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Review content:
The museum is a nice place, but one must question the ethical conduct of its directors in putting on a biased and misleading exhibit, in which the current state of research has been carefully distorted to cater to influential members of the old Dead Sea Scrolls monopoly group, one of whose members (John Strugnell) had a series of famous antisemitic outbursts some fifteen years ago. \r
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In a word, the museum (which, incidentally, is run by the N. C. Department of the Environment) agreed to downplay and conceal the evidence brought to light by Jewish researchers who have rejected the old ""Qumran-Essene"" theory of scroll origins, and to physically exclude them from participating in the lecture series accompanying the exhibit. \r
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See, e.g., University of Chicago historian Norman Golb's editorial, ""Take Claims about DSS with a Grain of Salt"" (it is easily googled). \r
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Since the museum is a state-run institution, the role of government officials in displaying religiously controversial artifacts must also be addressed. Is it appropriate for a N. C. government agency to take sides in an acrimonious scholarly dispute while entertaining people with a religiously oriented exhibit in, of all places, a natural sciences museum?\r
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Is there any accounting of how this exhibit was funded, and of where the profits ($22 per ticket) will be going?\r
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This is, of course, a serious issue that should be carefully examined by the media. Instead, we have silence, viciously implied innuendo about Jewish culture coming from N. C. authorities (including an antisemitic insinuation on the museum's website), mendacious claims about a fabricated ""consensus"" that no longer exists, and a continuing pattern of catering to vested interests. \r
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For further information on this propaganda masquerading as an exhibit, previously dished out to the public in various private ""science"" museums around the country, see, e.g., R. Dworkin's article on ""The Ethics of Exhibition"" (this is also easily googled).
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