Israel to Renovate the Rockefeller Museum—Will Its Palestinian History Finally Be Acknowledged?

The Rockefeller Archaeological Museum in East Jerusalem is closed amid the ongoing war, but that hasn’t stopped Israel from pursuing plans to transform the landmark located just outside Herod’s Gate along the Old City walls. The Government Housing Administration, part of Israel’s Ministry of Finance, is currently deliberating plans to renovate the historic site after the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which had been headquartered in the museum, relocated in October 2023.

The museum holds a significant collection of antiquities found during the Colonial British Mandate (1919–48).

Options for the renovation include turning it into a museum on Jerusalem’s history, operated by the Tower of David Museum; combining it into a café, hotel, and observation point; bringing it under the purview of the IAA; or allowing the Elad Association—a settler organization notorious for using archaeology to displace Palestinians and erase Palestinian culture—to take it over.1

Elad is currently developing a whole cluster of major projects that would bring a Judeo-centric, “Disney” branding to Jerusalem, such as a cable car, suspension bridge, and massive tourist complex just outside the Old City walls. 

The Government Housing Administration did not respond to Jerusalem Story’s requests for comment on renovation efforts.

In addition to changing the museum complex, archaeologists are concerned that Israeli forces may transfer antiquities found in Gaza during the ongoing war to the museum. International law forbids the invading party from removing cultural property from the embattled territory,2 but Israel is doing so regardless.

On January 21, the director of the IAA, Eli Eskozido, shared a video on social media depicting Israeli soldiers examining a collection of antiquities housed in a storeroom in Gaza. The storeroom belongs to the École Biblique et Archéologique Française, which has been conducting archaeological excavations and restoration projects in Gaza in collaboration with local Palestinian archaeologists for decades.3 The artifacts were subsequently removed from Gaza and displayed in the Knesset in Jerusalem.4

According to Emek Shaveh, an Israeli nonprofit working to prevent the politicization of archaeology, the IAA recommended the military temporarily move the collection, with the IAA’s assistance, to the Rockefeller Museum compound due to “concerns over theft and destruction.”5

In a statement to Jerusalem Story, the IAA clarified that it is not moving the items and that it has contacted the École Biblique about transferring the artifacts out of Gaza to protect them. “There is no intention to transfer these findings to the Rockefeller Museum—neither to a different place under the responsibility of the Israel Antiquities Authority. This was an initial idea that became irrelevant after a short inspection,” the IAA said.6

Whatever the reason for transferring the Gaza artifacts, experts attest that moving them is in violation of international law. Article 5 of the 1954 Hague Convention7 and the 1970 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention8 prohibit transferring cultural property out of occupied territory. 

This violation has historic precedent. In 1967, when Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the IAA and the Israel Museum began managing the property and changed its name from the Palestinian Archeological Museum to the Rockefeller Museum.9 They also transferred artifacts displayed in the museum, like the Dead Sea Scrolls, to the Israel Museum in West Jerusalem. A small portion was also moved to the Jordan Museum.10 After 1967, an Israeli flag was raised on either side of the Rockefeller Museum’s entrance, giving the falsified impression that it is an Israeli institution despite its being located on occupied Palestinian land.

In 2016, Israel’s Supreme Court even ruled that Israeli law prevails over international law in a case involving the museum. Emek Shaveh petitioned the court over the IAA’s decision to transfer the museum’s archaeological library, as well as other artifacts, to West Jerusalem. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal and ruled that the IAA is permitted to move items from the museum to West Jerusalem.11

“The Supreme Court further claimed that the Israeli law in East Jerusalem overrides international law, which prohibits the removal of cultural property from occupied territories,” Emek Shaveh wrote in its press release on the matter.12

Jerusalem Story reached out to IAA to ask if the library was fully moved yet, but did not receive a response.

As Israeli authorities planning the renovation wrestle with what to do with the Rockefeller Museum, preserving the site’s Palestinian history is not one of their concerns.