to the newspaper. Next day I opened it, and nothing. I went to the head of office, Yehoshua Yustman, and asked what happened, and he said that Dissentchnik [the Editor] said: �after this victory [of 1967] Dayan is allowed to make mistakes�� I suppose today it would hit front page. Then journalism meant national responsibility� (quoted in Lori 2002:34).