Blog

Message from the Dorot Director

Jerusalem in mid-summer: hot days, cool evenings, and fresh seasonal fruit. The hostel is full, and, after the difficulties of recent years, that is something worth celebrating: fellows who departed during the spring crisis have returned; archaeologists are in residence, laying out pottery in the lab; students pass through to summer digs; and researchers from Fulbright Israel and other institutions have made the Albright their home.

I write these words on July 28, after an Albright group gathered at the grave of Sir Flinders Petrie at the Protestant Cemetery on Mount Zion to mark the 84th anniversary of his death. Petrie and Lady Petrie spent the last seven years of his life at the Albright (then the American School). As Nelson Glueck wrote in his obituary that we read out around his grave: “A handsome man of heroic mold…. Sir Flinders loved Jerusalem, and did not want ever to leave it. His wish has been fulfilled.” I am ever in awe of the history witnessed by the stones of our iconic building, and it is humbling to honor those who came before us.

Finally, the Board of Trustees has launched its search for the next Dorot Director. Please share this opportunity with outstanding candidates to lead the Institute through its next chapter: aiar.org/archives/director_cfa_2026.

With warm wishes,

Jamie

News to Celebrate

New Grant from the US Embassy

We are thrilled that the Albright has been awarded $130,000 from the 2026 US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation – Freedom250 Special Edition, through the US Embassy in Jerusalem. The grant supports At the Crossroads of Cultures: Sepphoris Interpretive Signage Project, led by NEH Fellow Shulamit Miller, with academic advice from Prof. Zeev Weiss (HUJI) and Prof. Eric Meyers (Duke University).

Sepphoris (Zippori) is one of the Galilee’s most important archaeological sites for understanding the shared histories of Judaism and Christianity. The Albright will design, fabricate, and install a unified, trilingual (English, Hebrew, Arabic) interpretive system across the national park, translating nearly a century of US-led scholarship into an accessible public resource. Congratulations to Shulamit on securing this award for the Albright!

Watch a past lecture by Shulamit Miller about her work at Sepphoris on the Albright Live YouTube page.

A Gift of Jerusalem: Works by Lotta Teale

We are delighted to announce a generous donation of sixteen oil paintings by British artist Lotta Teale. Lotta lived in East Jerusalem for several years, walking past the Albright daily, and her paintings capture the city’s monuments, landscapes, and streets with warmth and an insider’s eye.

The collection, which includes views of the Dome of the Rock, the Monastery of the Cross, the Kidron Valley, and the Judean hills, will enrich the Albright’s spaces and offer residents and visitors a vivid artistic record of the city we call home. We are deeply grateful to Lotta for this beautiful gift. Explore more of her work at lottateale.com.

If you are able to help support the framing of these canvases so they can be enjoyed throughout the hostel and campus, please reach out to Jamie Fraser at jamesfraser@aiar.org.

Lotta Teale working on her painting of Hisham’s Palace at Jericho.

Happy 250th Birthday, America!

July was a month of celebration at the Albright. On July 10 we hosted our own 250 event in the company of friends, fellows, and colleagues. Cultural Attaché Joëlle Uzarski of the US Embassy captured the occasion perfectly, noting that the Albright has been present in Jerusalem for more than half of America’s 250-year existence: “While the United States was still finding its footing as a nation, American scholars were already here, in this city, digging into the earth, and asking the deepest questions about who we are and where we came from.” We could not have said it better ourselves.

Then, on July 25, the Albright hosted the US Embassy’s own Freedom250 celebrations, part of a wider expo that transformed our street frontage and driveway into a showcase of American technological achievements over 250 years. The event was opened by Deputy Chief of Mission David Brownstein — a remarkable sight, and a reminder of what this institution represents.

US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission thanks the Albright for hosting the Embassy’s Freedom250 Expo.

News from the Library

The library has received several kind donations this last month. We congratulate the authors below on their publications and thank them for their donations.

Borowski, O. and J. D. Seger. (2026). Lahav VIII: The EB III and LB II to Iron II Strata in the Western City at Tell Halif.

Halayqa, I. (2024). The Written Canaanite Linguistic Heritage from Palestine (Arabic language).

Uziel, J., Ilan, D., Susnow, M. and A. M. Maeir (2026). Tel Nagila: The Amiran-Eitan Excavations.

Also, we thank Ann Killebrew for donating several missing copies in our run of the Journal of Eastern Mediterranean Archaeology and Heritage Studies, and Norma Franklin for donating many books long-absent from our shelves.

Please consider donating your recent publications to the Albright library! Contact librarian Ruba Shweiki: ruba@aiar.org.

Progress Updates on Our Grants

Our grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), awarded through the US Department of State and the US Embassy in Jerusalem, funds two major initiatives this year: heritage conservation in the Galilee and archival preservation at the Albright.

