In case anyone thought that perhaps it was only the New York Times‘ political coverage that had become unprecedentedly hacky, it appears that the cancer has spread to the obituary page as well. A renowned Israeli archaeologist named Avraham Biran died recently, aged 98, and today the Times got around to publishing an obit.

In writing a few words about a great man, the Times manages to re-write the history of the region as well:

Before beginning his work at Tel Dan, Dr. Biran had been a diplomat and government official and had nearly died when he was working for the Palestinian government in 1938.

Wow — there was a Palestinian state even before an Israeli one! (On planet reality, Biran in 1938 was working for the British Mandate government, at the behest of the Jewish Agency.)