"To whom do antiquities belong?"

This is the question posed by an article in the Jewish Ideas Daily.
The waterlogged remains of an archive relating to Iraq's exiled Jewish community were discovered in a flooded Baghdad basement by American troops in 2003. The archive, which includes material dating back to the 16th century, but mainly comprises documents, personal papers and Judeo-Arabic manuscripts from the 19th and 20th centuries, has been conserved in the USA. The archive is now claimed by both Israel and Iraq as part of their heritage.

Two new open-access journals of interest to historians

Two new open-access journals with a wide historical (and thematic) range

Hallesche Beitrage zur Orientwissenschaft

This academic journal published by the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg (frequently in monograph format) covers a wide range of topics and countries (ancient history, archives, religions, Middle Eastern studies etc.)
It is currently available as digitized open-access texts from Vol.1 (1979) to Vol.44 (2007).

The current link address is via AWOL (Ancient World Online blog)

'Atiqot (Journal of the Israeli Antiquities Authority)

This journal covers the archaeology of "the land of Israel" from prehistory to Ottoman times. Open access coverage begins with Vol.60 (2008). You need to register first, but after that you will be able to login to view and share journal content.

"Histories of Partition": guide to online resources posted on BLE

A guide to online resources in SOAS Library to support the course "Histories of Partition: India and Palestine, 1947-1948" has just been posted on the BLE
The guide also includes links to selected websites, including the newly released film and oral history archive from Cambridge University Institute of South Asian Studies, which has amateur film of Partition refugees, and interviews discussing Partition


The Guide can be found on the Library Information Skills section of the BLE. Go to the History pages and look under Research Guides

Suez ceasefire: 6th November 1956

6th November 1956 saw British and French forces seize control of major ports in Egypt's Canal Zone and declare a ceasefire to bring the Suez Crisis to a close.  Israel also announced a ceasefire in Sinai . The conflict had broken out after President Abdel Nasser angered British and French companies by nationalising the Suez Canal. He also blockaded the Straits of Tiran - Israel's main outlet into the Red Sea.
Read more on the BBC History's "On this day" website