In January 1948, Professor Eleazar Sukenik of the Chair of Palestinian Archaeology in the Hebrew University arranged to meet with a member of the Syrian community in the Y.M.C.A building of Jerusalem to see the scrolls and borrow them for a few days, after hearing of their existence at the monastery.[1] Upon realizing their authenticity, Sukenik copied several chapters of the Book of Isaiah from the manuscript and distributed copies to the Constituent Assembly of the State of Israel.[16]