The SPME leadership is interested in the establishment of an archaeology task force to address the use of the archaeological record in connection with the Arab-Israeli conflict. This would be similar to the extant Task Force for Medicine and Public Health, which has served successfully to examine questionable claims in professional journals.

In recent years we have seen controversies about a number of archaeological issues. These include excavations on the Temple Mount and the Al-Haj claims that Jewish connections to Israel and the West Bank were much more limited than has been traditionally believed, and allegations that there has been deliberate suppression of archaeological interpretations supportive of Palestinian claims. The aim of the proposed new task force is to examine such issues through scholarly inquiry and discussion.

The chair of this Task Force will be Dr. Richard S. Laub, of the SPME chapter at the University of Buffalo, and Curator of Geology at the Buffalo Museum of Science. His professional field is paleontology. For the past twenty-five years, however, his research focus (late Ice Age paleontology, paleoecology, and archaeology of eastern North America) has involved archaeological techniques, literature, and collaborations. This has equipped him to appreciate the complexities and pitfalls involved in scientific excavation and the interpretation of results.

SPME invites academic specialists in Near East archaeology and in the various disciplines, techniques and technology used in its interpretation. These colleagues will be expected to keep current with the literature of this field, to communicate their concerns to the group (through the chair), to lend their expertise to investigating questionable scientific claims and literature, and to compose public responses in a timely manner. They will also be expected to collaborate with one another to insure that no one person is unduly burdened, and to benefit the quality of work.

Interested colleagues must be contributing supporters of SPME and should make their donation through Paypal at spme.org/donation.html or send their contribution to SPME c/o Susquehanna Institute, 624 Sandra Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17109-5816. Persons interested in serving on this task force, and willing to commit to its success, are asked to contact both Prof.Laub at laub@buffalo.edu and SPME at .