The Resurrection File (46 page)

Will turned to his client.

“From now until the end of your jury trial—this is when the fur really starts flying,” Will said.

“And I was just thinking of Exodus chapter 14, verse 13,” MacCameron replied.

“What's that?”

“Moses and the Israelites were at the edge of the Red Sea. The Egyptian army, with their chariots and spears, was about to catch up to them, and it looked like they would all be slaughtered,” MacCameron explained with a smile. “But this is what Moses told the people of God.” And then he recited the verse from memory:

Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the L
ORD
which He will accomplish for you today.

From the other side of the courtroom there came the sounds of J-Fox Sherman and his associate attorneys snapping shut their oversized briefcases and gathering their black trial notebooks.

Will looked at his client and said, “I think I hear the Egyptians coming.”

56

T
HE
D
IRECTOR OF THE
I
SRAELI
A
NTIQUITIES
A
UTHORITY
was at his desk, wishing he did not have to take the telephone call. He looked down at the red blinking light on his telephone. His secretary buzzed in to him and reminded him that Undersecretary Kenneth Sharptin of the U.S. Department of State was still waiting on the telephone, and was tired of being kept on hold. The Director had been expecting this call and knew that it required him to exercise extraordinary diplomacy—a daunting task because he would have to disguise his outrage at the State Department's meddling in the internal affairs of Israel.

He grasped the handset, punched the button, and in his warmest and most winning way, began to exchange pleasantries with Sharptin. Yes, the Director told Sharptin, he understood the importance of the call. And he explained that he understood perfectly well that if Undersecretary Sharptin had placed the call himself, it must be a matter of great urgency.

“So, Dr. Reichstad has contacted you?” Sharptin asked.

“Yes,” the Director said. “I spoke to him just a few hours ago.”

“Yet I understand that you were not fully cooperative with his request?”

“To the contrary,” the Director explained, “I was as cooperative as I could be, under the circumstances. But Dr. Reichstad was asking for the
immediate
issuance of a permit for an unprecedented excavation along the walls of Old Jerusalem. These permits take time. I am always amused at the attitude of some American researchers. They must think that, because Israel is the land of Bible miracles, our government agencies can perform supernatural feats. Moses may have parted the Red Sea—but I wonder if his task would have been harder if he had to cut through Israeli red tape.”

“I didn't call to get a taste of your Jerusalem humor,” Sharptin responded bitingly. “I called to make sure that the permit would be issued
immediately
.”

“Mr. Undersecretary, I can assure you we will place a very high priority on this request. As you know, however, I am required by our legal procedures to submit this request for archaeological excavation to our licensing committee for approval. That takes time. Now, Dr. Reichstad and his research center are certainly recognized experts. So the issue of scientific qualifications will not be a problem. But there
is
the issue of—well, how can I put this?—let's just call it ‘religious geopolitics.'”

“That is why I am calling. I am speaking for the United States government when I say that if Israel wants America as a continued ally, then your absolute cooperation will be expected in this excavation. It is just that simple.”

“Mr. Sharptin, you are forcing me to be blunt. So I will be blunt. This is an unprecedented insult—an incredible intrusion by your government, into the internal affairs of the sovereign state of Israel. I know the history of pressure that has been applied to our tiny little country. I am fully aware of the inroads that a past President made into our internal election process and the pressure from your nation for us to comply with Palestinian demands for land, and for the creation of a Palestinian state. But this ploy—this form of diplomatic coercion—is outrageous! I suggest that if you want us to give priority to this permit, then the U.S. Department of State should follow normal diplomatic channels.”

“We've tried. Your ambassador has been stalling. Your prime minister won't take my telephone calls. So I am warning you—if you do not handle this excavation request posthaste, and get it approved
this week,
I will exercise every bit of my influence among the nations of the world, and among antiquities scholars everywhere, to demand your resignation and to embarrass your nation. And make no mistake—my influence is considerable.”

“This week? That is going to be very difficult. Maybe impossible,” the Director responded.

“Dr. Reichstad is engaged in some court hearings in the U.S. next week. We would like the excavation permit to be approved this week, and digging to start over the weekend
before
Dr. Reichstad has to be in court.”

“Yes. The 7QA fragment lawsuit against Angus MacCameron,” the Director noted. “The trial starts on Monday, doesn't it? Before Judge Jeremiah Kaye.”

There was a pause before Sharptin continued.

“It sounds like you know a lot about that case. I would be interested in hearing what you know.”

“Oh, Mr. Sharptin, let's not be naïve. There were some ham-handed attempts to keep the publicity down on that case. But the nation of Israel has a history of gathering intelligence about those things that have an impact on our land, our people, or our future. Just check your Bible. It goes all the way back to Joshua and Caleb.”

“I want this permit for Dr. Reichstad
this week
. And further, I want a waiver of the procedures regarding ancient burial sites. Your own supreme court ruled in 1992 that burial sites can be excavated.”

“That's true,” the Director acknowledged. “But we are also bound by the guidelines issued by our attorney general in 1994. If Dr. Reichstad finds a tomb—that can be excavated as an antiquity. But if they find a corpse in that tomb—well, that is very different. The corpse has to be turned over—at the site of the tomb—to the Ministry of Religious Affairs for reburial. If the corpse is of Jewish descent, then it must be buried in accordance with Jewish law, in a Jewish cemetery.”

“If Reichstad finds a corpse—and I am betting he will—then he is taking that corpse out of that tomb, and back to his lab for examination,” Sharptin stated pointedly.

