WebProNews

Tag: internet impersonation

  • Dead Sea Scrolls Case: Online ID Theft on Trial

    New York’s highest appeals court will consider whether or not to overturn the conviction of Raphael Golb, a man convicted of impersonating a New York University professor in emails and blog posts, according to the AP.

    Golb set up an email account on an NYU computer and sent emails as Judaic studies chairman Lawrence Schiffman. In Schiffman’s name, he made confessions of plagiarism and other things to dispell Schiffman’s criticism of Golb’s father’s work on a theory pertaining to the Dead Sea Scrolls.

    However, he continues to insist that he didn’t intend for anyone to believe it was really Schiffman.

    The 2,000-year-old documents, which were found in 1947 in Qumran, around what is now Israel, contain the earliest known versions of portions of the Hebrew Bible.

    Golb and his father, a University of Chicago historian, among other scholars believe that the writings were the work of some Jewish groups and communities. They think that the scrolls were gathered from libraries in Jerusalem and hidden in caves near Qumran to protect them during a Roman invasion in about 70 A.D.

    Schiffman and his fellow scholars say the texts were assembled by a sect known as the Essenes, and not the work of Jewish groups at all.

    What Golb did, some would (and do) call identity theft, criminal impersonation, aggravated harassment, forgery and unauthorized use of a computer. Some however, including Golb, would say that since there is no physical harm done and no property damage it is harmless “satire, irony, parody”.

    The question being posed is this: Is internet impersonation, speaking as someone you’re not, identity theft and relentless harassment? Or is it simply all in good fun, as in the modern form of the obviously forged satirical letter?

    I can say for certain that most people wouldn’t appreciate that kind of intrusion, but as far as what the law defines, that remains to be seen.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Dead Sea Scrolls: Internet Impersonation A Crime?

    A dead sea scrolls controversy will be on trial in New York’s highest court on Tuesday in the case of Raphael Golb, a lawyer and writer who has been convicted of identity theft and other charges for disguising his identity in email messages and blog posts from 2006 to 2009, according to AP.

    Golb used a computer at New York University to create an email account in NYU Judaic studies chairman Lawrence Schiffman’s name, among others, to send alleged confessions of plagiarizing Professor Norman Golb’s, Raphael Golb’s father, work years earlier.

    The beginning of the conflict was that Normal Golb was one of a group of scholars that believes that the dead sea scrolls were the writings of a range of Jewish groups and communities, gathered from libraries in Jerusalem and hidden in caves near Qumran to protect them during a Roman invasion in about 70 A.D.

    Others, including Schiffman, believe the texts were assembled by a sect known as the Essenes.

    The conflict rose to a level where Schiffman and other scholars were detracting from Norman Golb’s works on the theory. This prompted Raphael to fight for his father’s good name in a way that eventually led to what Golb referred to as “satire, irony, parody”. He claims that he never intended for the recipients of the emails to believe that it was Schiffman who composed them.

    Manhattan prosecutors cited Golb’s “relentless impersonation and harassment,” and referred to his practice of sending emails under aliases to museum administrators, academics and reporters, and his act of impersonating his father’s critics online in their brief to the Court of Appeals.

    Assistant District Attorney Vincent Rivellese wrote, “The court was careful to ensure that the jury would not convict the defendant for parody, satire, or academic debate, but rather for engaging in fraudulent misrepresentations regarding his identity.”

    Golb’s Attorney Ronald Kuby said, “It’s like the world’s oldest controversy playing out in the world’s newest medium. The underlying issue is: Can you criminalize these Internet impersonations as fraud when there’s no financial benefit or tangible property associated with it?”

    I guess that will be answered as the appeal plays out.

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons