Yehoshua (Shuka) Dorfman (1950 - 31 July 2014) was an Israeli military officer and the Director General of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

Career

Dorfman had practically no formal archaeological training, his academic training being in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, which he studied at Haifa University. He served in a number of military positions, reaching the rank of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. He saw combat in the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...

, the Lebanon War and the Yom Kippur War. As chief artillery officer, he commanded the artillery corps during the Operation Accountability attack against Lebanon. He retired from the IDF in 2000. Dorfman headed the IAA for almost 15 years, from November 2000 until his death in 2014, his tenure as director general having been extended twice. During his time as director, the organization expanded the scope of archaeological rescue excavations of sites threatened by

land development Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways such as: * Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing * Subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpose ...

and construction. He promoted conservation efforts and the development of excavated sites for public access. The director advocated for the use of advanced technology in the field and helped accelerate its implementation in research and conservation. He stressed the archaeological importance of the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nor ...

, and under his tenure, they were digitized and made accessible to the public.

Death

After a long battle with illness, Dorfman died on 31 July 2014. He left behind a wife, Talma, and three sons. He was laid to rest in

Gedera Gedera, or less commonly known as Gdera ( he, גְּדֵרָה), is a town in the southern part of the Shfela region in the Central District of Israel founded in 1884. It is south of Rehovot. In , it had a population of . History Gedera ...

Bibliography

* מתחת לפני השטח: יחסי הגומלין בין פוליטיקה לארכיאולוגיה בישראל (Below the Surface: The Interaction Between Politics and Archeology in Israel)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorfman, Yehoshua 1950 births 2014 deaths Israel Antiquities Authority University of Haifa alumni Israeli military personnel he:יהושע דורפמן