CEO of Israeli organization “Ad Kan” has called for the removal of Tel Aviv University archaeology professor Raphael Greenberg from the upcoming Israeli Archaeology Conference for his commentary on digs in the West Bank, Israel Hayom initially reported on Wednesday.
The organization’s CEO, Gilad Ach, appealed to Israel’s Heritage Minister, Amichai Eliyahu, and the Director General of the Israel Antiquities Authority, ahead of their April 6 conference entering its 49th year.
Ach demanded that Greenberg be removed from the conference after he publicly criticized a conference in the West Bank, sponsored by the Heritage Ministry, calling archaeological endeavors in the area a violation of ethics and international law. In February 2025, Greenberg allegedly called for academics to boycott the conference in an open letter.
His letter led to the Palestine Exploration Fund to also call for a boycott of the conference, claiming a lack of representation for Palestinian institutions in the conference.
Raphael Greenberg is a senior lecturer in archaeology at Tel Aviv University. According to his university profile, his areas of focus include researching the Levantine Bronze Age and analyzing “the meaning and impact of archaeology in the present. ” He has published multiple books on the subject, most recently Archaeology, Nation, and Race: Confronting the Past, Decolonizing the Future in Greece and Israel, published in 2022.
Keep government, academic affairs separate, NGO responds
According to a video posted on social media by right-wing group Im Tirtzu, Greenberg frequently protests at the university and said, “I am not a Zionist,” on camera. In the same video, he held a sign calling to bring the hostages home, end the war, and called for a ceasefire. The person recording immediately called his signs “slogans to defame Israel.”
The Jerusalem Post reached out to Greenberg for comment.
Ach argued that a person who undermines state archaeology should not be given a platform at a state-sponsored event such as this.
The group also argued that because of his affiliation and co-authorship with scholars affiliated with the BDS movement, that this provides a dangerous platform for what they deem as an “anti-Israel” voice within Israel.
Greenberg’s lecture at the conference, organized by the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA), will explore the archaeologization” of Israel in his session, “Archaeology, Nation, and Race,” Israel Hayom reported. The Jerusalem Post reached out to the IAA for comment but has not yet received a response.
Israeli organization Emek Shaveh defended Greenberg, arguing the importance of a variety of thoughts and opinions in the conference, warning against government interference in academic discourse and spaces.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
