Heritage Minister taps new Antiquities Authority head with no archaeological experience

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu, of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, taps Esther Shreiber, a Jewish professional with no archaeological experience, as the new head of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

“The Israel Antiquities Authority safeguards within it the physical evidence of our existence as the biblical people who returned to their land. When we embarked on this path, I was guided by a vision that demands we move from managing antiquities lying in storage rooms to creating a living, breathing mechanism of heritage stories,” Eliyahu says in a statement. “Esti Shreiber is the right person to lead this vision.”

According to the statement, the appointment will soon be brought before the Israel Antiquities Authority Council and the government for approval.

The ministry statement says that Shreiber holds a bachelor’s degree in Jewish history and cognitive science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a master’s degree with honors in public administration and policy from the University of Haifa.

In her more recent position, she was the CEO of the INEXTG group, managing “an annual budget of approximately 100 million shekels” and overseeing “an organizational structure comprising around 700 employees.”

A website for “Israel’s Next Generation: INEXTG” for an organization that promoted Jewish identity among Israeli teens, soldiers, and students appears to be no longer active. Asked whether the statement refers to the same organization, a ministry’s spokesperson responds that he does not know.

A report by Haaretz states that Shreiber heads the Israeli branch of the organization, with a budget of approximately NIS 20 million. The Israeli branch also does not appear to have an active internet presence.

No other former professional positions held by Shreiber are mentioned in the statement.

The IAA has an annual budget of hundreds of millions of shekels and employs around 800 people.

According to the ministry, Shreiber was selected by a search committee chaired by Heritage Ministry Director-General Itai Granek, and also included Prof. Joshua Schwartz, Emeritus Professor of Historical Geography of Ancient Israel at Bar-Ilan University, former Wix EMEA General Manager Batsheva Moshe, former Rehovot Municipality Director-General Moshiko Erez, and IAA senior archaeologist Avi Salomon.

A source familiar with the process tells The Times of Israel that she was chosen over candidates with an archaeological background and more substantial managerial experience.

The current IAA head Eli Escozido also does not have a background in archaeology, nor did his predecessor, former Shin Bet deputy director Israel Hasson, who served in the position between 2014 and 2021.