US Ambassador Huckabee launches the Albright’s Galilee heritage project at the ancient synagogue at Huqoq, July 9, 2026. Photo by dror/forshee.

Watch the launch on Instagram, read coverage in The Algemeiner, or see the press release and project website.

Processes of cleaning and flattening a letter from 1912: on the left, a page before treatment; on the right, after treatment.

Introducing Our Fellows for 2026–2027

We are delighted to announce an outstanding cohort of Albright fellows for the 2026–2027 academic year.

Benjamin Saidel

East Carolina University · Seymour Gitin Distinguished Professor

Ben returns to the Albright to complete the final report on his excavation at Nahal Be’erotayim West, a Bedouin tent camp in the western Negev occupied intermittently between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. The site offers a rare material window into Negev Bedouin life before 1948, a period usually known only through outside observers’ travelogues.

Lorenzo Nigro

Sapienza University of Rome · Seymour Gitin Distinguished Professor

Lorenzo has co-directed the Palestinian-Italian excavations at Tell es-Sultan (Jericho) since 1997, contributing to the site’s 2023 UNESCO World Heritage inscription. His fellowship will be devoted to completing the definitive publication of the 2009–2025 excavation seasons, a synthesis spanning the Neolithic through the Iron Age.

Na’ama Pat-El

University of Texas, Austin · Ernest S. Frerichs Annual Professor

Na’ama will use the Song of Songs as a case study to develop a more holistic, archaeologically informed approach to dating biblical texts, contributing to one of the field’s most enduring debates.

Christina Olson

Baylor University · Marcia and Oded Borowski/Barton Research Fellow

Christina’s research examines the relationship between postexilic communities of former Judah and their ancestral tombs, integrating social memory and landscape theory with biblical texts and archaeological data. During her fellowship she will explore tombs and mortuary practices across Jerusalem and beyond.

Blair Heidkamp

University of Texas, Austin · Carol and Eric Meyers Doctoral Dissertation Fellow

Blair is a PhD candidate whose dissertation examines technological change in Neolithic projectile points, tracing shifts in form and production alongside questions of subsistence, environmental change, and mobility.

William Zimmerle

New York University Abu Dhabi · Lydie T. Shufro Summer Research Fellow

Bill’s fellowship supports a forthcoming CUP volume on Arabia and ancient Israel, alongside a revised edition of his doctoral work on cuboid incense burners from the third to first millennia BCE, drawing on archaeology, comparative Semitics, Arabian inscriptions, and organic residue analysis.

Alumni News

We love hearing from former fellows, and this month we have two pieces of wonderful news to share.

Warm congratulations to Shulamit Miller (NEH Fellow, 2025–2026), who has been appointed Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Jacqueline Vayntrub

Carol and Eric Meyers Doctoral Dissertation Fellow, 2014–2015

Kudos to Jacqueline, who has been appointed Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible at Yale Divinity School. Jacqueline has just published her second book, Body Language: Voice, Embodiment, and Textuality in the Hebrew Bible (Yale University Press, 2026).

Do you have news to share? We love hearing from former fellows and friends. Write to Assistant Director Yuli Gekht at yuli@aiar.org.

Staff Spotlight

Each month we spotlight a member of the Albright team.

Ruba Shweiki

Head Librarian and Archivist

This month, meet Ruba Shweiki, who joined the Albright staff in October 2025 and has quickly become a much-loved member of the team. Ruba is from Jerusalem and brings a rich background in both history and library science to her work at the Albright. She studied History and Archaeology at Birzeit University and later earned her degree in Library and Information Science from the David Yellin College of Education in Jerusalem.

Before joining us, Ruba spent nearly seven years at the National Library of Israel, where she held several roles including librarian and archivist. She also trained as a licensed tour guide through the Israel Tourism School.

Outside the library, Ruba loves hiking, cycling, spending time at coffee shops, and going to the gym. One of her favourite books is Little Death, a historical biographical novel by Saudi author Mohammad Alwan.

For all library inquiries, contact Ruba at ruba@aiar.org.

Support the Albright

The Omar and Hisham Jibreen Kitchen Campaign

Two names, one kitchen, eight decades of service. We’re honoring the extraordinary legacy of Omar and Hisham Jibreen, uncle and nephew, whose combined dedication shaped the Albright’s kitchen and table for generations, by naming the kitchen in their memory. With Hisham’s son Daoud now carrying the tradition into a third generation, this campaign is both a tribute and a continuation. To learn more about their legacy, view some photos, and to support the campaign, use the link below.

Support the Campaign →

Centennial Paving Stone

Leave your name, or honor someone else’s, on the Albright’s campus for generations to come. For $250, you can purchase a named paving stone, placed along our pathway of supporters on the Institute’s grounds. It’s a small gesture with lasting presence: every stone tells a story of someone who helped carry the Albright into its next century. All donations are tax-deductible in the US.

Purchase a Paving Stone →