Article in The Salt Lake Tribune (updated today) includes John Lund's explanation about his recent arrest in Israel for allegedly dealing in/trying to smuggle stolen artifacts:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/51848034-78/lund-bar-tura-antiquities.html.csp?page=1

I'm prepared to give the guy the benefit of the doubt that he didn't know (or didn't think?). His prior arrest, interrogation and police caution to cease and desist before he arrived at the airport still transporting antiquities remains problematic though. Even if he didn't know before, he knew then, after the police had warned him. Why was he found at the airport on his way out of the country with more artifacts? I'm interested in hearing his further explanation on that.

I'm going to guess he does not go through with his scheduled tour to Israel this coming fall. He clearly stated (according to the Tribune article) that he doesn't mind losing his $7500 bond. That can only mean one thing - he's at least considering not returning to Israel to answer the charges (pending).

This is my thread yesterday on the subject:

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,196067,196067#msg-196067

It says he has lead trips to Israel for thirty years. How is it possible he didn't know the rules? Or did he think the rules just didn't apply to him?

Lund was blind sided and used as a propaganda tool between Israel and the Palestinians. This horse manure has been going on for years. Check out this link. What Lund did has been done for years and is common place. The Israeli government just decided to make a stink about it just because ....


http://www.ww4report.com/node/810/print

The Israeli government has been walking away with artifacts from Palestine for years although it is illegal but yanno they have a good reason.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4070409,00.html

This link says that inspectors were present at the hotel when he made sales and arrested him there. He was released but they kept watching him. They also watched the tourists. They later delayed the tourists and found artifacts in their suitcases. This was after the hotel incident, after they had confiscated artifacts from Lund already. So he had still been selling? It was at the airport they arrested Lund for the second time and found more items in his possession and evidence that he had been selling after his first arrest.

Even wikitravel explains the artifact law and includes a link to the Israel Antiquities Authority website in English.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Israel#Souvenirs

"While it is legal to purchase antiquities from the small number of government-licensed dealers, exporting antiquities from Israel is illegal, except with a written authorization from the Israel Antiquities Authority"

I don't buy this asshole's excuses for one minute. He's way past the age of accountability and knows damn well what he's doing.

The artifacts belong to the lard. Everything is the lards. He just loans things to us. Lund belongs to the lards true church, so it is perfectly ok in the eyes of the lard, for Lund to do what he does. Spiritual law is much higher than secular law.

I'm shocked, shocked.