Violence against IAA workers is not a new problem, but it appears to be increasing. The Authority's cars have been torched, and excavation sites have been damaged. Amir Drori, director of the IAA, regularly receives death threats to himself and his family. Ultra-Orthodox activists claim that a similar curse brought on the illness that ended the life of archaeologist Yigal Shiloh, who died in 1987, at age 50, while excavating Jerusalem's City of David. He says he feels no guilt for the resulting threats.
Morale is low, say many archaeologists and physical anthropologists.
People are incredibly upset. Everyone talks about it. Everyone who works here is depressed. Drori himself, a gruff-voiced former general, appears determined to show a stiff upper lip and insists he is not bothered by the curses and attempts on his life. But the problems archaeologists face are much greater than just routine violence.