A Bizarre Story: The Case Against Raphael Golb
Late last week the New York Times reported an utterly bizarre turn of events in the ongoing academic debate regarding the question of who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls: “Identity Theft Arrest in Dispute over the Dead Sea Scrolls.” Over this weekend the “biblioblogging” world has been all abuzz with the strange saga of Raphael Golb, son of Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Norman Golb of the University of Chicago, who has been the most vocal opponent of the so-called “Essene hypothesis.” This view, supported in one form or another by most scholars in the field, holds that the Jewish group known in classical sources as the “Essenes,” is the sect that composed and collected the library found in caves around Qumran and collectively known to us as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Here is the latest, from the District Attorney’s office, responsible for charging Mr. Golb for misconduct:
NEWS RELEASE from the District Attorney, New York County
March 5, 2009
Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau today announced the
arrest of a 49-year-old man for creating multiple aliases to engage in
a campaign of impersonation and harassment relating to the Dead Sea
Scrolls and scholars of opposing viewpoints.
The defendant, RAPHAEL HAIM GOLB, was arrested on charges of identity
theft, criminal impersonation and aggravated harassment. The crimes in
the Criminal Court Complaint occurred during the period of July to
December of 2008.
The investigation leading to today’s arrest revealed that GOLB engaged
in a systematic scheme on the Internet, using dozens of Internet
aliases, in order to influence and affect debate on the Dead Sea
Scrolls, and in order to harass Dead Sea Scrolls scholars who disagree
with his viewpoint. GOLB used computers at New York University (NYU)
in an attempt to mask his true identity when conducting this Internet
scheme. He gained access to NYU computers by virtue of being a
graduate of the university, and having made donations to its library
fund.
The investigation, which included a court-authorized search warrant
that was executed this morning at GOLB’s apartment, began in response
to a complaint by Lawrence Schiffman, Ph.D., that he was impersonated
over the Internet. Dr. Schiffman is a NYU professor, chairman of the
Hebrew & Judaic Studies Department and a leading scholar in the field
of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
In August 2008, Dr. Schiffman became subject to a campaign of
impersonation and harassment through the Internet, by an anonymous
individual. An investigation by the District Attorney’s Office
revealed that this individual was GOLB, the son of Norman Golb, Ph.D.,
a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar who resides in Chicago. RAPHAEL GOLB used
methods which were intended to maintain his anonymity, and opened an
email account – larry.schiffman @ gmail.com – purportedly in Dr.
Schiffman’s name and sent 11 emails to multiple NYU recipients, in
which he pretended to be Dr. Schiffman, and purported to admit to
plagiarism. Simultaneously, RAPHAEL GOLB, using other Internet
aliases, sent emails to NYU personnel and administration accusing Dr.
Schiffman of plagiarism, and created Internet blogs accusing Dr.
Schiffman of plagiarism.
GOLB also created email accounts in the names of other individuals
active in the field of Dead Sea Scrolls scholarship, including Stephen
Goranson and Jonathan Seidel.
The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of roughly 900 documents, including texts
from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in 11 caves in
and around the ancient ruins of Qumran, on the northwest shore of the
Dead Sea, in present-day Israel. The texts are of great religious and
historical significance, as they include the only known surviving
copies of biblical texts made before 100 A.D., and preserve evidence
of considerable diversity of belief and practice within late Second
Temple period Judaism, the Judaism of the second and first centuries
B.C. and the first century A.D. These manuscripts generally date to
between 150 B.C. and 50 A.D. Publication of the scrolls is now
complete, however it was delayed for many decades.
There is considerable academic scholarship that surrounds the Dead Sea
Scrolls, with areas of general consensus, and with areas of debate and
differing opinions and theories. Because of the importance of the Dead
Sea Scrolls, and because of the delay in publication, the scrolls are
also subject to some conspiracy theories.
Many scholars view the scrolls collection as having been assembled by
an ancient Jewish sect, which many call the Essenes. Furthermore, many
scholars believe that this sect resided in the settlement in Qumran,
in close proximity to the caves where the scrolls were found.
The defendant’s father, Dr. Norman Golb, is a professor at the
University of Chicago. He has been a proponent of the viewpoint that
the Dead Sea Scrolls found in the caves of Qumran had nothing to do
with the buildings and settlement at the Qumran site. He believes that
they were not the product of the Essenes, but of many different Jewish
sects and communities of ancient Israel, who hid the scrolls in the
caves at Qumran while fleeing from Jerusalem.
RAPHAEL GOLB, through his Internet aliases, promoted the theories of
his father and criticized the theories of others. Frequently, he
criticized the manner in which the Dead Sea Scrolls have been
exhibited, for not giving sufficient attention to the theories of his
father.
GOLB is charged with Identity Theft in the Second Degree, a class E
felony, which is punishable by up to 1⅓ to 4 years in prison; Identity
Theft in the Third Degree, Criminal Impersonation in the Second
Degree, Forgery in the Third Degree and Aggravated Harassment in the
Second Degree, all class A misdemeanors, which are each punishable by
up to 1 year in prison. He is scheduled to be arraigned today in
Manhattan Criminal Court.
The investigation is continuing.
The investigation and prosecution of this case is being handled by
Assistant District Attorney John Bandler of the Identity Theft Unit,
under the supervision of Antonia Merzon, Unit Chief. Analyst Sarah
Briglia of the Identity Theft Unit participated in the investigation.
Investigators from the District Attorneys Investigation Bureau,
including Senior Investigator Patrick McKenna and Investigator Ariela
Fisch, participated in the investigation, under the supervision of
Investigation Bureau Chief Joseph Pennisi.
Defendant Information:
RAPHAEL HAIM GOLB, 1/10/1960
206 Thompson Street
New York, New York
Main Office
One Hogan Place
New York, NY 10013
212-335-9000
