God's Gold

A quick note, even though the topic isn't really political. (Or is it?)

I enjoyed immensely the most recent episode of The History Channel's series Digging For the Truth. The episode, titled "God's Gold," told the fascinating story of Dr. Sean Kingsley's search for the sacred relics looted from King Solomon's Temple, including the great menorah depicted on the Arch of Titus. Kingsley is a bona fide scholar, not a Dan Brown-ian fictionist, and his thesis struck me as plausible. I have yet to read his book, but hope to do so soon. (Incidentally, he has wise things to say about the dangers posed by modern-day "Temple Mount" fetishists.)

Bottom line: Kingsley believes that the treasure may now rest in the Monastery of Theodosius, a Christian "fortress" in the strife-torn West Bank. (I wonder: Where do those monks get their egg-and-cheese money?) And even though Kingsley and the History Channel crew had received permission to enter, when they arrived at the heavily-fortified door, they were told to shoo.

"No visit, no visit," spat a girlish, high-pitched voice from within. All very undignified and anti-climactic.

I couldn't stop laughing. We've seen this exact same scene before, at the end of an exactly similar quest:

"Go away, you daffy English ka-niggits. Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!"

Brother Girlyvoice played it wise. What if the cameras had caught sight of that menorah in that monastery? How many days -- hours -- would pass before the IDF came knocking on the monks' door?