Israel has now acquired the last four of seven scrolls of Isaiah found by Bedouins in caves near the Dead Sea whose significance was first realized by the late Prof. Eliezer Sukenik, one of Israel’s fore most archaeologists, Premier Moshe Sharett announced to the press today. The four scrolls were purchased by Samuel Gottesman of the United States and given to Israel through the American Fund for Israel Institutions.
Mr. Sharett announced that the Cabinet had decided that the scrolls will be held in perpetual trust as the property of the nation. The scrolls will be on public view in the Hebrew University, which purchased the first three. The Cabinet named the following board of trustees to be responsible for the scrolls:
President Ben Zvi; Premier Sharett; Minister of Education Ben Zion Dinur; Hebrew University president Prof. J. Klausner; Rabbi Zev Evin, editor of the Talmudic Encyclopedia; Gen. Yigal Yadin, former Army Chief of Staff, archaeologist and son of Prof. Sukenik; Edward Norman, head of the American Fund for Israel Institutions, and Mr. and Mrs. Gottesman.
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