The Glitter of Old Gaza

In the Gaza strip today, history is trauma. Decades of war, occupation and sectarian strife have turned it into a seething refugee camp, crippled by internecine conflict and poverty. But while Gaza's future seems as uncertain as its present, there is little disagreement about the splendor of its past.

"Gaza at the Crossroads of Civilizations" at Geneva's Musée d'Art et d'Histoire is the first ever public show of Gazan antiquities. Its 530 artifacts, drawn chiefly from the vaults of private Palestinian collector Jawdat Khoudary and the Palestinian National Authority, depict a Gaza that was once at the nexus...