Friday, February 10, 2006

When it rains...

...it pours. Evidently the state of Israel intends to create a museum of tolerance. Fantastic. By removing skeletons from a Muslim cemetery. Not fantastic. Regardless of your stance on other actions by the state of Israel, this one deserves consternation. Muslim groups in Israel have protested the action and sought legal relief with some limited success thus far. And yet the government continues to push for the completion of the project.

Particularly intriguing was a quote from a spokeswoman for the Israel Antiquities Authority: "Israel is more crowded with ancient artefacts than any other country in the world. If we didn't build on former cemeteries, we would never build." So we can expect to see new developments on top of the Western Wall? Jewish cemeteries? Or is there perhaps a double standard at work here?

(Thanks to Jesus' General for the link)

[Edit: For those not caring for The Indepent as a news source, read about the same story in the Seattle PI, the Chicago Tribune, or, just for fun (I certainly don't share all the frames of the article), the Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency.]

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Karl, of course Israel has the right to build this museum. After all, Israel is a state that is currently under seige from others who do not believe in tolerance. (Why you may ask? I have no idea, though it may have something to do with homelands being robbed away or some small, insignificant, minute detail like that) But anyway, by building this museum of tolerance, Israel is making a bold stand, one that teaches coexistance (which they have been practicing) and one that preaches respect (as shown by their respect of the dead.)