First Person: Antiquities Director Throws BAR for a Loop

On a visit to Jerusalem in June, I spent an hour and a half talking with Amir Drori, director of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), who had just been reappointed for a third term. A former general in the Israeli army, he had relatively little experience in archaeology when he took over 12 years ago and was promptly thrust into the controversy over the release of the Dead Sea Scrolls. At the time, he considered suing me for publishing photos of the unpublished scrolls, but now we chatted easily as friends. My column for this issue was to be a brief report on my interview with Drori. But just as the presses were about to roll, word came from Jerusalem that Drori had resigned. Hold the presses! What had happened between then and now?

Generally tight-lipped, stern, uncommunicative, inarticulate and uncomfortable speaking English, after some prodding during our talk in June, Drori even admitted that his job was “fun.” While he did not seek the new term, he was happy to accept it.