From the Press

Our publication of the first fascicle of the secret Dead Sea Scrolls, reconstructed by Professor Ben-Zion Wacholder and Martin Abegg of Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, received worldwide press coverage. The New York Times and the Washington Post ran their stories on the front page. TV and radio—from CNN to MacNeil/Lehrer—gave the story extensive coverage. Time and Newsweek also ran articles.

What is perhaps most surprising is that both the New York Times and the Washington Post published editorials on the subject that expressed the almost universal reaction. We are pleased to reprint these editorials for our readers who may have missed them.

Among the few dissenting voices was that of John Strugnell, who, until recently, served as chief editor of the scroll publication team. He accused us of stealing. My reply, published on the op-ed page of the New York Times, is also reprinted here.