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Planned Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem Not Built on Ancient Cemetery

(Jerusalem Post) Abe Selig - The Simon Wiesenthal Center has rejected demands by Palestinian and international human rights groups that its construction of a planned Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem be halted due to claims that the proposed location is the site of a historic Muslim cemetery. The center released a statement Wednesday stating that "the Museum of Tolerance project is not being built on the Mamilla Cemetery." "It is being built on Jerusalem's former municipal car park, where every day for nearly half a century, thousands of Muslims, Christians and Jews parked their cars without any protest whatsoever from the Muslim community," Rabbi Marvin Hier, the center's dean and founder, said. "Telephone cables, electrical lines, drainage and sewage lines were laid deep into the ground in the early 1960s, again without any protest." "We also want to emphasize that the Israel Antiquities Authority has confirmed that there are no bones or remains on the site." The Israel Supreme Court considered the legal arguments for nearly four years, finally giving the go-ahead for the project in 2009.
2010-02-12 07:37:57
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