Could a new book be in the offing?

How’s this for a proposed new book?:

Yesterday and Today in the Land of Israel: 

How the Middle East Conflict Brings Past and Present Together on the Field of Archaeology

Biblical Archaeology today is more than just an obscure field for academic eggheads, trying to get tenure. It’s a mine field, with implications that may well determine the course of events, geopolitically, for the Middle East and the entire world. It’s exciting enough that there are always “Indiana Jones” adventures lurking in the background, including fantastic new discoveries, as well as age-old discussions about the fate of the Ark of the Covenant, among other things. 

But more than that, there’s the modern struggle to flesh out a “narrative” – a story about the origins of the “holy land” and to whom it belongs. The artifacts of archaeology are more than just museum pieces; they’re the storytellers, witnesses in stone, relating, in unbiased fashion, what the unvarnished truth is behind who lived in this land and when. It’s not surprising then, that modern parties to the Middle East conflict would be locked in dispute about the ownership of the artifacts as well as the land. The bottom line is: Whoever controls the artifacts controls the narrative. And the narrative is what it’s all about. 

This is no small issue, and Israelis are keenly aware of what’s at stake, for archaeology is ultimately about history, and history is the raison d’être for Jews living in this land at all. At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Ph.D. program in Biblical Archaeology is full, with a waiting list to get in. Never mind that the course of study is more grueling than imaginable, requiring proficiency in multiple languages and a good decade of rigorous study. Israelis want to know: Did we just drift through space and time, finally landing here? Or have we been in this land from almost the dawn of civilization? What about Palestinian claims on the land, and attempts to minimize Jewish claims by minimizing the archaeological record? 

The heart of the struggle comes together in Jerusalem, the City of David… Or is it? When and if the battle of Armageddon is ever fought, it may well center on this eternal city. So, perhaps it’s time to dig beneath the surface – quite literally – and discover the truth that the stones have been trying to tell us for so long. Hang on to your fedoras; it’s likely to be a wild ride…