“That is not going to happen, Mr. Undersecretary. You are not going to goose-step your way into our internal, domestic laws, and demand that we waive them for your pleasure. Besides, while I know that you spent some time over here in your past diplomatic days, I don't think you can possibly imagine what is going to happen with this kind of dig.”

“Do you know who you are talking to?” Sharptin sputtered in a controlled rage.

But the Director kept talking through the undersecretary's tantrum.

“First there will be the reaction of the Palestinians. The eastern, St. Stephen's Gate entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem is right next to a Muslim cemetery. We will be lucky if there aren't full-scale riots over the dig because of that fact alone. And because it is near the Temple Mount, some Palestinian anarchists are going to think that this excavation is just a ploy to start tunneling under the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, and they will want to start a war. Don't you remember the history of riots on the Temple Mount?

“Then there are the ultra-orthodox Jews—our own people. They will object to any digging next to the wall of Jerusalem—and they will want absolute adherence to the laws regarding Jewish corpses. We have had demonstrations, riots, and violence over other burial sites in the past. We've had the grave markers of deceased archaeologists desecrated. But nothing
like this. You have no idea what kind of nuclear bomb this tomb excavation will become.

“And I know what Reichstad is looking for. What if he finds a corpse and says it is
the
Jesus of Nazareth? The apocalyptic groups who want to usher in the End-of-Days violence are going to have a field day with that one. We will have to make that tomb excavation a full-scale military zone.”

There was another pause. Then Sharptin concluded the conversation.

“I look forward to the permit being issued this week. On behalf of the United States, I want to thank you for what I am sure will be your full and complete cooperation.”

After the Director hung up the receiver he rubbed his forehead. He looked up at the ceiling fan for a moment. Then he called to his secretary. “Get the chairman of the Licensing Committee on the line in ten minutes.”

Then he opened his desk and pulled out a little personal notebook of telephone numbers. Under “M” he looked up the word “Mossad,” the name of the Israeli intelligence and espionage service. Under that listing he found the name of an old friend. Next to it was his telephone number.

The Director quickly called that number, and waited for his friend to pick up.

When he heard the voice on the other end, he said, “Nathan, this is Jacob over at the IAA calling. We've got a situation here. A permit request for a highly unusual burial excavation. U.S. Department of State is really putting the pressure on. This thing is an international time-bomb. We could use your help.”

The voice on the other end said, “I keep telling the agency I'm supposed to be in retirement. You know, I am just starting to make some real money in my little art and antiquities shop.” The voice laughed.

“Come on,” the Director responded, “why do you get to retire so young? What are you, fifty-three? Besides, you know that spies never really retire—especially in Israel.”

“So, how do I fit into this ‘situation' of yours?”

“Well,” the Director explained, “we've got Professor Reichstad, the researcher who revealed the 7QA fragment. He's got the backing of the State Department, and he wants to dig up an area where he thinks there is a first-century tomb located. First problem—the site is at the eastern gate, right there at the old Jerusalem wall. And if they uncover the tomb of an ancient Jew—well, you know what that means! The ultra-orthodox will fight to the death over that. And then there is the second little problem—he is proposing to dig right next to a Muslim cemetery. And of course the whole thing is within view of the Temple Mount. That's begging for riots.
And then there is this other little problem—he is going after this burial site because he thinks that is where he can locate the corpse of Jesus and lay waste two thousand years of Christian belief in the resurrection.”

After a pause, the Director asked, “So, what do you think?”

“What you are describing—this is not exactly what I would call a ‘situation,' my friend,” the voice answered.

“Oh? Then what would you call it?”

“I think I would call it—Armageddon.”

57

I
N THE AFTERNOON, FOLLOWING THE COURT
hearing before Judge Kaye, frantic phone calls were made between Will Chambers and his experts, J-Fox Sherman and his experts, and Judge Kaye's court.

By the terms of the judge's order, each group of experts were not only to be given access to both fragments, but they also were to be witnesses to the scientific examination by the opposing side at a “neutral site.” The hot issue was the location of the proper “neutral site.”

Judge Kaye had his clerk call a friend at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The University hastily agreed to make a large laboratory available for several days. It was big enough to house several researchers simultaneously, as well as their equipment. The University officials agreed to pledge absolute secrecy to the project. Sherman insisted on that, and Judge Kaye ordered it.

By the end of the day, Reichstad and two of the scientists from his research center, together with Dr. Giovanni and Bill Kenwood, who was Will's materials engineer, were finally gathered together at the lab room in Baltimore.

An armored car with four armed security guards accompanied Reichstad's delivery of the 7QA fragment. The tiny piece of papyrus was enclosed inside a bullet-proof, vacuum-tight, barometrically controlled glass case.

Angus MacCameron showed up at the laboratory with the 7QB fragment, but with a great deal less technological sophistication. He carried it in a little plastic zip bag, inside a tattered mailing envelope.

The experts all agreed to work in shifts—from seven o'clock until two in the morning for the first shift, and from two until nine in the morning for the second shift. Bill Kenwood would work the first shift for the defense side, with Dr. Giovanni taking over on the second watch for her
examination. Everyone brought cots, sleeping bags, and Thermoses, most of which contained black coffee. Dr. Giovanni brought packets of “stress-relieving” herbal tea.

Will stopped by the office for a few hours that night, and received a few calls from Dr. Giovanni about Bill Kenwood's progress. It was great news, although not unexpected.