The American Jewish Archives Journal, Volume LXI 2009, Number 1

the remainder of the cache. During the first week of February 1948, Sukenik
met with Kiraz in the library of the YMCA building in Jerusalem. Although
they did not agree on a price during that first discussion, Sukenik let the man
know that he would be willing to buy the scrolls for the Hebrew University
but first wanted to study them and to show them to Magnes, the university
president. The scrolls were lent to Sukenik for a few days, during which he did
in fact take them to Magnes with the hope that the meeting might encourage
fundraising efforts to purchase them. 21 By 6 February the funds had not yet
been secured, although assurances had been made, and the scrolls were returned
to Kiraz at the YMCA. The men agreed to be in contact the following week to
plan a meeting at the Yugoslav consulate between the archbishop and Magnes
to negotiate the sale. No letter from the representative was forthcoming. As
Sukenik wrote in his private diary:
Eventually I received a letter informing me that they decided not to sell. They
preferred to wait until the world was once again open to them, and they could
find out the market price. I later discovered what happened. Some two weeks
after I returned the scrolls one of the Syrian priests had gone to the American
School of Oriental Research and had met some of its members. The Americans
had managed to obtain permission to photograph and publish the scrolls,
assuring the priest that they would be able to get a far higher price for the
scrolls in the United States. 22
Only in early June did Sukenik come to know of the activities at ASOR. 23 It is
imaginable that the events surrounding the establishment of the State of Israel,
along with the excitement of studying the previously purchased materials, had
distracted the Hebrew University faculty from its pursuit. Correspondence
between Magnes and Burrows suggests that ASOR was completely unaware
that Hebrew University had been in discussion to buy the scrolls from St.
Mark’s Monastery; the archbishop had assured them that he had no immediate
intention of selling and had planned to bring the scrolls to the United States
for study. As Burrows noted:
The news that Professor Sukenik is negotiating for the purchase of the manuscripts
belonging to the Metropolitan of St. Mark’s Convent is both surprising
and puzzling. For one thing, I wonder how under present circumstances they
are able to communicate. Beyond that, I am surprised that the Metropolitan
would consider selling his manuscripts at this time. He definitely assured us
that he had no intention of selling them, that he wanted us to publish them
for him, and that, if he should consider selling them, he would make our
right to publish them a condition of sale. 24
Further, the agreement between ASOR and the archbishop was that even if the
scrolls were sold, ASOR was to retain the publishing rights. Burrows suggested
4 • American Jewish Archives Journal