Dozen’s of Jewish Graves Desecrated by Mount of Olives Vandals

Even after millions of Shekels were spent on security cameras, Arab vandals again entered, this time destroying the grave-site of the Hassidic leader, the Grand Rebbe of Modzitz, along with dozens of others, including other well-known rabbis.

By Moshe Cohen

 

Arab vandals destroyed the gravesite of the Hassidic leader, the Grand Rebbe of Modzitz, according to Modzitz hassidim who visited the site. The gravestone of the leader, Rabbi Yisrael Dan Taub, who died in 2006, was destroyed, along with dozens of others, including several well-known rabbis. The destruction took place at a special section of the Mount of Olives cemetery reserved for rabbinical leaders.

Mt. of Olives

Mt. of Olives – Israel National News; Archive

The destruction was discovered Saturday night by visitors to the site. Rabbi Pinhas Lubinsky, chairman of the International Committee for the Defense of the Mount of Olives, said he was informed about the situation at about 2 a.m. “We immediately got involved, speaking with top government officials. This is a serious incident, made more serious by the fact that it happened after the government invested hundreds of millions of shekels in a network of cameras to observe the area.”

Despite this, he said, clearly not enough is being done. “We held an emergency meeting with officials about putting an end to these incidents. It is unthinkable that Jews would be unable to visit the graves of their forefathers.”

The new vandalism is an extension of a long-standing problem. Members of the Knesset Interior Committee recently conducted a special tour of the Mount of Olives in order to examine up close the security arrangements there. The tour comes after hundreds of complaints by Jewish visitors to the huge cemetery located on the Mount, regarding rock-throwing attacks by Arabs, and vandalism of the graves of loved ones.

The tour was led by MK Miri Regev, chairperson of the Committee, and attended by other MKs and police officials. Also participating were representatives of the International Committee for the Protection of the Mount of Olives in Israel, Jeff Daube and Harvey Schwartz.

 

View original Arutz Sheva publication at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/186080#.VDrzMRaLUYA