Said to protect from the evil eye, the Golden Magen David was kept under tight security at the Jerusalem museum where it was housed. Archaeologists had searched for years for the elusive artifact, purported to be King David’s shield in the fight against Goliath. One lucky archaeological intern, Andrew Smith had stumbled upon while spelunking in the Negev desert. When archaeologists examined the object, they determined that it was the authentic coat of arms from ancient times.
The shield looked like an ordinary coat of arms. However, legend has it that the keeper of the shield obtained extraordinary abilities. He or she might become stronger, smarter and possibly immortal. Yet, this was only legend. The archaeologists who authenticated the object denied that the shield held any magical powers. Still, the legend was larger than reality and it was widely believed that there were thieves out there who would love to get their hands on the shield because of these qualities. As a result, the museum hired a special team of security officers to guard it around the clock.
For a while, the strategy worked. Though there were plots to steal the item, museum security caught the would-be thieves before they could pull off the heist. However, they never suspected how clever thieves would become.
It was on a busy night at the museum that this carefully crafted strategy fell apart. Over tired from a shift the night before, the security officer on night duty dozed off in the security control room. The museum was packed with people, so nobody noticed when the thief slipped into the employees only area of the museum. Once in the control room, he turned off the security cameras, while his partner picked the flimsy lock off the case protecting the shield and shoved it in a backpack he had brought into the museum. Although security had searched the bags of all patrons coming to the museum that evening, the thieves had entered the building from the employee entrance, dressed like employees with official looking badges.
Once the shield was in hand, the thieves met in the control room, turned back on the security cameras, and left through the employee entrance, without a sound. They had made off with a priceless artifact, or so they thought.
The next day, they were watching television in a nearby hotel room, when the story broke. “Two thieves broke into the Jerusalem Museum last night said to house the Golden Magen David. It seems as if they stole a valuable piece of history. Appearances are sometimes deceiving. However, we are happy to report that the real shield is safe and sound in the museum, stored in an undisclosed location, away from the public view.” The two men’s jaws dropped open simultaneously. How could they have been out-witted by security. “Furthermore,” the reporter continued, “There was a second set of security cameras watching the attempted heist happen, even after the thieves disabled the first set. Everything was caught on tape.”
They turned off the televison. “We’d better go.” one of them said. Just as they were about to jump off the balcony from their high rise hotel building, there was a knock on the door. In Hebrew, the voice said, “Police”. It was too late. They were caught red handed.
In police custody, they confessed. Turning on each other to get more lenient jail time. They were convicted of attempted grand theft and sentenced to life in prison. The case seemed all but closed, until it was ripped wide open.
A year later, it was discovered that the mastermind of the plot was still at large and possibly attempting another swipe at the artifact. However, he was apprehended before he could put his plot into action and received the same fate as the other two thieves.
From that point on the Golden Magen David, simply became known as the Protector; many Jerusalemites came to believe that the Shield’s protective powers had prevented thieves from stealing it.
That was the last attempt at the stealing the artifact. And the Protector remained hidden from that time forward.
Recent Comments